The Movement of National Liberation ( es, Movimiento de Liberación Nacional) (MLN) was a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

composed of numerous

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, and peasant activist groups. They operated primarily between 1961 and 1964.

Foundation

The roots of the MLN lay in the Committee to Promote Peace (CIP), founded in July 1959 by

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. Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the M ...

. From the CIP came the Provisional Committee for National Sovereignty and Economic Emancipation (CLSNEEP), whose goal was to organize a local chapter within

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. On August 5, 1961, the committee announced the formation of the National Liberation Movement. The MLN stated as its priorities; regime change, release of political prisoners, solidarity with

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, municipal autonomy for unions and peasant organizations, opposition presence in Congress, weakened

presidentialism A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

, and undermined

corporatist Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

control. The founding organizations of the MLN was a composition of leftist

parties, the National Peasant Confederation (CNC), 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), members of the official

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...

( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional) (PRI) party, and the Popular Socialist Party ( es, Partido Popular Socialista) (PPS).

Decline

The Popular Socialist Party withdrew in December 1962 after rumors spread the MLN was planning to organize a new peasant movement outside the PRI to push for

agrarian reform Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land (see land reform) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land re ...

. In January 1963, Lázaro Cárdenas announced the formation of just such a party, the Central Campesina Independiente (CCI) to attack the PRI's corruption and betrayal of peasant struggles. Following the MLN's refusal to declare itself an official party for election, it was believed the group began a rapid decline. The issue of solidarity with the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

became a stopping point with the government of then President

Adolfo López Mateos Adolfo López Mateos (; 26 May 1909 – 22 September 1969) was a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964. Beginning his political career as a campaign aide of José Vasconcelos during his run for president, Lóp ...

. In addition the issue of political prisoners, the release of Valentin Campa and

Demetrio Vallejo Demetrio Vallejo (1912 – December 24, 1985) was a railroad worker and union activist from Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico. Vallejo began working as a railroad employee in 1928, later joining the Partido Comunista Mexicano (PCM) in 1934. Vallejo was ...

, finally led Mateos to denounce the MLN, stating they had succumbed to

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

infiltration. In 1968 the leaders of the MLN were jailed during the popular student movement, signaling the death of the party.

Notable members

Notable members of the Movement of National Liberation included: *

Carlos Salinas de Gortari Carlos Salinas de Gortari CYC DMN (; born 3 April 1948) is a Mexican economist and politician who served as 60th president of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. Affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), earlier in his career he wor ...

- Former Mexican president, 1988-1994. * Gilberto Rincón Gallardo - Former presidential candidate, politician and activist. *

Arnoldo Martínez Verdugo Arnoldo Martínez Verdugo (12 January 1925 – 24 May 2013) was a Mexican socialist politician and democracy activist. A long-standing leader of the Mexican Communist Party and the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico (PSUM), Martínez promoted ...

- Politician and former leader of the

Mexican Communist Party The Mexican Communist Party ( es, Partido Comunista Mexicano, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its name ...

and of the

Unified Socialist Party of Mexico The Unified Socialist Party of Mexico ( es, Partido Socialista Unificado de México, PSUM) was a socialist political party in Mexico. It later became the Socialist Mexican Party () in 1988. History The PSUM was founded in November 1981 by the me ...

. *

Genaro Vázquez Rojas Genaro Vázquez Rojas (June 10, 1931February 2, 1972) was a Mexican school teacher, organiser, militant, and guerrilla fighter. Civic Associations Guerreran Civic Community Genaro Vázquez Rojas studied law at the National Autonomous University ...

- Former civic association leader,

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

, and

guerrilla fighter Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Movement Of National Liberation 1961 establishments in Mexico Political organizations based in Mexico National liberation movements Political parties established in 1961 Defunct political parties in Mexico Socialist parties in Mexico