Tomorrow’s Mexico

Series

Series Name

The March of Time 11th Year

Issue

Issue No.

10

Date Released

1946

Length of issue (in feet)

1833

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1Tomorrow’s Mexico

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

The March of Time synopsis: Although many American tourists, unable to travel abroad freely, are flocking into Mexico this year, most of them are satisfied to stay in Mexico City where they can find those amusements which they enjoy at home, plus a little local colour. Few of them, and few Europeans, study or understand Mexico’s tragic history or the needs and conditions of living of the people.

After 300 years of corrupt Spanish rule, in 1910 began the first great social revolution of our time, shaped by such men as Madero, Pancho Villa and Zapata. However, it was not until 1934, when Lazaro Cardenas became president, that the aims of the revolution began to be realised. Cardenas found that over 90 per cent of the productive land still belonged to wealthy "hacendados" that over nine-tenths of the sub-soil wealth was controlled by foreign interests. He travelled throughout the country, studying the needs of the peasants, ordered the breaking up of the large estates, sent instructors to teach the peons how to use modern farm machinery, introduced a wide educational programme and launched dam-building and irrigation projects. His boldest move was the expropriation of the foreign oil interests. Although he was able to give his people a new sense of pride and independence, at the end of his six-year term, Cardenas had not succeeded in completing many improvements in the standard of living of the average Mexican.
Manuel Avila Camacho, a political moderate, took office in 1940. It had been expected that he would slow down on reform and consolidate the gains of his predecessor. However, war with the Axis intervened, and the film shows how, under the stimulus of war, Mexico expanded its consumer goods industries, how with the welcome aid of the United States railway experts, the transportation system was rehabilitated. Mexico City found itself on an important air route, and a refuge for many well-known Europeans.

At the war’s end Mexico had grown greatly in military and industrial strength, and had won a new and respected position in the world, symbolised by its membership in the United Nations, but once more it had to face its old economic and social problems. The common people still had very little share in the country’s post-war prosperity, and still based their hopes for material improvement on the programme of their original economic revolution. On this revolution Mexico’s political parties must form their platforms, if they want popular support. Most important party is the P.R.I. which, under different names, has remained in power for 17 years. Both the Communist and Sinarquasta parties have lost strength during the war, and the Accion Nacional remains a party of the rich, and therefore a minority. Meanwhile, the revolution still has a long way to go. For instance, less than hald the peasants work their own land, and of the 22,000,000 acres which could be made productive by irrigation, only 6,000,000 have so far been reclaimed. There are thousands of Mexicans today who, once bound to the land, are now free to turn to industry for a better living. Aware of the almost insoluble problems of a purely agrarian economy, Mexico’s leaders realise that in order to become an industrial nation, Mexicans must be educated. Twenty million new readers and copy books have been printed and distributed by the Government, schools of every sort are being opened as quickly as funds become available. In education lies the strongest hope that Mexico’s revolution will in time achieve its goal of democracy, self-respect and well-being for all.

Researcher Comments

This story was included in Vol.12 No.10 of the US edition.

Keywords

Politics and government; Social conditions

Written sources

The March of Time Promotional Material   Lobby Card, Used for synopsis

Credits:

Production Co.

Time Inc.