“Agents of Disruption and Social Dissolution”: Oppositional Activism in Guerrero, Mexico

This presentation will explore the popular organizing that arose in Mexico’s southwest state of Guerrero in the wake of the post-revolutionary government’s expansion of education. It will argue that the tasks of rural normal schools in service to state goals ultimately influenced teachers to seize the role of agents for social change in opposition to the state. These roots are also reflected in the ideological nationalism that dominated much of these efforts. During the Cold War, this affinity with the nationalism of the revolution of 1910 distinguished it from many of the Marxist-inspired movements in Latin America. Guerrero’s normal schools in particular were renowned for teachers’ radical advocacy; having produced a number of leftist fighters in its history, including Cold War-era guerrilla leader Lucio Cabañas, Ayotzinapa’s reputation as a “hotbed” of radicalism was widespread. Ayotzinapa graduates Arturo Miranda Ramírez and Serafín Núñez, son of Ayotzinapa teachers, credit their schooling for appreciation of the legacy of struggle inherited from previous generations. This history also helps us understand the disappearance of Ayotzinapa’s teachers-in-training in 2014. Although they presented no threat to the government, the perpetrators sought to paint a portrait of them as radical activists. I suggest it is the history of radical teachers emerging from the escuelas normales, notably that in Ayotzinapa, that may help explain – but never excuse – the events of 2014. Guerrero’s long history of political instability has earned it the sobriquet Guerrero bronco, and ultimately, it was the site of Mexico’s Cold War-era guerra sucia. This chapter will contribute to our understanding of the composition and ideological commitment of those opposition movements and their leaders, which led to the disproportionate government response.