Contentious voices amid the order: The Porfirian press in Mexico City, 1876-1911

Abstract

The Porfirian press in Mexico City (1876-1911) presents an ideal case study for late nineteenth-century Mexican society. This particular epoch in Mexican history represented a time of fundamental change as the country emerged from nearly a half century of chaos and internecine strife into a modern, prosperous and orderly county. For the historian of this important and transforming era, newspapers serve as cultural mirrors, providing images that allow us to see, interpret and understand this society. In this role as cultural actors, the Porfirian press served five defining roles: it was a power resource with the potential to influence, shape and control society; it was the arena where the social, economic and political events of society were publicly acted out; it was the source of the definitions and images that comprised the shared reality; it designated fame and celebrity status to individuals in that society; and it set the parameters of what was normal and abnormal in that society. This study of Porfirian newspapers in Mexico City reveals three fundamental aspects: capital society was highly diverse and contentious, Mexico City residents faced divergent social and political problems and these newspapers mirrored a changing and modernizing nation--they not only chronicled this transformation, they were directly part of it.