Mexican maoism: roots of a revolutionary tradition
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In Mexico, intellectuals including Vicente Lombardo, Fernando Benítez, and Lázaro Cárdenas were initially surprised and then influenced by the Chinese Revolution.
Luis Hernández Navarro’s book, Estrella Roja en México, examines the impact of Mao Zedong’s ideas and the Chinese experience on Mexican social movements, published around the 50th anniversary of Mao’s death.
Hernández Navarro has a long history of social activism, previously serving as a union secretary general at the National Institute of Anthropology and History and within the CNTE teachers’ union, experiences that inform his writing. The book details how various Maoist groups operated clandestinely in Mexico, some engaging in guerrilla warfare and others focusing on social movements, all aiming to build socialism.
Leaders like Camilo Chávez, Edelmiro Maldonado, and Paco Taibo II worked to establish strong, independent grassroots organizations, student groups, and unions. These figures developed their own visions for Mexico, shaping the diverse and complex landscape of the Mexican left. Hernández Navarro notes that the mass organizations created by Mexican Maoists, including the CNTE, MUP, and CNPA, continue to exist today, alongside numerous neighborhood, community, and farming organizations.
These groups maintain their own decision-making processes, drawing on cultural traditions, as exemplified by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in Chiapas. The author argues his work aims to highlight key moments in recent Mexican history through the stories of those who lived them.
