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Title details for Bad Mexicans by Kelly Lytle Hernández - Available

Bad Mexicans

Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands

by Kelly Lytle Hernández
Joana Garcia
Audiobook
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Bad Mexicans tells the dramatic story of the magonistas, the migrant rebels who sparked the 1910 Mexican Revolution from the United States. Led by a brilliant but ill-tempered radical named Ricardo Flores Magon, the magonistas were a motley band of journalists, miners, migrant workers, and more, who organized thousands of Mexican workers-and American dissidents-to their cause. Determined to oust Mexico's dictator, Porfirio Diaz, the rebels had to outrun and outsmart the swarm of US authorities vested in protecting the Diaz regime. The US Departments of War, State, Treasury, and Justice, as well as police, sheriffs, and spies, hunted the magonistas across the country. But the magonistas persevered. They lived in hiding, wrote in secret code, and launched armed raids into Mexico until they ignited the world's first social revolution of the twentieth century. Taking listeners to the frontlines of the magonista uprising and the counterinsurgency campaign that failed to stop them, Kelly Lytle Hernández puts the magonista revolt at the heart of US history. Long ignored by textbooks, the magonistas threatened to undo the rise of Anglo-American power, on both sides of the border, and inspired a revolution that gave birth to the Mexican-American population, making the magonistas' story integral to modern American life.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 23, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781696608213
      • File size: 391257 KB
      • Duration: 13:35:07

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 21, 2022
      MacArthur fellow Hernández (Migra!) explores in this stellar history the legacy of Mexican revolutionary Ricardo Flores Magón (1873–1922) and his magonista movement. Dubbed malos Mexicanos, or “bad Mexicans,” by President Porfirio Díaz, the magonistas and their political party, the Partido Liberal Mexicano, paved the way for the 1910 Mexican Revolution, according to Hernández. Combining exhaustive research with dramatic storytelling, Hernández chronicles Díaz’s seizure of power in an 1876 coup and the ensuing rush of foreign investment that saw U.S. citizens take control of the Mexican railroad, oil, and mining industries. The exploitation of ordinary Mexicans sparked rebellion, and some activists, including Magón, fled over the border to plot Díaz’s overthrow. Hernández vividly details how the “brilliant and ill-tempered” Magón “cultivate the support of Anglo-American radicals” including Eugene V. Debs, while “outrunning and outsmarting” U.S. law enforcement, and paints a harrowing picture of the harsh treatment Mexicans faced in the U.S. Touching on long-running themes in the U.S. government’s relationship with Latin America—including the prioritization of corporate profits over human welfare and the propping up of autocrats in order to protect allegedly vital economic and security interests—Hernández offers a vital reconsideration of American imperialism and the Mexican American experience. This is history at its most elucidating. Photos.

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from March 1, 2023

      Telling the story of the grassroots rebels who incited the 1910 Mexican Revolution, MacArthur Fellow Hern�ndez (history and African American studies, UCLA; City of Inmates) offers a nonfiction work that is as thrilling as a great novel. The narrative starts at the birth of Mexican dictator Porfirio D�az and follows the history of Mexico from the 1830s forward. Hern�ndez introduces a large cast of heroes and villains who played a role in the Mexican Revolution, including the Magonistas, followers of Ricardo Flores Mag�n who joined together to oust D�az and reject his partnership with U.S. imperialists. The full force of the U.S. authorities, including the newly formed FBI, was put on alert, but the Magonistas were not easily stopped. This little-remembered moment in history had a profound impact on Mexican-American relations and the people who live near the border today. Narrator Joana Garcia gives a serviceable performance, with clear and concise pronunciation. Even so, Garcia's pace is markedly slow, and some listeners may wish to speed it up. VERDICT This title reveals an important history that continues to affect perceptions and attitudes on both sides of the border. Highly recommended for all public libraries.--Gretchen Pruett

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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