Government
Page 23
FOR THIRTY-FIVE YEARS, from 1876 to 1911, power in Mexico was in the hands of one man, Porfirio Díaz. Mexico’s constitution had been altered to give sanction to his re-elections, which were assured by his appointment of state governors and other officials. Opposition was controlled by a ruthless federal police, called the rurales. It was a reign of peace and prosperity for the few and dire poverty for the many—half the entire rural population of Mexico was bound to debt slavery. Big landowners and foreign capital were favored as more and more Indians lost their communal lands.
In the final decade of Díaz’s rule, however, opposition strengthened, and before his last engineered re-election he promised a return to democratic forms—which after the election he gave no sign of honoring. In 1910 revolution broke out; independent rebel armies under the leadership of Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Francisco Madero, and others upset the power of the landlords and eventually overthrew the Díaz regime.
In what have become known as the “Jungle Novels,” B. Traven wrote, during the 1930’s, an epic of the birth of the Mexican revolution. The six novels—Government, The Carreta, The March to Caobaland, The Troza, The Rebellion of the Hanged, and The General from the Jungle—describe the conditions of peonage and debt slavery under which the Indians suffered in Díaz’s time. The novels follow the spirit of rebellion that slowly spread through the labor camps and haciendas, culminating in the bloody revolt that ended Porfirio Díaz’s rule.
In the 1920’s, when B. Traven arrived in the country, peonage, although officially abolished by the new constitution of 1917, was still a general practice in many parts of Mexico. The author observed the system at first hand in Chiapas, the southernmost province, a mountainous and heavily forested region, where the jungle novels, as well as many other of his stories, are set.
About the Author
B. Traven (1882–1969) was a pen name of one of the most enigmatic writers of the twentieth century. The life and work of the author, whose other aliases include Hal Croves, Traven Torsvan, and Ret Marut, has been called “the greatest literary mystery of the twentieth century.” Of German descent and Mexican nationality, he has sold more than thirty million books, in more than thirty languages. Films of his work include The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which won three Oscars; Macario, the first Mexican film to be nominated for an Oscar; and The Death Ship, a cult classic in Germany. You can sign up for author updates here.
Thank you for buying this
Farrar, Straus and Giroux ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on the author, click here.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 1971 by R. E. Luján
All rights reserved
Library of Congress catalog card number: 78–116873
eISBN 978-0-374-72256-2
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension. 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Hill and Wang edition, 1971
First American Century Series edition, 1975
Published simultaneously in Canada
by McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., Toronto
First Farrar, Straus and Giroux ebook: 2020