Spent Cartridges of Revolution

An Anthropological History of Namiquipa, Chihuahua

• Author(s): Daniel Nugent,
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Pages: 225
• ISBN_10: 0226607410
  ISBN_13: 9780226607412
  
• Language: en
• Categories: History / General , History / Latin America / Mexico , Political Science / Public Policy / Economic Policy , Social Science / Anthropology / General , Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social , Social Science / Sociology / Rural ,

Description:... What happens to a revolutionary town after the revolution? This apparently simple question frames Spent Cartridges of Revolution, an anthropological history of Namiquipa, Chihuahua, Mexico. Officially, the revolution of 1910-20 restored control over land and local politics to the peasantry. But Namiquipan peasants, who fought alongside Pancho Villa, have seen little progress and consider themselves mere "spent cartridges" of a struggle that benefited other classes.

Daniel Nugent's approach combines an emphasis on peasants' own perceptions of Mexican society after the revolution with an analysis of the organization and formation of state power. He shows that popular discontent in Chihuahua is motivated not only by immediate economic crises but by two centuries of struggle between the people of Northern Mexico and the government.