Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza

Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza (27 January 1875 – 13 July 1942) was a Mexican journalist, feminist, professor, and activist. She was an author of radical feminist literature and contributed to leftist newspapers including El Diario del Hogar and El Hijo del Ahuizote. Considered a prominent female writer and participant in the Mexican Revolution, she was outspoken in her criticism of the Catholic church and Porfiriato through her newspaper Vesper.

Early life
Juana Belen Gutierrez de Mendoza (née Chavez) was born on January 27, 1875, in San Juan del Rio, Durango, Mexico. Her father, Santiago Gutierrez Lomeli was originally from Jalisco and worked as a farm worker in an estate in San Pedro del Gallo, Durango. Her mother, Orfiria Chavez, was a devout woman with indigenous Caxcan roots from the region of Juchipila in Zacatecas. Although not much is known about her parents, it is theorized that her father was a protestant which allowed Juana to grow up without adhering to traditional gender roles and stereotypes of the time. Juana and her sister were allowed to attend their local school after a teacher, “Don Felipe” convinced her parents. In 1888 or 1889, the family moved to the capital of Durango to work in the estate of an elite Lopez Negrete family. Following her father’s sudden death, Juana worked as a servant in Durango.

In 1892, at the age of 17, she married a miner, Cirilo Mendoza, and they moved to Sierra Mojada, Coahuila. Her husband worked as a mineral scraper in the “La Esmeralda” mine. They had three children, Santiago, whose birth and death date are unknown, Laura (b. 1895-1975) and Julia (b.1899-1993). Juana worked as a seamstress, making denim clothes for the miners, and contributed to sustaining her family by helping with her husband’s labor duties. After her husband's sudden death in 1909, she became solely responsible for her family and purchased mine stocks and goat herd to sell milk for income.

Early Activism
Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza was initially inspired to begin her journalism career after witnessing the hardships Mexican miners faced while working at the "La Esmeralda" mine in Coahuila, Mexico. As a result of the poor working conditions, she would go on to utilize three prominent Mexican opposition newspapers, Chinaco, Diario del Hogar, and Hijo de Ahuizote, in order to publish a series of anonymous articles criticizing the company that operated the mine. This activism would not go unchallenged as infuriated by the criticisms levied against them; the mining company enlisted the Mexican government's help to uncover the anonymous writer's identity. In 1897, their request for aid paid off as Mexican officials uncovered Gutiérrez de Mendoza's identity and imprisoned her in Minas Nuevas, Chihuahua. Despite this development, Gutiérrez de Mendoza was widely admired by the miners and citizens of the area, of which approximately twenty would go on to sign a petition asking for her release. Her stay at Minas Nuevas would not be her only stint in jail; however, it was this first imprisonment that catalyzed her radicalization, as it solidified her opposition to the Mexican Government. During this period, Mexico was under the leadership of Porfirio Díaz, whose presidency spanned over three decades and was characterized by the country's rapid modernization, which included infrastructure improvements and increased foreign investment. Concurrently, his tenure was marked by challenges to political freedoms and increasing economic disparities among the population.

In May 1901, she founded an anti-Díaz newspaper called Vésper. She attacked the clergy in Guanajuato and wrote against foreign domination in Mexico. She also wrote against the Díaz regime and criticized Díaz for not carrying out the requests and needs of the people. As a result, her newspaper was confiscated and she was also put in jail several times by Díaz between 1904 and 1920. She established a new newspaper called El Desmonte (1900-1919) and continued her writings. She encouraged workers and peasants to vote as she wrote “not to integrate power, but to disintegrate it, as a means of forming, not a new oligarchy but of transforming the oligarchies into truly public administrations.” She argued that the Mexican Population could not count on the leadership of political parties given that they wanted to obtain office in order to protect their own interests. To propagate liberation ideology throughout Mexico, Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza translated the works of Peter Kropotkin, Mikhail Bakunin, and Pierre Joseph Proudhon to Spanish.

