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Difficulty: HardShifting Power After 1900

"The lands, forests, and waters which have been usurped by the landlords, advisors, or bosses through tyranny and corrupt justice will immediately be restored to the towns or citizens who possess the titles to those properties... Because of this, the agricultural workers of Mexico will maintain their struggle with arms in hand until they reclaim the land that was stolen from them to enrich a privileged few."

—Emiliano Zapata, Plan de Ayala, 1911

Which of the following best explains the primary cause of the political instability and conflict in Mexico described in the passage?

  1. Popular discontent over unequal land distribution and the concentration of wealth under the Porfirio Díaz regimeAnswer
  2. B
    Direct political administration and territorial annexation of Mexico by European powers seeking natural resources
  3. C
    A Marxist-Leninist campaign aimed at abolishing all private property and establishing state-run industrial communes
  4. D
    A constitutional reform movement designed to achieve political independence from Spanish colonial authority

Answer

Popular discontent over unequal land distribution and the concentration of wealth under the Porfirio Díaz regime
The correct answer identifies that the primary cause of the conflict described in the passage was popular dissatisfaction with unequal land distribution and the concentration of agricultural resources in the hands of the wealthy elite during the Porfiriato. Emiliano Zapata's agrarian movement mobilized peasants to reclaim communal lands that had been consolidated into large estates (haciendas).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the author and context of the primary source.
The author is Emiliano Zapata, writing the Plan de Ayala in 1911 during the early stages of the Mexican Revolution.
Establishing the historical context helps determine the specific socio-political grievances that led to the conflict.
2
Analyze the core grievances outlined in the text.
The text focuses on the reclamation of stolen lands, forests, and waters from wealthy landlords and advisors to restore them to local citizens.
Analyzing these grievances connects the source directly to the causes of the Mexican Revolution.
3
Relate the grievances to the historical context of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Mexico.
Under Porfirio Díaz's regime, land policies favored large haciendas and foreign investors, leaving the vast majority of rural Mexicans landless.
Connecting the text to the Porfiriato explains the root cause of the peasant rebellion and subsequent political instability.

Key Concept

Land reform and peasant grievances as drivers of the Mexican Revolution.
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Shifting Power After 1900

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