During the 1930s Mexico was undergoing a healing process after three decades of revolutionary turmoil and reform. In this climate, the coming of World War II became a major turning point in the legacy of the Mexican Revolution, offering the country a unique opportunity to unite against a common external enemy. The war also thrust the nation into an international forum as Germany and the United States launched propaganda campaigns to win over the Mexican people.

 

In ¡México, la patria! Monica A. Rankin examines the pervasive domestic and foreign propaganda strategies in Mexico during World War II and their impact on Mexican culture, charting the evolution of these campaigns through popular culture, advertisements, art, and government publications throughout the war and beyond. In particular, Rankin shows how World War II allowed the wartime government of Ávila Camacho to justify an aggressive industrialization program following the Mexican Revolution. Finally, tracing how the American government’s wartime propaganda laid the basis for a long-term effort to shape Mexican attitudes toward the country’s neighbor to the north, ¡México, la patria! reveals the increasing influence of American culture on the development of Mexico’s postwar identity.

Monica A. Rankin is an assistant professor of history at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is the author of the Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture: The Search for National Identity, 1820s–1900.

" Rankin's book is a welcome addition to the field of postrevolutionary Mexican studies. . . . Hopefully, her study will serve as a basis for future studies that seek to broaden our understanding of the ways in which propaganda was received at the local level. "—Andrae Marak, H-Net

"Monica Rankin offers a reminder from a new generation that much remains to be examined about Latin America and World War II."—Friedrich E. Schuler, The Americas

"Rankin's central premise that the U.S. and Mexican governments use propaganda to rally popular support for the war lends itself to comparative analysis of other countries during World War II or other wars. And, in today's wartime era, this makes Rankin's book timely and essential reading for historians of modern Mexico and U.S.-Mexican relations."—John J. Dwyer, American Historical Review