“From the Dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz to the Revolution” by Siqueiros

Siqueiros’ mural, “From the Dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz to the Revolution,” demonstrates an enraged crowd of revolutionaries and working class who have become exasperated by the social and governmental issues in Mexico. Siqueiros displays three scenes in this mural starting with “The People in Arms.” In this panel, a large crowd of revolutionaries walk towards the viewer with rifles in hand. Siqueiros brings movement to the image with loose strokes around the men’s feet and in the woman’s bright red dress. Replicating the color of the woman’s dress, Siqueiros adds pieces of red throughout the image making the viewers eyes move around. Moving further back into the mural, faces become less visible and more abstract. This puts an emphasis on the revolutionary figures in the front. Moving into the center section of the mural, Siqueiros shows another large crowd. Although, this crowd moves into an active revolt compared to the previous scene that shows progression towards one. Miners from the Cananea Copper Company strike against it’s U.S. owner William C. Greene. One of the many ill-treated workers struggles at the forefront of the image with Greene over the possession of the Mexican flag. The combination of this and the unconscious miner laying in the crowd demonstrates the miners’ displeasure in the poor working conditions and less than fair pay they recieve. Lastly, to the right is the section “Porfirio Diaz, Ministers, and Courtesans.” This section has a similar structure as the other two scenes with detail in the front and more abstract figures in the background. In the forefront of the image, women dance in fancy, flowy dresses with big hats signifying their higher class. Behind the woman sits Porfirio Diaz watching them as he is surrounded by other high-class men. Diaz sits directly in the center with his foot on a book that could be interpreted as a book of legislation that he’s rejected and replaced with his dictatorship ways. His disconnect with his people and the issues of his country is shown in this image. Although, with the advancing group of revolutionaries in “The People in Arms” panel directly across, it is depicted that Diaz’s leadership will soon be challenged.