Banditry and politics in Puebla, 1846--1848: The contra-guerrilla of Manuel Dominguez and the Mexican-American War
Item
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Title
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Banditry and politics in Puebla, 1846--1848: The contra-guerrilla of Manuel Dominguez and the Mexican-American War
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:ccd06d077f88:11406
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identifier
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11486
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Creator
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Perez, Adriana,
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Contributor
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Alfonso W. Quiroz
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Date
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2012
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Latin American history | Political science | banditry | Manuel Domínguez | Mexican-American War | politics | Puebla | violence
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Abstract
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In the midst of the war between the United States and Mexico (1846--1848) a group of Mexicans from the state of Puebla began to work for the U.S. army as spies, couriers and fighters. The group operated under the leadership of Puebla's famous highwayman Manuel Dominguez, "El Chato." U.S. officials called this group the Mexican Spy Company, while contemporary Mexicans named Dominguez's band contra-guerrilla poblana. Given the collaborationist nature of the counter-guerrilla it comes as no surprise that Mexicans and Americans alike still remember Dominguez and his followers as no more than criminals and traitors, unnatural Mexicans who betrayed their homeland in its darkest hour. I argue, however, that the contra-guerrilla can be seen as an example of popular political action. Evidence suggests that, on the one had, the activity of the contra-guerrilla seems to have been anchored in a desire to exercise power. On the other, the contra-guerrilla deliberately challenged governmental authority. Overt violence perpetrated against fellow Mexicans was the way in which the contra-guerrilla made its claims public.;Although the study of popular violence concerns both the scholarship on banditry and the scholarship on popular politics, these fields remain disconnected. Scholars still debate whether or not banditry can be considered political while those who study popular politics often overlook popular mobilizations not tied to formal or high politics. As a result, we continue to misunderstand phenomena that do not fit neatly into either area of study. The contra-guerrilla is a case in point. This dissertation draws on Charles Tilly's theory of collective violence to revise dominant conceptualizations of banditry which tend to deny it a political dimension.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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History