Activism During Revolution
During the Revolution on March 16, 1911, Congress announced the suspension of individual rights. Meanwhile in Mexico City, a group of urban intellectuals including Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza, Dolores Jiménez and Muro, Santiago Orozco, Camilo Arriaga, Gildardo Magaña, and Jose Vasconcelos, planned a rebellion against the military in support of Francisco I. Madero. Madero was a hopeful presidential candidate that was to take over Porfirio’s presidency post-revolution. The collective group had originally planned “El Complot,” in the town of Tacubaya in San Diego. Involving both civilians and military personnel, the news of the plan began to spread quickly throughout the town. Leading for the plan to be eventually found out by government officials on March 27, 1911. After the main leaders of the planned rebellion were uncovered, they were taken directly to prison. This included Juana Belén and the rest of the aforementioned group. Although this wasn’t the first time Juana Belén was sent to prison, it was the first time she was sent during the Mexican Revolution.

On top of the planned rebellion, the group had also put together a separate plan of action this time revolving around protesting in support of social reforms. "The Political and Social Plan," proclaiming for the states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Puebla and the Federal District” aimed to unrecognized the current president and vice president and expressed a wish of support for Madero by the cabinet. Madero was to be elected into office by the people’s vote and not by Porfirio’s set precedents of corruption and organizations running in his favor. This social plan aimed to protect the people’s vote but especially tried to protect the indigenous population of Mexico who had often been marginalized and taken advantage of. Juana Belén's passion of helping indigenous people feel heard and empowered influenced many of the proposed points in this plan as well as her support to improve job workers rights. She strongly advocated for an increase in wages for both men and women and a reduction of labor hours one had to work throughout the week.

In 1913, after Madero was democratically elected as President, Victoriano Huerta became the 39th President of Mexico via coup. Huerta ordered that Juana Belén be arrested because of her association to activism and her ongoing fight for democracy. After she was released from prison, she aligned herself with the Zapatistas. During this time she also established a newspaper called, La Reforma, which aimed to further support the indigenous population. In 1916, as she continued writing and publishing articles during the Revolution, Juana Belén was arrested once again this time by the government of Carranza. She was labeled a “Zapatista convicta,” and was sentenced to ten months in prison.

Later, Juana Belén took part in establishing many feminist organizations in her state along with other intellectual women that she had met while pursuing her activism work during the Mexican Revolution. Juana Belén along with Elena Torres, Evelyn T. Roy, Thoberg de Haberman, María del Refugio García, and Estela Carrasco, were all a part of the “Consejo Nacional para las Mujeres,” during October 1919. Juana Belén occupied the presidential role in this organization. She also heavily participated in the “Frente Único Pro-Derechos de la Mujer,” organization where her work there would later be highlighted as one of her most influential forms of activism.

Activism Post-Revolution
Juan Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza's journalistic career, spanning over 45 years, continued to flourish after the end of the Mexican Revolution. Her relentless efforts in challenging oppressive systems were pivotal in advocating for the marginalized communities of Mexico's new and changing societal dynamics. This postwar period saw the government's renewed interest in recognizing and valuing its indigenous roots. This shift inspired Gutiérrez de Mendoza to adjust her own activism and literary approach to align with these new national goals.

Upon returning to Mexico City in 1922, she rapidly adapted to the nation's evolving social and political environment. She became actively involved in establishing organizations like Acción Femenil and the Consejo Nacional de Mujeres Mexicanas. Her contributions to these organizations highlight her dedication to feminist causes and her desire for progression toward gender equality.

Gutiérrez de Mendoza also found herself supporting the government's efforts to reconnect with indigenous traditions as she participated in the Maestra rural movement. This initiative aimed to integrate the many local indigenous communities into Mexico's new emerging national identity and economic framework. Her work in the Jalisco and Zacatecas regions, home to the Caxcan Indians, was particularly noteworthy, resulting in her being named an inspector of rural schools in 1923.

