Last Caudillo

Jürgen Buchenau is Professor of History and Latin American Studies at University of North Carolina, Charlotte, where he is Chair of the History Department. He is the author or editor of several books on modern Latin American history, including Plutarco Elías Calles and the Mexican Revolution (2007), Tools of Progress: A German Merchant Family in Mexico City, 1865-Present (2004), and In the Shadow of the Giant: The Making of Mexico’s Central America Policy (1996).

“The Last Caudillo is a fine biography of Alvaro Obregon, as well as an excellent overview of the Mexican Revolution. Students will come away with a good understanding of the social forces and political events that shaped Mexico during this critical time in its history. The book is also a great companion to Buchenau’s earlier work, Plutarco Elas Calles and the Mexican Revolution, published in 2006.”  (The Latin Americanist, 1 September 2013)“The Last Caudillo calls in an impressive array of primary sources to render an evenhanded portrait of Obregón as it appropriately casts him as a pivotal figure in the making of modern Mexico. …more specifically, Buchenau taps into the historiography of the Latin American strongman or “caudillo” in considering Obregón the last of that lineage, to come to an end when institutions, political parties, enforceable laws, bureaucracy, “systems” and “networks” overwhelmed—for better or worse—the many vicissitudes of individual power.”  (The Americas, 1 October 2012)"It is Buchenau's combined analysis of caudillismo, the Mexican revolution, and Alvaro Obregon that makes this book an important contribution to the literature on this revolutionary figure and the times that produced him. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." (Choice, 1 November 2011)

• List of Illustrations ixPreface xAcknowledgments xiiIntroduction 11 The Background of the Last Caudillo 11From Santa Anna to Díaz 13The Sonoran Background 222 An Improvised Leader, 1880–1913 30Obregón’s Early Years 31Obregón and the Beginning of the Mexican Revolution 41Obregón’s First Campaign 473 Chaos and Triumph, 1913–1916 57Obregón and the War Against Huerta 58Obregón and the Clash Between Carranza and Villa 66Obregón in the War Between the Factions 724 The Path to Power, 1916–1920 85Obregón’s Emergence as a Political Leader 86The Cincinnatus of the West (Part One) 94The Campaign for the Presidency 975 The President, 1920–1924 111The Construction of Obregón’s Political Machine 112Rebuilding the Nation 118The Violent Breakup of the Sonoran Alliance 1276 The Last Caudillo, 1924–1928 138A Troubled Agribusiness 140The Cincinnatus of the West (Part Two) 143The Second Presidential Campaign 152The Death of the Caudillo 1597 The Unquiet Grave 164After the Caudillo 165An Arm and a Revolution on a Stage 170A Revolution and a Leader Lose Respect 173Notes 178Bibliography 200Index 210