Ricardo Flores Magón
Encyclopedia
Cipriano Ricardo Flores Magón (September 16, 1874 — November 21, 1922) was a noted Mexican
anarchist and social reform activist. His brothers Enrique
and Jesús
were also active in politics. Followers of the Magón brothers were known as Magonistas.
, an indigenous Mazatec community. His father, Teodoro Flores, was likely an Indian whereas his mother, Margarita Magón is described as a Mestiza
. The couple met each other in 1863 during the Siege of Puebla
when both were carrying munitions to the Mexican troops.
Magón explored the writings and ideas of many early anarchists, such as Mikhail Bakunin
and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
, but was also influenced by anarchist contemporaries Élisée Reclus
, Charles Malato
, Errico Malatesta
, Anselmo Lorenzo
, Emma Goldman
, and Fernando Tarrida del Mármol
. He was most influenced by Peter Kropotkin
. He also read from the works of Karl Marx
and Henrik Ibsen
.
He was one of the major thinkers of the Mexican Revolution
and the Mexican revolutionary movement in the Partido Liberal Mexicano. Flores Magón organised with the Wobblies (IWW) and edited the Mexican anarchist newspaper Regeneración
, which aroused the workers against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz
.
Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread
, which Flores Magón considered a kind of anarchist bible, served as basis for the short-lived revolutionary communes in Baja California
during the "Magonista" Revolt of 1911. From 1904, Magón remained in the USA. Half this period he was in prison. His last arrest was in 1918, when he received a 20-year sentence for "obstructing the war effort", a violation of the Espionage Act of 1917
. The Wilson administration
conducted what were called the Palmer Raids
, a wholesale crackdown on war dissidents and leftists that also swept up notable socialists such as Eugene V. Debs
. He died at Leavenworth Penitentiary
in Kansas
.
The cause of Flores Magón's death has been disputed. Some believe that he was deliberately murdered by prison guards. Others contend that he died as a result of deteriorating health caused by his long imprisonment, possibly exacerbated by medical neglect by Leavenworth Penitentiary officials and staff. Flores Magón wrote several letters to friends complaining of debilitating health problems and of what he perceived to be purposeful neglect by the prison staff.
Yet others have contended that he likely died while in prison due to natural causes.
. In Mexico, the Flores Magón brothers are considered left-wing political icons nearly as notable as Emiliano Zapata
; numerous streets, public schools, towns and neighborhoods are named for them.
In 1997, an organization of indigenous peoples of Mexico
in the state
of Oaxaca
formed the Popular Indigenous Council of Oaxaca "Ricardo Flores Magón" (Consejo Indígena Popular de Oaxaca "Ricardo Flores Magón", or CIPO-RFM), based on the philosophy of Magón.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
anarchist and social reform activist. His brothers Enrique
Enrique Flores Magón
Enrique Flores Magón was a Mexican journalist and politician, associated with the Mexican Liberal Party and anarchism...
and Jesús
Jesús Flores Magón
Gaspar Jesús Melchor Flores Magón was a Mexican politician, journalist, and jurist.The more moderate middle brother of Ricardo and Enrique Flores Magón, he served in the cabinet of Francisco I...
were also active in politics. Followers of the Magón brothers were known as Magonistas.
Biography
He was born on Mexican Independence Day, in San Antonio Eloxochitlán, OaxacaOaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, an indigenous Mazatec community. His father, Teodoro Flores, was likely an Indian whereas his mother, Margarita Magón is described as a Mestiza
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
. The couple met each other in 1863 during the Siege of Puebla
Siege of Puebla
The Siege of Puebla began the same day Mexico City fell to Winfield Scott and lasted for 28 days when a relief force was able to fight its way into the city and lift the siege.-Background:...
when both were carrying munitions to the Mexican troops.
Magón explored the writings and ideas of many early anarchists, such as Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He has also often been called the father of anarchist theory in general. Bakunin grew up near Moscow, where he moved to study philosophy and began to read the French Encyclopedists,...
and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was a French politician, mutualist philosopher and socialist. He was a member of the French Parliament, and he was the first person to call himself an "anarchist". He is considered among the most influential theorists and organisers of anarchism...
, but was also influenced by anarchist contemporaries Élisée Reclus
Élisée Reclus
Élisée Reclus , also known as Jacques Élisée Reclus, was a renowned French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes , over a period of nearly 20 years...
, Charles Malato
Charles Malato
Charles Malato was a French anarchist and writer.He was born to a noble Neapolitan family, his grandfather Count Malato being a Field Marshal and the Commander-in-Chief of the army of the last King of Naples...
