Iron Horse Imperialism: The Southern Pacific of Mexico, 1880-1951 (review)

This aptly titled study of Mexico's Southern Pacific railroad (SP de Mex) emerges as a solid contribution to both U.S. and Mexican historiography. Lewis's thorough work provides details of railroad corporations' inner workings in general and of the SP de Mex in particular. Furthermore, he clearly illustrates the connections between Mexican government policies and the SP de Mex. Lewis solidly supports his contention that the primary reasons for the railroad's demise were a combination of the stubbornness of railroad officials (who refused to shut down operations despite losing money year after year) and of Mexican government policies (through which the SP de Mex never received the same type of special treatment as other foreign companies). The Mexican government treated the SP de Mex inconsistently, exhibiting their own internal indecisiveness concerning how to handle foreign railroads. The essence of the conflict was the imperialist sentiment at the heart of the SP de Mex leadership, as it remained a U.S.-owned railroad the entire time it operated in Mexico. This was in direct juxtaposition to the strong sense of Mexican nationhood prominent during the SP de Mex's tenure in western Mexico.

Lewis states that the struggles faced by the SP de Mex are indicative of "a larger struggle taking place throughout Latin America . . . the relationship between foreign capital and Latin American government" (p. 7). He supports the statement in various ways, specifically with an analysis of Mexico's unique position in Latin America as the only country in the region that shares a border with the United States. The question of the relationship between foreign capital and local government is further answered with evidence from events such as the Mexican Revolution and, if one looks beyond Mexico, labor movements throughout all of Latin America.

In terms of literary structure, Lewis follows his initial discussion with five chronological chapters in which he traces the development of the SP de Mex, the Mexican government's policies toward it, and many interesting instances of the specific obstacles encountered on its journey to failure. Much of the information for these chapters came from letters exchanged among SP de Mex officials and officials of the Mexican government, which provides a human aspect to what might have easily become a listing of financial transactions and bureaucratic wranglings. A segment that stands out as especially unique is Chapter 5. Lewis extensively discusses the multi-cultural nature of the workers brought in to work on the SP de Mex. He explores the contributions of and challenges faced by the Chinese, Yaqui and—somewhat surprisingly—Mormons, who moved to Mexico primarily to escape U.S. government pressure against polygamy. Each of these groups faced discrimination and occasionally retaliated (highlighted in a succinct section on the well-known Cristero Rebellion) but were essential contributors to the series of events that made up the life of the SP de Mex.

Iron Horse Imperialism provides a glimpse into an understudied field of Mexican history with vivid descriptors and clear analysis. All students of Mexican history, railroad history, and southwestern U.S. history should take their first opportunity to add this to their libraries.