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The military campaign waged in Baja California during the first half of 1911 by rebel groups under the leadership of Ricardo Flores Magon and the Partido Liberal Mexicano, or Mexican Liberal Party, constitutes one of the more curious and controversial episodes of the Mexican revolutionary decade from 1910-1920. Flores Magon, leader of the most radical of the revolutionary factions, was unrelenting in his attempts, from late 1910 on, to bring about an end to the capitalist system in Mexico. In its place, he envisioned a new socialist order in which the urban and rural proletariat would control the means of production and enjoy equally in the fruits of their labor.
A large number of foreigners participated in the Magonista campaign in Baja California. A fairly large proportion of them, perhaps as many as a third or more of the rebel forces in the area, were members of the Industrial Workers of the World.
This article focuses on the circumstances which caused many Wobblies to join the revolt as well as on their contributions to the struggle. The IWW volunteers viewed the rebellion in Mexico not only as a crusade for bettering the economic and social condition of the Mexican masses, but also a step in the fulfillment of their own dream of a world-wide proletarian revolution. Despite what their detractors said, the Wobblies did not generally use violence as a method to achieve their ends. Nevertheless, the participation of members of the IWW in the Magonista campaign marks one instance in which some Wobblies opted for armed struggle as a more direct and active means for overthrowing capitalism and instituting a workers' domain in a portion of the world in which it seemed that they might have some chance of success.
The PLM struggle and the Wobblies
The Magonista movement began in 1905 with the establishment of the Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM). On July 1, 1906 the PLM published a revolutionary program which called for the overthrow of the Porfirio Diaz government, which had ruled over Mexico for more than 30 years, as well as the institution of a series of moderate economic and social reforms. These included the restoration of ejidos or communal land holdings, the confiscation and redistribution of unused hacienda properties,...