Abstract

ROBINET, Romain. Global Indigenismo, Local Autochthony Genaro Vásquez, the Federación Indigenista Revolucionaria Oaxaqueña and Native Cardenismo. Estud. hist. mod. contemp. Mex [online]. 2026, n.71, pp.116-153.  Epub Apr 13, 2026. ISSN 0185-2620.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iih.24485004e.2026.71.78030.

Who remembers Genaro Vásquez? Successively a supporter of Madero, Carranza, Calles, and Cárdenas, this intellectual and politician from Oaxaca was also the forgotten pioneer of indigenismo. The aim of this work is to break down the historiographical barriers between “transnational” indigenism, “institutional” indigenism, and “militant” indigenism through an analysis of his career, following the methods of a connected political history. As this article demonstrates, Vásquez was not only the initiator of the First Inter-American Indigenista Congress and one of the architects of the creation of the Department of Indigenous Affairs: this central figure in Cardenismo, who identified himself in part as an “Indian,” played a crucial role in the formation of a national indigenous movement, embodied locally by the Federación Indigenista Revolucionaria Oaxaqueña [Oaxacan Revolutionary Indigenista Federation] and other organizations. The main conclusion of this study is that the indigenismo of Vásquez and his supporters differed greatly from that of the revolutionary elites: it was essentially an indigenous indigenismo, defending the “indigenous races” and their languages and concerned with putting natives, mestizos, and whites on an equal footing.

Keywords : indigenismo; Cardenismo; race; Oaxaca; revolution.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )