Rubén Jaramillo
Encyclopedia
Rubén Jaramillo Méndez (1900 – May 23, 1962) was a Mexican
military and political leader of campesino
origin who participated in the Mexican Revolution
. After the Revolution, he continued to fight for the land reform
promised under the Mexican Constitution.
, Morelos
, in 1900. When he was 15 years old, he joined the Liberation Army of the South
under the direct command of Emiliano Zapata
. By age 17, Jaramillo had been promoted to the rank of captain and commanded 75 men.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Jaramillo advocated on behalf of ejido
s, grants of communally owned land by the federal government to farmers. He supported the 1934 presidential campaign of Lázaro Cárdenas
, who created a cooperative
sugar mill in Zacatepec in 1938 at Jaramillo's urging. Jaramillo was elected by the workers to help run the mill, but his advocacy on behalf of the workers led to frequent clashes with administrators appointed by the government.
invited Jaramillo to Mexico City
to negotiate an end to the fighting. Ávila granted amnesty to the Jaramillistas and guaranteed their safety.
For the next nine years, Jaramillo fought for land reform within the electoral system. He founded the Agrarian Labor Party of Morelos (Partido Agrario Obrero Morelense, or PAOM), which quickly had 15,000 members. Jaramillo ran as its candidate for governor of Morelos
in 1946 and 1952. Jaramillo lost both times, although he and his followers disputed the official election results.
In 1953, Jaramilla again led an armed revolt against the government. For the next five years he and the Jaramillistas eluded the army. The army brought cavalry and artillery against the rebels, and it was assisted by the air force. Finally, amnesty was negotiated with President Adolfo López Mateos
in 1958.
López Mateos had promised Jaramillo he would support the campesinos of Morelos, but Jaramillo was soon disappointed. When cattle ranchers began to take the land previously granted as ejidos, the federal government did nothing. Jaramillo led thousands of farmers in resistance. Jaramillo attempted to negotiate with the government on their behalf. While the government delayed, the campesinos occupied the land illegally. The government asked Jaramillo to help remove the squatters while the legal process continued; most of the farmers agreed. When the federal government ultimately turned down the farmers' request for assistance, Jaramillo appealed to López Mateos but the president refused to meet with him. In 1961, the campesinos again occupied the land. This time, the army removed them.
and soldiers. He, his pregnant wife Epifanía, and their three sons were taken to Xochicalco
, Morelos, where they were killed. The only surviving member of the family was a daughter, who had fled to ask the town's mayor for help.
A few days after the murders, Carlos Fuentes
went to Xochicalco and wrote an article that was published in Siempre! (Always!), a popular magazine:
Jaramillo's death was news around the world. He became a folk hero
. Villages and schools were named after him. The article by Fuentes was widely reprinted. U.S.
singer-songwriter
Phil Ochs
wrote a song about Jaramillo. Nobody was charged with the killings.
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
military and political leader of campesino
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
origin who participated in 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...
. After the Revolution, he continued to fight for the land reform
Agrarian reform
Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land reform measures. Agrarian reform can include credit measures,...
promised under the Mexican Constitution.
Mexican Revolution
Jaramillo was born in TlaquiltenangoTlaquiltenango
Tlaquiltenango is a city in the Mexican state of Morelos. It stands at .The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality, with which it shares a name.The municipality reported 30 017 inhabitants in the year 2000 census....
, Morelos
Morelos
Morelos officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca....
, in 1900. When he was 15 years old, he joined the Liberation Army of the South
Liberation Army of the South
The Liberation Army of the South was an armed group formed and led by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution. The force was commonly known as the Zapatistas....
under the direct command of 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...
. By age 17, Jaramillo had been promoted to the rank of captain and commanded 75 men.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Jaramillo advocated on behalf of ejido
Ejido
The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...
s, grants of communally owned land by the federal government to farmers. He supported the 1934 presidential campaign of Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río was President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.-Early life:Lázaro Cárdenas was born on May 21, 1895 in a lower-middle class family in the village of Jiquilpan, Michoacán. He supported his family from age 16 after the death of his father...
, who created a cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
sugar mill in Zacatepec in 1938 at Jaramillo's urging. Jaramillo was elected by the workers to help run the mill, but his advocacy on behalf of the workers led to frequent clashes with administrators appointed by the government.
