User:Flamingo511/Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza/Purplelily21 Peer Review

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Whose work are you reviewing? Flamingo511

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Link to draft you're reviewing User:Flamingo511/Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza

Link to the current version of the article (if it exists) Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza

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(Compose a detailed peer review here, considering each of the key aspects listed above if it is relevant. Consider the guiding questions, and check out the examples of what feedback looks like.)

Overall, your article is very strong and does a good job expanding on the already existing article. You provide a lot of additional context and information absent from the original article. Additionally, it is presented in the format and tone of an informational, encyclopedia article, which is important for this project. I think the biggest suggestion I have is to include a section on her activism right before and during the revolution. Right now, you do cover a lot of this information on the section on writing but it feels disjointed when you move from her early activism to her later activism without discussing this in between period until later. I think you should consider moving the section on writing to be in between the two I've mentioned and renaming it go along with change. Additionally, you might think about making your sub-headers (early life, early activism, etc.) main headers themselves and not under the broader header of biography. I've also noted a few smaller suggestions/corrections throughout the text. I've made comments in parenthesis and in bold. Let me know if you have any questions! - Sara

Biography[edit]

[Our work expands on an existing article, Juana Belen Gutierrez de Mendoza]

Juana Belen Gutiérrez de Mendoza (1875 - 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. (Good job expanding the lead section)

Early Life[edit]

Juana Belen Gutierrez de Mendoza (née Chavez) was born on January 27th, 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[edit]

Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza was inspired to begin her journalism career after witnessing the hardships miners faced at the "La Esmeralda" mine. By using three prominent Mexican opposition newspapers, Chinaco, Diario del Hogar, and Hijo de Ahuizote, Gutiérrez de Mendoza was able to publish a series of anonymous articles criticizing these conditions. However, Mendoza's activism would not go unanswered as infuriated by the criticisms levied against them; the mining company enlisted the help of the Mexican government in order to uncover the identity of the anonymous writer. In 1897, this request for aid paid off as Mexican officials uncovered Gutiérrez de Mendoza's identity and imprisoned her in Minas Nuevas, Chihuahua. Despite these threats and attacks, Gutierrez de Mendoza was admired by the miners and citizens of the area, (this should start a new sentence of be followed by a - instead) approximately twenty signed a petition asking for her release following the arrest. It was this imprisonment that catalyzed Gutiérrez de Mendoza's radicalization, as it solidified her opposition to the Mexican Government. (May be helpful to elaborate a little on what the Porfiriato was/who was in charge of the Mexican government)

Activism Post-Revolution[edit] (Feel like you could also include a section about activism during/before the Revolution. You talk about this period more in the next section on writing but right now it feels a little disjointed to jump right from early activism to later activism without everything in between)

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[edit]

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 Juana Belen 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 viable (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. (maybe elaborate on these issues) 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".