However, despite her success in the program, Gutiérrez de Mendoza's journey as a rural teacher was not wholly positive. As time went on, she became increasingly critical of the program's policies, voicing concerns about its detrimental effects on indigenous communities and the potential risk of cultural erasure. Driven by her deep frustration with the government's colonization efforts through its educational system, she established the Consejo de los Caxcanes in Juchipila, Zacatecas, between 1922 and 1923. As the council's director, she penned a critical treatise titled "¡Por la tierra y por la raza!" in 1924, a literary work that directly challenged the policies of the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) and its leadership, highlighting the issues of cultural assimilation and the marginalization of indigenous communities.

In the 1930s, her activism centered on women's education and societal roles, emphasizing motherhood and the identity of the indigenous population in Mexico. As a writer, she produced significant works during this period, including "Preliminares de Combate" in February 1935, "Camisas de Colores" in March 1935, and "La República Femenina" in 1936, which critiqued government policies and military practices, promoting a concept of maternal feminism. She also served as the director of the Escuela Industrial Femenina "Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez," from 1937 to 1940, demonstrating her dedication to her educational and feminist ideals. Despite facing obstacles, including being dismissed from her directorial position, she persisted in her writing and publishing efforts. Her strong belief in the indigenous population as the cornerstone of the Mexican nation and her adherence to these values throughout her career marked her as a significant mestiza rhetorician in Mexican history.

Writings
Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza's first articles focused on the treatment of miners. She published articles anonymously in several Mexican newspapers like El Diario de Hogar, Hilo de Ahuizote, and Chinaco. After authorities discovered that Gutierrez de Mendoza was behind these articles she was arrested and imprisoned in Minas Nuevas, Chihuahua in 1897.

After her release she sold her goat herd and acquired a printing press in the city in which she began her own newspaper Vésper: Justicia y Libertad in 1901. The first articles published in Vésper were anti-government and against the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Vésper was valuable for people to gain information as well as a resource for public opinion. One of they key goals of Vésper was to enlighten the public on the issues regarding Porfirio Diaz. The content of the articles was shocking for government officials to read especially since it was written by a woman. Women would usually write articles regarding lifestyle, reproduction, recipes, or advice. Vésper was seen as a Mexican liberalist and anarchist communist newspaper. Vésper was shut down around 40 times by the Mexican government which forced Gutiérrez de Mendoza to print in multiple locations like Guanajuato, Mexico City, and San Antonio, Texas. In 1903, Porfirio Diaz confiscated Vésper, detained its editors which included Gutiérrez de Mendoza. Gutiérrez de Mendoza was forced to print Vésper in Texas in 1904 due to the confiscation by Diaz. In 1905 she returned to Mexico and continued printing Vésper from Mexico City.

Gutiérrez de Mendoza also partook in co-writing articles with other Mexican journalists like Laureana Wright de Kleinhans and Hermila Galindo. They would co-write articles for Las Hijas de Anáhuac. These articles were focused on women giving women space in creating a national identity. Most of these articles were centered around battling mestizaje. Mestizaje was a political idea that was formed by Jose Vasconcuelos through his book La Rasa Cosmica. Gutiérrez de Mendoza would neglect the term mestiza in her writings and emphasize indigenous culture. The Catholic Church has strong beliefs that aligned with mestizaje and pushed for mistreatment of indigenous people which is why Gutiérrez de Mendoza would write against the church. Gutiérrez de Mendoza would use memories that she had of the mistreatment indigenous slaves and miners to form her tone throughout her articles. This caused her articles to have a confrontational and revolutionary effect. In June 15, 1919, Gutiérrez de Mendoza released a new newspaper named El Desmonte she claimed that Vésper was "overly dreamy and overly idealistic" the change in the name would reflect the changes in her perspective. El Desmonte was meant to be stern and clear. She claimed that "El Desmonte will be written with ax blows, and the ax sometimes decapitates".