Jaramillista movement
When workers at the Zacatepec sugar mill went on strike in 1943, Jaramillo persuaded the campesinos to stop producing cane for the mill. The state government ordered his arrest, so Jaramillo fled to the mountains and took up arms against the government. He and his followers, known as Jaramillistas, briefly took control of Tlaquiltenango. In 1944, President Manuel Ávila CamachoManuel Ávila Camacho
Manuel Ávila Camacho served as the President of Mexico from 1940 to 1946.Manuel Ávila was born in the city of Teziutlán, a small town in Puebla, to middle-class parents, Manuel Ávila Castillo and Eufrosina Camacho Bello. He had several siblings, among them sister María Jovita Ávila Camacho and...
invited Jaramillo to Mexico City
Mexico 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...
to negotiate an end to the fighting. Ávila granted amnesty to the Jaramillistas and guaranteed their safety.
For the next nine years, Jaramillo fought for land reform within the electoral system. He founded the Agrarian Labor Party of Morelos (Partido Agrario Obrero Morelense, or PAOM), which quickly had 15,000 members. Jaramillo ran as its candidate for governor of Morelos
Governor of Morelos
List of governors of Morelos since it became a state of Mexico in 1869.-See also:* List of Mexican state governors...
in 1946 and 1952. Jaramillo lost both times, although he and his followers disputed the official election results.
In 1953, Jaramilla again led an armed revolt against the government. For the next five years he and the Jaramillistas eluded the army. The army brought cavalry and artillery against the rebels, and it was assisted by the air force. Finally, amnesty was negotiated with President Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos was a Mexican politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964...
in 1958.
López Mateos had promised Jaramillo he would support the campesinos of Morelos, but Jaramillo was soon disappointed. When cattle ranchers began to take the land previously granted as ejidos, the federal government did nothing. Jaramillo led thousands of farmers in resistance. Jaramillo attempted to negotiate with the government on their behalf. While the government delayed, the campesinos occupied the land illegally. The government asked Jaramillo to help remove the squatters while the legal process continued; most of the farmers agreed. When the federal government ultimately turned down the farmers' request for assistance, Jaramillo appealed to López Mateos but the president refused to meet with him. In 1961, the campesinos again occupied the land. This time, the army removed them.
Death
On May 23, 1962, Jaramillo's home was raided by a group of Federal Judicial PoliceFederal Judicial Police
The Federal Judicial Police was the former federal police force of Mexico.The jurisdiction of the Federal Judicial Police encompasses the entire nation and was divided into thirteen zones with fifty-two smaller detachment headquarters...
and soldiers. He, his pregnant wife Epifanía, and their three sons were taken to Xochicalco
Xochicalco
Xochicalco is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Municipality of Miacatlán in the western part of the Mexican state of Morelos. The name Xochicalco may be translated from Nahuatl as "in the house of Flowers". The site is located 38 km southwest of Cuernavaca, about 76 miles by road...
, Morelos, where they were killed. The only surviving member of the family was a daughter, who had fled to ask the town's mayor for help.
A few days after the murders, Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes Macías is a Mexican writer and one of the best-known living novelists and essayists in the Spanish-speaking world. He has influenced contemporary Latin American literature, and his works have been widely translated into English and other languages.-Biography:Fuentes was born in...
went to Xochicalco and wrote an article that was published in Siempre! (Always!), a popular magazine:
They pushed him down. Jaramillo could not hold himself back, he was a lion of the field, that man.... He threw himself at the party of murderers; he was defending his wife and his children, and especially the unborn child; they brought him down with their rifle butts, they knocked out an eye. Epifanía flung herself on the murderers; they tore her rebozoRebozoA rebozo is a woman's garment used in Mexico. Rectangular in shape, rebozos vary in size from 1.5 to upwards of three metres, and can be made of cotton, wool, silk, or articela. They can be worn as scarves or shawls, and women often use them to carry children and take products to the market. It is...
, they tore her dress, they threw her on the stones. [One son] cursed at them; they opened fire and he doubled over and fell beside his pregnant mother, on the stones. While he was still alive, they opened his mouth, picked up fistfuls of earth, pulled open his mouth and laughing filled it with earth. After that it went fast; [the other sons] fell riddled with bullets; the submachine guns spat on the five fallen bodies. The squad waited for them to stop breathing. But they went on living. They put their pistols to the foreheads of the woman and the four men. They fired the finishing shots.
Jaramillo's death was news around the world. He became a folk hero
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
. Villages and schools were named after him. The article by Fuentes was widely reprinted. U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Phil Ochs
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
wrote a song about Jaramillo. Nobody was charged with the killings.