Enrique Flores Magón (13 April 1877 – 28 October 1954) was a Mexican journalist and politician, associated with the
Mexican Liberal Party and
anarchism
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 ...
. His name is most frequently linked with that of his elder brother,
Ricardo Flores Magón
Cipriano Ricardo Flores Magón (; known as Ricardo Flores Magón; September 16, 1874 – November 21, 1922) was a Mexican anarchist and social reform activist. His brothers Enrique Flores Magón, Enrique and Jesús Flores Magón, Jesús were ...
, and the political philosophy they espoused, ''
magonismo''. Another brother was
Jesús Flores Magón
Gaspar Jesús Melchor Flores Magón (6 January 1871 – 7 December 1930) was a Mexican politician, journalist, and jurist. The more moderate brother of Ricardo and Enrique Flores Magón, he served in the cabinet of Francisco I. Madero.
Biogr ...
.
Biography
Magón was born in
Teotitlán del Camino[
] (since renamed Teotitlán de Flores Magón) in the state of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
on 13 April 1877, to Margarita Magón and Teodoro Flores, a
Nahua who had fought in
Benito Juárez's Liberal Army. At an early age the family relocated to
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
. He was a student in the capital in 1884 when demonstrations broke out against the third re-election of
President Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...
. By 1902, he and his brother Ricardo, working on the anti-Díaz broadsheet ''
El Hijo del Ahuizote,'' were arrested and incarcerated in the military prison at Santiago Tlatelolco. While in prison the brothers explored the ideas of writers such as
Kropotkin,
Faure,
Errico Malatesta,
Maxim Gorki, and
Proudhon and discussed the possibility of disseminating
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 ...
ideas in Mexico.
Upon their release from prison in January 1903, the brothers returned to publishing ''El Hijo del Ahuizote'' and, on 5 February of that year, Enrique Flores Magón drew a banner declaring "
The Constitution is Dead", which they hung in front of its offices.
On 2 April 1903, they and other liberals stormed a pro-Díaz demonstration and succeeded in turning it into an anti-Díaz event, calling for the dictator's death. On 11 April, Magón was arrested again; he was later released, but subject to a ban on publishing any written materials. As a result, Enrique and Ricardo left Mexico for the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, arriving in
Laredo, Texas in late 1903.
Enrique lived in several cities around the U.S. and Canada, concealing his identity, constantly changing address, and frequently losing contact with Ricardo. In
St. Louis, he helped draft the platform of the
Mexican Liberal Party (PLM).
He recommenced publication in the United States of the newspaper ''
Regeneración'', which the brothers had founded in 1900, and organized a clandestine network for its distribution in Mexico. He continued in these endeavors until 1917, when he left the Organizing Committee of the PLM and the ''Regeneración'' editorial team.
Following Ricardo's death in 1922, he returned to Mexico in 1923, where he had a series of disagreements with former Magonistas. In 1933, he helped leaders of the National Agrarian League found the Confederación Campesina Mexicana in
San Luis Potosí.
He died in
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
on 28 October 1954, aged 77.
See also
*
Magonism
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores Magon, Enrique
Mexican journalists
Mexican male journalists
Mexican anarchists
People of the Mexican Revolution
Magonists
Mexican revolutionaries
Mexican democracy activists
1877 births
1954 deaths
People from Oaxaca