The Porfiriato: The stability and growth Mexico needed

The presidency of Porfirio Diaz is often remembered as a period of social degradation and oppression of freedoms in Mexico. His extensive thirty-five year virtual dictatorship brought about a great deal of hardship for the lower classes and an inequitable system of wealth distribution. This image of Porfirio Diaz as a ruthless despot has become an almost impenetrable one in the post-revolutionary Mexican tradition. However, what is often overlooked or unaddressed are the immense economic and social benefits that were still brought about under his rule. Through massive infrastructural improvement programs, superb financial management, and an unrelenting desire to see the implementation of law and order, Porfirio Diaz brought much prosperity and stability to Mexico when it needed it most. Stability, an expression rarely uttered in discussions of Mexican history, was implemented at all costs under Diaz—no small feat considering the near century of political and judicial disorder that preceded his rule. This essay in no way intends to justify the oppressive policies of Diaz, nor excuse the suffering of the lower classes he brought about. Rather, it intends to provide a more balanced view of his rule; bringing to light the more beneficial economic and social policies he implemented that would bring Mexico into the modern, twentieth century world