The Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (, CROM) is a federation of

labor unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, whose power was at its height between 1918 and 1928. CROM was an umbrella organization for both industrial workers as well as agricultural workers and peasants. Industrial unions of railway workers, petroleum workers, and textile workers were strong enough on their own that they could function without CROM's support.Carr, Barry, "Industrial Labor: 1910-1940" in ''Encyclopedia of Mexico''. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, pp. 688-89. It was founded in

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

in 1918 at a congress of labor delegates called by

Mexican President The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920), known as Venustiano Carranza, was a Mexican land owner and politician who served as President of Mexico from 1917 until his assassination in 1920, during the Mexican Re ...

. The federation, of which Luis Napoleón Morones Negrete was a major leader, marked a departure from the traditionally-

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

stance of Mexican labor to a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

position. From its inception, the CROM was controlled by a small group of union leaders, ''Grupo Acción'' ("Action Group") which supported the post-revolutionary Mexican government. Logo del Partido Laborista Mexicano

After supporting Carranza, who was overthrown in 1920, the CROM was a key base of support for two of his successors,

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 19 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) was a Mexican general, inventor and politician who served as the 46th President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. Obregón was re-elected to the presidency in 1928 but was assassinated b ...

and

Plutarco Elías Calles Plutarco Elías Calles (born Francisco Plutarco Elías Campuzano; 25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the 47th President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928. After the assassination of Ál ...

, two of the three Sonoran revolutionary generals who dominated Mexico in the 1920s. The political vehicle of the federation was the Mexican Laborist Party. Under Obregón, the labor movement was co-opted as its leaders were appointed to posts within the government. By the end of Obregón's term, labor had abandoned its goal of destroying capital in favor of establishing a balance between capital and labor that would benefit workers. Labor leaders defended the government's right, established in Article 123 of the

Constitution of 1917 The current Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (), was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, Mexico, by a constituent convention during the Mexican Revolution. I ...

, to arbitrate labor disputes, since they felt that their interests were represented in the government. Radical elements of the labor movement, horrified by the cooption, formed their own federation, the '' Confederación General de Trabajadores'' (CGT), in 1921. The result of the split was disorientation within the movement, and workers became disillusioned with both the CROM and the CGT. Nonetheless, workers won some rights but gradually and threatening neither the revolutionary government nor the growth of capitalism. In 1921, in a prelude to the

Cristero War The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularism, secularist and anti-clericalism, anticler ...

, the Mexican

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

declared membership in the CROM a mortal sin. That proclamation failed to deter Mexicans from joining the federation or participating in its street demonstrations. Under Calles, the government gained even greater control over the CROM by its grip over ''Grupo Acción''. The CROM essentially monopolized union membership, claiming over one million workers and five hundred organized peasants among its members. In reality, there were only about twenty thousand dues-paying members. Calles wielded influence over the CROM through Morones, whom he appointed the Minister of commerce and industry. By 1928, however, Calles had become distrustful of Morones, who had presidential ambitions. He was also wary of labor's

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

interpretation of the revolution. He broke the CROM's power by ordering the federal arbitrating bureaucracies to declare all CROM strikes illegal. The CROM's leadership had become so corrupt that it had lost its influence with the rank and file and was thus unable to organize action in its favor. Calles's successor,

Emilio Portes Gil Emilio Cándido Portes Gil (; 3 October 1890 – 10 December 1978) was a Mexican politician, lawyer and diplomat who served as the 48th President of Mexico from 1928 to 1930, one of three to serve out the six-year term of President-elect Gener ...

, began removing CROM officials from government positions.

Vicente Lombardo Toledano Vicente Lombardo Toledano (July 16, 1894 – November 16, 1968) was one of the foremost Mexican labor leaders of the 20th century, called "the dean of Mexican Marxism ndthe best-known link between Mexico and the international world of Mar ...

, a dissident in the CROM, organized a faction called "Purified CROM" that left the federation in 1932, leaving the CROM to represent only a few unions in the textile industry. The Purified CROM became the

Confederation of Mexican Workers The Confederation of Mexican Workers (''Confederación de Trabajadores de México'' (CTM)) is the largest confederation of labor unions in Mexico. For many years, it was one of the essential pillars of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional ...

(CTM) in 1936, allying with the

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

President

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

and the ruling Party of the Mexican Revolution. In the following years, the CTM eclipsed the CROM. The CROM continues to exist, and is the third largest labor federation in Mexico, supporting the PRD.

References

Further reading