, Errico Malatesta
Errico Malatesta
Errico Malatesta was an Italian anarcho-communist. He was an insurrectionary anarchist early in his life. He spent much of his life exiled from his homeland of Italy and in total spent more than ten years in prison. He wrote and edited a number of radical newspapers and was also a friend of...
, Anselmo Lorenzo
Anselmo Lorenzo
Anselmo Lorenzo was a defining figure in the early Spanish Anarchist movement, earning the oft quoted sobriquet "the grandfather of Spanish anarchism," in the words of Murray Bookchin; "his contribution to the spread of Anarchist ideas in Barcelona and Andalusia over the decades was enormous"...
, Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
, and Fernando Tarrida del Mármol
Fernando Tarrida del Mármol
Fernando Tarrida del Mármol , was a Cuban anarchist writer. He was born in Havana to a wealthy family of Catalan emigrants, and was the nephew of Cuban general Donato Mármol. He studied engineering in Barcelona, Toulouse and Madrid, becoming professor and director of the Polytechnic School of...
. He was most influenced by Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
. He also read from the works of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
.
He was one of the major thinkers of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
and the Mexican revolutionary movement in the Partido Liberal Mexicano. Flores Magón organised with the Wobblies (IWW) and edited the Mexican anarchist newspaper Regeneración
Regeneración
Regeneración was a Mexican anarchist newspaper that functioned as the official organ of the Mexican Liberal Party. Founded by the Flores Magón brothers in 1900, it was forced to move to the United States in 1905. Jesús Flores Magón published the paper , while his brothers Ricardo and Enrique...
, which aroused the workers against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
.
Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread
The Conquest of Bread
The Conquest of Bread is a book by the anarchist communist Peter Kropotkin. Originally written in French, it first appeared as a series of articles in the anarchist journals Le Révolté and La Revolté . It was first published as a book in Paris in 1892 with a preface by Élisée Reclus, who also...
, which Flores Magón considered a kind of anarchist bible, served as basis for the short-lived revolutionary communes in Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
during the "Magonista" Revolt of 1911. From 1904, Magón remained in the USA. Half this period he was in prison. His last arrest was in 1918, when he received a 20-year sentence for "obstructing the war effort", a violation of the Espionage Act of 1917
Espionage Act of 1917
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code but is now found under Title 18, Crime...
. The Wilson administration
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
conducted what were called the Palmer Raids
Palmer Raids
The Palmer Raids were attempts by the United States Department of Justice to arrest and deport radical leftists, especially anarchists, from the United States. The raids and arrests occurred in November 1919 and January 1920 under the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer...
, a wholesale crackdown on war dissidents and leftists that also swept up notable socialists such as Eugene V. Debs
Eugene V. Debs
Eugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , and several times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States...
. He died at Leavenworth Penitentiary
United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth
The United States Penitentiary , Leavenworth was the largest maximum security federal prison in the United States from 1903 until 2005. It became a medium security prison in 2005.It is located in Leavenworth, Kansas...
in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
The cause of Flores Magón's death has been disputed. Some believe that he was deliberately murdered by prison guards. Others contend that he died as a result of deteriorating health caused by his long imprisonment, possibly exacerbated by medical neglect by Leavenworth Penitentiary officials and staff. Flores Magón wrote several letters to friends complaining of debilitating health problems and of what he perceived to be purposeful neglect by the prison staff.
Yet others have contended that he likely died while in prison due to natural causes.
Legacy
Flores Magón's movement fired the imagination of both American and Mexican anarchists. In 1945, his remains were repatriated to Mexico and were interred in the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres in Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. In Mexico, the Flores Magón brothers are considered left-wing political icons nearly as notable as Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...
; numerous streets, public schools, towns and neighborhoods are named for them.
In 1997, an organization of indigenous peoples of Mexico
Indigenous peoples of Mexico
Mexico, in the second article of its Constitution, is defined as a "pluricultural" nation in recognition of the diverse ethnic groups that constitute it, and in which the indigenous peoples are the original foundation...
in the state
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
formed the Popular Indigenous Council of Oaxaca "Ricardo Flores Magón" (Consejo Indígena Popular de Oaxaca "Ricardo Flores Magón", or CIPO-RFM), based on the philosophy of Magón.
External links
- Complete Works (mostly in Spanish)
- Ricardo Flores Magón in English and Spanish
- Death of a Political Prisoner: Revisiting the Case of Ricardo Flores Magón
- Historic Sites of Magón's travels in exile, including addresses in Laredo, San Antonio, Saint Louis, El Paso, Los Angeles, Tucson, Tombstone, and prisons in Yuma, Florence (AZ), McNeil Island (WA), and Leavenworth (KA) (site in progress)