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The Magonista Rebellion of 1911 took place in Baja California and was orchestrated by the Partido Liberal Mexicano and the International Workers of the World in an attempt to overthrow Porfirio Díaz, the dictator of Mexico at that time. It was based on anarchist ideals and attempted to return the land to the indigenous peoples who originally resided in those areas. The rebellion ultimately failed.

Overview
The Magonista Rebellion of 1911 was a part of the Mexican Revolution, and was aided and led by insurgent groups in America, namely the Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM) and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Its goal was to liberate Baja California. It also supported migrant workers' rights, both in Mexico and in Southwest America. Despite local sympathy and support from both Baja California and Southern California radicals, the rebels were low in number, and had little funding for ammunition. Although the rebellion captured a few border towns in Northern Baja California, it failed to achieve what it set out to do. It was led by Ricardo Flores Magón and the PLM. Although the rebellion failed, Magón's nationalist and anarchist ideologies persisted through the Mexican Revolution.

PLM’s leaders and allies
The tensions that led to the rebellion was due in part to preexisting tensions between conservative and radical parties in Southern California and Northern Mexico. The PLM supported the Mexican Revolution, the overthrow of Porfirio Díaz’s dictatorship, the liberation of Baja California, and the welfare of indigenous peoples. They were also against American investment in Baja California, something they viewed as another form of imperialism. The PLM received a wide range of support from radical groups based in Southern California. Many American conservatives in California were alarmed at the amount of support the PLM and the Magón brothers received, as well as the possibility of losing their land should the anarchists rebel. This incited further racial, political, and social tensions, as the interests of both groups collided.

Preceding the revolution, the Magón brothers, Ricardo and Enrique Magón, were exiled from Mexico due to their criticisms of Díaz as well as their calls for social reforms. However, this did not stop their attempts to stir up a revolution against Díaz. The Magón brothers moved PLM’s headquarters to Los Angeles, where many were "seething with social discontent," said Emma Goldman, fellow anarchist and social reformist. Here, the PLM found allies in many other left-wing groups, such as the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the Socialists, Chicanos, and trade unionists. Through their many speeches and their general activism within the labor community, their philosophy of anarchism was widely spread. Due to their pro-union and pro-workers stance, the radicals received popular support from the majority of the labor force and from sympathetic members of their community. The PLM especially appealed to migrant workers who have experienced the harsh working conditions in Northern Mexico.

The PLM’s main ally was the IWW of Los Angeles, particularly, those who worked in the docks or were migrant workers. Those who worked on the docks were sympathetic to the cause as they approved of the militant organizing in PLM, and have consistently fought for control of the docks. According to John H. M. Laslett, they were “linked by a common interest in anarcho-syndicalist doctrine, grassroots militancy, and working-class internationalism.” The IWW, as well as the Socialist Party, helped start the revolution by funding the PLM.

Conservatives
California operated under the open shop policy, much to the dismay of workers and union groups. This created tension between the labor force and business owners and helped developed an atmosphere where social radicalism was encouraged amongst workers. Due to their high capital investments in Southern California and Baja California, the radicals' agenda and public support alarmed many conservatives. They feared they would lose their land and property if the Magón brothers succeeded in inciting their revolution. This prompted many conservatives to publicly decry their disapproval and fear of the insurgent population, which intensified the divide between the two parties.

Media helped fuel this divide as well. The Los Angeles Times, one of the conservative papers during that time period, called supporters of Ricardo and Enrique Flores Magón, “greasers” and “wild-eyed-anarchists with smoking bombs in hand.” The Regeneración, a revolutionary newspaper, published left-wing philosophy, and asked the public for support during the Mexican Revolution.

The Rebellion
By 1906, the PLM had many operations in Mexico, the U.S. Southwest, as well as Southern California. Their second organized uprising, which was to take place in Mexico in June 1908, failed due to the Los Angeles Police Department's preemptive arrests. The Magón brothers were arrested under charges of treason and murder, but were released after a trial showed that the charges were unsubstantial. The arrest however, stirred up local support in Los Angeles, and hundreds of protesters, including the leaders of many labor groups, rallied around the two brothers. This wide support created backlash from American conservatives as well as right-winged newspapers, who shamed the public for their support.

After their release, the Magón brothers and the PLM organized another rebellion. They planned to liberate Baja California from Díaz and California land owners, and return that land to the indigenous people who previously lived there. However, despite the popular support the PLM received from either side of the border, the movement failed to recruit actual volunteers to fight in the revolution. In addition to this, the rebels were armed with little ammunition and had little funding to buy ammunition with. With a few hundred volunteers, the rebels in Baja California captured Mexicali on January 29, 1911 under the leadership of Jose Maria Leyva and Simon Berthold. Following this, many border towns in Northern Baja California were captured, including Tecate and Tijuana.

In March, Berthold marched his insurgents from Mexicali to El Alamo, during which he was shot. His wound eventually killed him in April of 1911. Following this, the revolution was stalled due to the lack of volunteers, the lack of ammunition, and in part, due to Berthold's death. The rebellion finally died out when the Mexican Federal forces reclaimed Tijuana.

Conservatives’ Growing Distrust
The revolt failed to achieve its goal of liberating Baja California, but it showcased the popularity of radical groups. This was a great concern to Californian conservatives, who were still staunch supporters of the open shop policy, which suppressed unions and workers' rights in favor of business owners' rights. The possibility of an insurgent movement occurring in California cemented conservative attitudes towards both the immigrant population and the working classes. Faced with the threat of losing land investments, capital, as well as possible revenues, the conservatives only voiced their dismay louder. Following this episode, conservatives will associate the Mexican insurgents with the many labor strikes in Los Angeles. This will contribute to the “brown scare” in Los Angeles, in which the immigrant population were discriminated against and mistreated. Xenophobic and racial tensions rose in California.

Magons’ Arrests
Following the invasion of these border towns, the Magón brothers were arrested again by the LAPD on the charge of failing to abide by United States neutrality laws. They were convicted on July, 1912 and were sentenced to twenty-three months in jail. Despite many working for Ricardo Flores Magón's release, he died in jail on November 21st, 1922.

Fall of the Leftists
After Díaz’s fall from power, the rise of a new president, and increased suspicions from the conservatives, the radicals' power in Southern California diminished greatly. The PLM split into factions following the arrest of the Magón brothers. One faction still supported the Magón brothers, while the other faction supported the new president of Mexico. In addition to this, the alliances the radicals had formed prior to the revolution fell apart, and many Los Angeles trade union movements disintegrated as well.