Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza (27 January 1875 – 13 July 1942) was a Mexican journalist, activist, revolutionary, and teacher. She is best known for her opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz; her writings critiquing the Mexican state; and her advocacy for the rights of women, workers, and Indigenous people. She was a significant figure during the Mexican Revolution.
Gutiérrez's career as an activist began in Sierra Mojada, Coahuila, where she wrote for several newspapers criticizing the Díaz regime. Because of a report she wrote concerning the mistreatment of mine workers, she was imprisoned for a year. After her release, she joined several liberal anti-Díaz groups and, beginning in 1898, associated with various prominent liberal figures. In 1901, she moved to the city of Guanajuato and, with Elisa Acuña, began publishing the anti-Díaz and anti-clerical periodical Vésper ( 'Evening Star') until the local archbishop seized her press, causing her to flee to Mexico City. In 1903, she was imprisoned again and later exiled to Laredo, Texas, where she briefly joined a group of other exiled dissidents before returning to Mexico.
In the years leading up to the Mexican Revolution, Gutiérrez supported Francisco I. Madero's presidential campaign against Díaz. Following Madero's arrest, Gutiérrez participated in a failed plot to seize a military installation and arrest Díaz, leading to her imprisonment until a general amnesty was declared upon Díaz's resignation. Following her release, she was invited to Morelos in late 1911 to join the Liberation Army of the South, also known as the Zapatistas, eventually becoming a colonel in the Zapatista army in 1913. Amidst the coup d'état against Madero and the subsequent rise and fall of Victoriano Huerta, Gutiérrez was imprisoned multiple times for her involvement with the Zapatista movement. She also founded the newspapers La Reforma ( 'Reform'), El Desmonte ( 'The Leveling'), and Alba ( 'Dawn').
After the revolution, Gutiérrez helped to organize several women's organizations and became a ( 'rural teacher') in the states of Jalisco and Zacatecas, advocating for Indigenous populations there. She died of cirrhosis and an ovarian cyst in 1942, at the age of 67. Her writings have been noted for their confrontational rhetoric, and historical interpretations of her life discuss the influence of liberal and anarchist ideologies on her actions, as well as her impact on women's participation in Mexican public discourse.
Early life María Juana Francisca Gutiérrez Chávez was born on 27 January 1875 in San Juan del Río, Durango, Mexico. Her father, Santiago Gutiérrez Lomelí, was a day laborer skilled in various professions who migrated north before settling in Durango. Historian Flor Vanessa Rubio speculates that he may have been a Protestant, as many northbound migrants were attracted to Protestantism and other "dissident congregations" such as Freemasonry. Her mother, Porfiria Chávez, was of Indigenous Caxcan ancestry, with family hailing from Juchipila, Zacatecas.
Gutiérrez was educated at a school on the where her father worked. According to historian Susie Porter, her mother and father were initially reluctant to allow her to attend, but were convinced by the owner, Don Felipe. Historian Beatriz Elena Valles Salas also theorizes that her father's Protestant faith may have encouraged him to support her education. In 1888 or 1889, the couple moved to the city of Durango to work on the estate of the wealthy López Negrete family. Gutiérrez worked as a maid during this time.
Gutiérrez married Cirilo Mendoza, an illiterate coal miner, at the age of 17 in 1892. Later, the couple moved to Sierra Mojada, Coahuila. There, Mendoza worked as a mineral scraper in the La Esmeralda mine, while Gutiérrez sewed clothes for the mine laborers, maintained a herd of goats, and bought shares in the mine to supplement the family's income. Gutiérrez and Mendoza had three children: Santiago, who died as an infant, Julia, and Laura. According to some sources, Mendoza died from alcohol poisoning while the couple resided in Sierra Mojada, though the actual date remains unclear.
Early activism Writing and imprisonment While living in Sierra Mojada, Gutiérrez began working as a journalist, writing for the newspapers ( 'The Home Journal'), El Hijo del Ahuizote ( 'The Son of the Ahuizotl'), and Chinaco, which all opposed the dictatorship of President Porfirio Díaz. Díaz's regime, which lasted for over three decades, was marked by industrialization and modernization, as well as economic inequality, intensified policing, increased government surveillance, and an enlarged prison system. In 1897, Gutiérrez wrote an article titled "Abusos en la Esmeralda" ( 'Abuses in La Esmeralda'), which detailed the treatment of workers at the mine. Because of this report, she was imprisoned for a year in the town of Minas Nuevas.
Gutiérrez's imprisonment increased her antipathy toward the Díaz regime. Between 1898 and 1901, she began to affiliate with various liberal groups. She joined the anti-Díaz Benito Juárez Liberal Club in 1898. Between 1900 and 1902, she also joined the Ponciano Arriaga Liberal Club, the Ignacio Zaragoza Liberal Club, and the Mexican Liberal Party. She associated regularly with liberal political figures such as Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Librado Rivera, Dolores Jiménez y Muro, and the brothers Enrique, Jesús, and Ricardo Flores Magón.
