1935 Revolution Day Zócalo Battle

Mass nationwide labor strikes had been occurring in Mexico the since the early 1930s. Labor movements and organizations had amassed a considerable amount of popular and political support. The Revolutionary Mexicanist Action, better known as the Gold Shirts, was a fascist far-right wing paramilitary founded in 1933. Composed primarily of ex-militaries and strikebreakers, the organization was financially supported by industrialists such as Eugenio Garza Sada and politically protected by Plutarco Elías Calles. The Gold Shirts were known for their violent union busting, anti-Semitic and anti-Chinese rhetoric, and extortion of students, workers, farmers, as well as smaller industrialists. By early 1935, the group had garnered a negative reputation among the general public. Multiple labor organizations consistently held rallies calling for politicians to have the organization dissolved. Coupled with the increasing amount of labor strikes, violent clashes between the Gold Shirts and labor organizations had been increasing in frequency in the months leading to the riot. The incident was widely condemned across the country. In the following weeks, several demonstrations and protests were held by trade union organizations and leftist figures calling for the dissolution of the Gold Shirts. Many of these demonstrations often broke out in physical fights between the two groups including a shoot out on August 19 between the Gold Shirts and workers in Tizapan, Álvaro Obregón. The Mexican delegation to the Seventh World Congress of the Comintern drafted a letter proposing a platform in which included the dissolution of the Revolutionary Mexicanist Action paramilitary. The letter also called for the expulsion of supporters of Elías Calles from the government. == Revolution Day ==

, dated November 20, 1935 Planning On November 19, Rodríguez Carrasco announced the Revolutionary Mexicanist Action was to participate in the Revolution Day festival. Rodríguez Carrasco stated the group was to parade and march in front of the National Palace in a display of power against President Cárdenas. Parade and clash 's Metropolitan Tabernacle The Revolution Day parade went on as planned with many organizations participating at the Zócalo. On the central balcony of the National Palace stood President Lázaro Cárdenas's secretary, Luis I. Rodríguez, who was overlooking the celebration on the president's behalf. Directly below the balcony were thirty parked cars serving as improvised tribunes for the Communist Party's more radical figures, among which was painter David Alfaro Siqueiros. The cars were manned by members of the United Front of Workers of the Steering Wheel. == Aftermath ==

The following day, El Universal reported 50 injured and 3 killed while El Nacional reported a total of 47 injured and 2 killed. Among the injured was ARM leader Rodriguez Carrasco. --> Political On November 22, senators Ernesto Soto Reyes and Guillermo Flores Muñoz condemned the Gold Shirts for the incident and called for a formation of a commission to ban the group. In his speech, Soto Reyes state the organization was composed of "irresponsible straw-men" and called into question their legitimacy. He asserted the organization did not represent any union or worker's interests and therefore did not contravene any legal statue by requesting its prohibition. By February 1936, a considerable amount of pressure was put onto President Cárdenas to ban the Revolutionary Mexicanist Action. This followed an incident where the Gold Shirts engaged in a gun battle with police during an anti-communist demonstration in Monterrey. On February 27, 1936, President Cárdenas decreed that the Revolutionary Mexicanist Action was illegal. ==References==