Pancho+Villa

=Pancho Villa= (1877?-1923)



During his lifetime Pancho Villa was Governer of Chihuahua, and one of the most prominent revoluctionary leaders during the rule of Victorinao Huerta, and later during the presidency of Venustiano Carranza. A polarizing figure in Mexico, his efforts to rally and organize the peasents helped lead to the downfall of the Huerta dictatorship. During his reign in Chihuahua, Villa established a civil militia with his own soliders, and built dozens of new schools in Chihuahua City in an effort to promote education among the masses. His "take from the rich, give to the poor," social policies took from Huerta supporters without just compensation, and his "land reform," was more of the same. However, instead of giving the land immeadiately to the the people like his counterpart Emiliano Zapata, the land taken by Villa was held under state control to both finance the efforts of the revolutionaries, and to provide support to the widows and children of slain soldiers (Keen, 288). In addition, finaces to support his army and buy ammunition were gained by raiding cattle farms in Mexico and selling them to U.S merchants (Keen, 288). Though first supporters and allies with Venustiano Carranza, Zapata, and specifically Villa became suspicous of Carranza's intentions and his actual stance on the revolution. Villa declared that the revolutionists should construct a document that would define what the revolution was for and what they wished to achieve, specifically a democratic government and a solution to workers rights and agrarian problems (Keen, 290). Although the convention endorsed the //Plan de Ayala// and instituted as interm president, Carranza refused to accept the decision, and resign from the presidency. This led to a split that pitted Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata against Venustiano Carranza and Alvaro Obregon. In 1915 General Obregon launched an attack against Villa and Zapta that eventually forced both of them out of Mexico City. Villa responded with a terrible offensive that devestated his army and handed him his worst military defeat (Keen, 292). Almost a year later, under the false assumption that Carranza bought recognition from the United States, Villa led a raid on Columbus, Mexico (Keen, 292). Angered by these actions, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John Pershing to chase after Villa into Mexico in an effort to capture him, however Villa evaded capture and Pershing eventual had to return home. Between the rule of Carranza and Obregon, there was an interm president by the name of Adolfo de la Huerta. When he was in power he rewarded Pancho Villa with a hacienda for his effort against Carranza. However Villa was murdered at his hacienda in the summer of 1923 (Keen, 293).

Photos/Sources: Mounument to Pancho Villa in the Zacatecas Mountain Range (right), Wikipedia Pancho Villa (left), [|www.britannica.com] Keen, Benjamin and Haynes, Keith //A History of Latin America// Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.