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Preferred Citation
Historical Note
Scope and Content of Collection
Title: Rodolfo Echeverría Martínez collection
Date (inclusive): 1911-1986
Collection Number: 87037
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
Spanish; Castilian
Physical Description:
34 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 phonotape
(17.0 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Reports, correspondence, minutes, conference proceedings, resolutions, speeches, pamphlets, discussion bulletins, newsletters,
and printed matter, relating to activities of the Partido Comunista Mexicano from its formation in 1919 until its merger with
other parties in 1981, including electoral, trade union, student and other activities, and activities both at the national
level and within various states.
Creator:
Partido Comunista Mexicano
source:
Echeverría Martínez, Rodolfo
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
Boxes 36 and FH1 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research;
materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the
collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1987.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Rodolfo Echeverría Martínez collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library
& Archives.
Historical Note
The Partido Comunista Mexicano (P.C.M.) was organized in September 1919 by Mexican socialists under the direction of Comintern
representatives Manabendra Nath Roy and Michael Borodin. The political instability and radicalism of the final years of the
Mexican Revolution, combined with a native tradition of anarcho-syndicalism and trade unionism, created a party with a large
rural following, as well as strength among transport workers, miners, educators and intellectuals. The party probably reached
maximum strength (approximately 30,000 members) during the Popular Front period, when it cooperated with the administration
of President Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940). By 1960, the membership was estimated at 3,000. In 1940, two important leaders,
Hernan Laborde and Valentin Campa, expelled from the P.C.M. for "right opportunist deviation", formed the Partido Obrero-Campesino
Mexicano (P.O.C.M.). In 1948, the Partido Popular Socialista (P.P.S.) was established by Vincente Lombardo Toledano. From
its inception, the P.P.S. was more influential; its larger membership allowed its candidates to qualify for election registration,
a goal which the P.C.M. was never able to achieve under the old electoral law.
After the 1968 protest movement and subsequent government repression, the P.C.M. abandoned attempts to cooperate with the
the government party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, P.R.I.) and organized to work for political rights and electoral
reform. In the mid-1970's the P.C.M. formed electoral coalitions with other leftist groups; after 1978, electoral reform made
it possible for the party to register legally and participate openly in elections. The political dominance of the P.R.I. disinclined
the P.C.M. to concentrate on parliamentary activity, however. The greater focus was on creating a stronger mass-based party,
leading to the unification of the P.C.M. with four other left-wing parties in 1981 to form the Partido Socialista Unificado
de Mexico (P.S.U.M.).
Rodolfo Echeverría Martínez was a student activist in the late 1960's, and a member of the Executive Commission in the mid-1970's.
Opposed to unification, he left the party in 1981. The material was assembled by Echeverria during and after his membership
in the party, as well as from at least two other sources. Gabino R. Alcaraz was active in Michoacan in the 1920's and 1930's,
initially as acting president of the Partido Socialista Michoacano (ca. 1925). By 1927, he was a member of the P.C.M. state
Central Committee and responsible for agrarian affairs. His papers are organized as a separate series. Enrique Condes Lara
was a member of the P.C.M. Central Committee in Puebla, and head of the electoral operation there; materials gathered by him
are included in the section relating to the state of Puebla.
Sources:
Carr, Barry,
Mexican Communism, 1968-1983: Eurocommunism in the Americas? San Diego: University of California Press, 1985
Schmitt, Karl M.,
Communism in Mexico: A Study in Political Frustration. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965
Scope and Content of Collection
The Partido Comunista Mexicano (P.C.M.) was organized in September 1919 by Mexican socialists under the direction of Comintern
representatives Manabendra Nath Roy and Michael Borodin. The Rodolfo Echeverría Martínez collection (1911-1986) consists of
reports, correspondence, minutes, conference proceedings, resolutions, speeches, pamphlets, discussion bulletins, newsletters,
and printed matter, relating to activities of the Partido Comunista Mexicano from its formation in 1919 until its merger with
other parties in 1981, including electoral, trade union, student and other activities, and activities both at the national
level and within various states.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Audiotapes
Communism -- Mexico
Mexico -- Politics and government
Labor unions and communism
Labor unions -- Mexico
Student movements -- Mexico
Echeverría Martínez, Rodolfo