The Mentor and the Protege

About the Book

In a large and dramatic way, the Mexican Revolution brought two men to the presidency of that nation: Plutarco Calles and Lázaro Cárdenas. Both were idealists. Both made profound, occasionally bloody, contributions to the stability of a war-weary nation.

This is the story, told as a novel, that traces the long friendship between the two revolutionary giants, beginning with their respective childhoods—a generation apart and rarely examined. Calles, the older of the two, grew up as the bastard child of a produce vender’s daughter and a non-Catholic father. The rigid religious demands of both families shaped his hostile attitude toward the Mexican Church. Cárdenas, with an Indian heritage, grew up obsessed with a mission to better the lives of Mexico’s Indians, an exploited underclass. The story goes on to tell of their battles and victories as revolutionary generals.

A major achievement of the Calles-Cárdenas collaboration was the political stability it brought to Mexico. What began in an environment of violence and shifting alliances ended in the nonviolent transfer of presidential power. Over the course of these two men’s lives, and greatly due to their efforts, political parties became the nonviolent alternative to civil war, even as their changing political goals eroded their friendship. The consequences had elements of a Greek tragedy.

About the Author