To what extent did Lázaro Cárdenas advance the renewal of the revolution?

The question requires that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the suggestion that Lázaro Cárdenas advanced the renewal of the revolution. Candidates may claim that Cárdenas consolidated the relationship between government and the working class by giving workers participation in the management of public companies and implementing corporatism. They may argue that he limited foreign influence by nationalizing the oil industry, expropriating the railways and placing them under workers’ administration. Candidates may evaluate Cárdenas’s education policies. Schooling became compulsory and free while special education programmes for the indigenous populations were implemented. They may also refer to Cárdenas land redistribution programme and argue, however significant, it could not end inequality. Candidates may argue that Cárdenas was not revolutionary as his reforms aimed at improving, rather than changing, conditions. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the suggestion that Lázaro Cárdenas advanced the renewal of the revolution. This was selected with some frequency and most candidates were able to base their analysis on the elements of the extent to which Cardenas fulfilled the expectations of the 1917 Constitution. Better responses differentiated the reforms as to some which Cardenas was able to renew and others that he failed to advance.