page_title: Tabasco
section_title: Mexican Revolution to the present
hierarchical_section_title: Tabasco / History / Mexican Revolution to the present
caption_attribution_description: Español: Grupo de revolucionarios tabasqueños.
context_page_description: Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in the southeast of the country, bordering the states of Campeche to the northeast, Veracruz to the west, and Chiapas to the south and the Petén department of Guatemala to the southeast. It has a coastline to the north with the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the state is covered in rainforest as, unlike most other areas of Mexico, it has plentiful rainfall year-round. For this reason, it is also covered in small lakes, wetlands and rivers. The state is subject to major flooding events, with the last occurring in 2007, which affected eighty percent of the state. The state is also home to La Venta, the major site of the Olmec civilization, considered to be the origin of later Mesoamerican cultures. Even though it produces significant quantities of petroleum and natural gas, poverty is still a concern.
context_section_description: Anti-Díaz sentiment began in the decade of 1900 with efforts to keep Bandala from being re-elected. The first vocal opponent to the Díaz regime in Tabasco was local journalist Domingo Borrego. In Huimangullo, Chontalpa, the first "Club Anti reelection Melchor Ocampo" was formed to oppose the government but it was disbanded quickly. By 1909, there were a number of large protests in the state which led to the formation of the Gutierrista Party, headed by Ignacio Gutierrez Gomes along with two brothers. These and others in the state joined forces politically with Francisco I. Madero and a new Club Anti-reelecionista was formed in Huimanguillo. These efforts succeeded in defeating Bandala and replacing him with Policarpo Valenzuela, calming the situation in the state for a short while. After Madero was assassinated, the politics of the state fractured, with various factions vying for the governor's position leading to insurrection and frequent government changes who were allied with the various armies vying for power nationally.
  Another important episode in the history of the state was the governorship of Tomás Garrido Canabal after the end of the Revolution. He was elected in 1922, allied with Mexican presidents Obregón and later Calles. He implemented an ambitious socialist program, organizing unions and consolidating power though his Radical Socialist Party (Partido Socialista Radical). He reestablished the state's teachers’ college and established a system of rural schools. Livestock-raising increased and general economic levels rose. He prohibited the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in the state. An atheist, he persecuted the Catholic Church, destroying various churches including the Tabasco Cathedral. Events relating to this were portrayed in the novel The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. He organized "cultural assemblies with the aim of persuading people away from religion, sometimes burning images of saints. He even forbade the use of crosses on graves and changed the names of towns and ranches to rid them of religious references. Unlike other parts of the country, there was little resistance against this repression of the church and the success of Garrido's dissuasion left a vacuum, which was later filled by missionaries from Protestant and Evangelical groups." His tenure as governor ended in 1935, when he was appointed the federal Secretary of Agriculture and he appointed Aureo L. Calles to take over. Opponents of Garrido declared this a violation of due process and held their own elections. Supporters of Garrido tried to stop the election, resulting in shooting and twelve dead.
  In the 1950s, Carlos A. Madrazo became governor; he promoted large public works, agricultural and industrial projects, and initiated exploration for petroleum. The highway along the Gulf Coast linking eastern Tabasco with Veracruz and the Yucatan Peninsula was completed in 1956. During the same decade, a museum dedicated to the La Venta archeological site was founded by Carlos Pellicer.
  In the 1960s and 1970s, the educational system was modernized, instituting free breakfasts for students. Infrastructure projects improved or created docks, roads, monuments and sporting facilities mostly in the capital and municipal seats. Agriculture was the focus of programs called Plan Chontalpa and Plan Balacán-Tenosique and free health care clinics were built in rural areas.
  Oil and natural gas were discovered at this time and in 1974, the development of these resources began. The petroleum boom produced great wealth, but there have been disputes over the money earned from the facilities owned by PEMEX, the nation's oil company. The industry has put pressure on the state's infrastructure, housing and supplies of basic necessities. New roads, bridges and a modern airport have been constructed with oil money, along with a Centro de Investigaciones de la Cultura Olmeca y Maya, el Teatro del Estado, a planetarium and a convention center in the capital. The PEMEX facilities have caused environmental damage, and damage to local farmers’ crops.
caption: Group of revolutionaries from Tabasco
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