In 1901, Gutiérrez moved to the city of Guanajuato and began publishing the periodical ( 'Evening Star') in collaboration with Elisa Acuña. The periodical's motto was "" ( 'Justice and liberty'). was financed partially by the Ponciano Arriaga Liberal Club and, according to Gutiérrez, partially by the sale of her goats. In addition to criticizing the clergy and the Díaz regime in Vésper, Gutiérrez also published a Spanish-language translation of Peter Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread. Gutiérrez's criticism of the Guanajuato clergy in Vésper led the local archbishop to seize her printing press in 1901. Subsequently, in 1902, she fled to Mexico City.
Second imprisonment and exile
Gutiérrez was imprisoned again in 1903 due to pieces critical of the Díaz regime published in Vésper. She was sent to Belem Prison in Mexico City, a men's facility generally used to confine prisoners before their trials, where she continued to write for Vésper. In exchange for her release, she was exiled to Laredo, Texas, in 1904 with Acuña. She stayed with journalist Sara Estela Ramírez and joined an existing community of exiled dissidents in Laredo, including Ricardo Flores Magón.
While in Laredo, Gutiérrez continued to advocate for the rights of mine laborers and wrote for Flores Magón's newspaper, Regeneración ( 'Regeneration), as well as Vésper and La Protesta Nacional. She also came into conflict with Flores Magón, who accused her of being in a same-sex relationship with Acuña, characterizing their relationship as "putrid lesbianism". Porter argues that this accusation was meant to publicly discredit Gutiérrez and Acuña, exploiting contemporary Mexican attitudes towards sexuality to portray their politics as "perverted". Meanwhile, Gutiérrez criticized Flores Magón and his brothers for charging admission for their rallies and for their inflexible approach to socialist ideology, which she considered too Americanized and poorly suited to organizing in Mexico. As a result of this conflict, she returned to Mexico in 1905.
Support for Madero
After returning, Gutiérrez continued writing for . She also wrote for the newspaper La Corregidora, published by Sara Estela Ramírez; helped establish a newspaper titled El Partido Socialista ( 'The Socialist Party'); and collaborated with Dolores Jiménez y Muro and others to form a union federation called ( 'Mexican Socialism'). In 1907, she published an interview with Francisco I. Madero in El Partido Socialista. At the time, Madero was deeply involved in organizing opposition to the Díaz regime, including by publishing political newspapers such as El Demócrata ( 'The Democrat') and the satirical El Mosco ( 'The Mosquito'), funding other opposition papers, participating in anti-Díaz protests, and creating a liberal junta to oppose Díaz in 1905. Because of this interview, Gutiérrez was once again temporarily detained in Belem Prison.
In 1909, Gutiérrez helped to found the ( 'Friends of the People Women's Political Club') and the (). These groups sought to enhance women's political representation, advocating for the importance of women in Mexican society. She also continued to work with Madero, who was selected as the 's ( 'National Antireelectionist Party') candidate for president in April 1910. The Antireelectionists opposed Díaz's bid for a seventh term as president. They also advocated for civil rights guarantees and the expansion of public schooling. Gutiérrez organized workers on Madero's behalf and wrote in support of his campaign in Vésper:
Mexican Revolution
End of the Díaz regime
Madero was arrested on 15 June 1910, allegedly for harboring a fugitive. While imprisoned, he called for the beginning of an armed rebellion against the Díaz regime to begin on 20 November. Fighting began on the appointed day in the state of Chihuahua, marking the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. By early 1911, rebel forces had captured much of the state's countryside. On 16 March 1911, the Díaz government suspended individual liberties.
Gutiérrez, along with several others, conspired to seize control of a military installation in Tacubaya and arrest Díaz. The group's plan called for recognition of Madero as provisional president, free voting, the federalization of education, increased wages for male and female laborers, protections for Indigenous people, redistribution of property seized by the Díaz regime, and the reorganization of municipalities. The plot was discovered on 27 March, and its leaders, including Gutiérrez, were arrested and jailed in Belem Prison.
Despite this setback, rebel forces took Ciudad Juárez in the First Battle of Ciudad Juárez in May. Soon after, Díaz and his vice president, Ramón Corral, resigned, and elections were called for October. Francisco León de la Barra, who was made interim president, declared a general amnesty for crimes related to the rebellion, resulting in Gutiérrez's release. Elections were held on schedule, with Madero securing a decisive majority. He ascended to the presidency in November.
Zapatista rebellion
In late October 1911, at the invitation of her friends, Gutiérrez and her children traveled to Cuautla, Morelos, to assist the Liberation Army of the South, commonly referred to as the Zapatistas. The Zapatistas, organized by Emiliano Zapata, called for the redistribution of land and wealth to the poor. After Madero's victory, the Zapatistas refused to disarm, frustrated with his unwillingness to prioritize land reform. According to Valles Salas, Gutiérrez's decision to join the Zapatistas was motivated by a desire to reclaim her Indigenous heritage amidst the ongoing exploitation of Indigenous people in Morelos. Under the Díaz regime, Indigenous lands across Mexico, once community-controlled, were transferred to , leaving many Indigenous people trapped in a form of debt bondage. While the role of Indigenous people in the Zapatista army of this time is debated, many peasants in central Mexico identified as indigenous, Zapata maintained communication with Indigenous groups, and there is some evidence of direct Indigenous representation in the Zapatista army.