Railroad Radicals in Cold War Mexico: Gender, Class, and Memory

1. “The Mexican Revolution Was Made on the Rails”

1 “The Mexican Revolution Was Made on the Rails” Revolutionary Nationalism, Class Formation, and the Early Impact of the Cold War Pancho slid a cassette into the deck and pressed play. As the tape turned and hissed, he took a seat next to me and closed his eyes. There in the spartan room, with its cold cement floor and modest furnishings, the sound of grinding wheels and released steam from a locomotive engine bellowed. It occurred to me later that it is the same sound that wakes Geraldo Niño Mendes from his sleep, the beautiful music he tried describing to me. As I posed my first question , Pancho opened his eyes and instructed, “Shhh. Listen,” closing them again. I would learn over the years that Francisco “Pancho” Mortera and Geraldo Niño Mendes are not unique in their reverence for steam engines and in their emotional attachment to the world of the workplace . I would also come to understand that Mortera’s devotion to the sights and sounds of the railroad is part of a general rielero pride in their place in Mexican history. The steam engine, the locomotive, and those who labored on the rails had from the late nineteenth century been associated with Mexico’s modernizing ambition. Mortera, Niño Mendes, and dozens of other railway men I interviewed place themselves , their ancestors, and the industry as principal protagonists in the story of the country’s economic development. If we were to walk from Mortera’s house in Mexico City’s working -class neighborhood of Colonia Guerrero down Avenida Insurgentes Norte, we would be walking toward the Monumento a la Revoluci ón, a grand arc commemorating the country’s civil war. We would 24 “Revolution Was Made on the Rails” be following the route taken countless times in the past by mobilized rieleros and rieleras, who marched from the railroad yard and station in Colonia Guerrero to converge at the monument. There they would listen to a fiery speech before continuing to the National Palace in the downtown central plaza, or Zócalo, to shout their complaints. Today a defunct steam locomotive stands on the northern side of the monument , a visual affirmation of the industry’s key role in the revolution; to rieleros, the engine also affirms their place in that history. The locomotive on display exchanges history for nostalgia by providing no information about the conflicts that arose with the introduction and development of the industry. In turning the steel object into a public fetish, it masks the contentious history between workers, railroad companies, and presidential administrations. At its inception, the railroad promised to bring local and national economic growth, connecting remote hamlets with one another while integrating them into a national economy. The question for workers as well as for company , government, and, later, union officials was never if the industry should be used to foment economic growth but rather who would stand to benefit. After a brief era of agreement during the 1930s, when President Cárdenas completed the nationalization of the railroad and petrol industries, workers’ vision of how best to industrialize Mexico clashed with plans elaborated by railroad officials as well as with the administrations of Presidents Manuel Ávila Camacho and Miguel Alemán Valdes. The stfrm and the state agreed on the need to expand industrialization as a measure to expand the economy. All officials endorsed major improvements to the railroad’s infrastructure. However, the stfrm diverged from the state with regard to who would benefit from industrialization as well as the role of the union in national affairs. stfrm expected industrialization to benefit workers and their families . Specifically, the union lobbied the state to increase freight rates on minerals to pay for wage increases. Moreover, the stfrm had a national vision, pushing the state to improve the standard of living of the entire working class, not just railway families. In addition, the stfrm expected that economic growth would be coupled with political The Early Impact of the Cold War 25 access for the working class, both at the level of the workplace and in national affairs. Industrialization should bring about workplace control , while increasing the union movement’s clout in national politics. Nationalizing key industries, such as the railroad and electrical sectors, would accomplish the task. Finally, after World War II, stfrm officials couched these expectations...