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Vicente Lombardo Toledano was the founder of numerous labour union organisations in Mexico and Latin America between the 1920s and the 1960s. He was not only an organiser but also a broker between the unions, the government, and business leaders—an almost singular figure able to disentangle difficult, seemingly irreconcilable conflicts. He cooperated closely with the governments of Mexico and other Latin American nations and worked with the representatives of the Soviet Union when he considered it useful. This willingness to work across ideological divides meant that he was alternately seen as a government stooge or a communist, even though he was never a member of the Communist Party nor of any Mexican government administration.
Daniela Spenser's rousing new biography of Lombardo Toledano is the first to be based on his extensive private papers. In addition to this unprecedented access, Spenser also draws on primary sources from European, Mexican and American archives, and on extensive personal interviews. Her even-keeled portrayal of the man counters both previous hagiographies and vilifications that have come before it.
“Spenser provides a highly readable portrait of Lombardo Toledano, deftly navigating the complexities of Mexican domestic politics and global ideological crosscurrents. She is remarkably balanced, giving us insights into her subjects worldview while not hesitating to present him in a critical light. [...] In Combat offers a clear and coherent view of a figure who stood at the heart of Mexicos twentieth century.”
—Tony Wood, Hispanic American Historical Review
“Few figures loom larger in the history of twentieth-century Mexico – save perhaps presidents and revolutionary fighters – than labor leader Vicente Lombardo Toledano [...] In a field crowded with hagiographic biographies, there is no one better suited to an objective accounting of the life of Lombardo Toledano than Spenser.”
—Christy Thornton, The Americas
“There is no doubt that Spenser has written a tome that will be cited for years to come.”
—Nathan Ellstrand, H-Net Reviews
“Daniela Spenser deconstructs Lombardo Toledano’s hagiography without representing him as a historical villain.”
—Colby Ristow, Latin American Research Review
Daniela Spenser is a professor at Centro de Investigaciones у Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social in Mexico City. Her research focuses on the history of communism and the Cold War in Mexico and Latin America.
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part 1 Changing Times and Ideas
1 Family
1
The Village
2
Children
3
Vicente Lombardo Toledano
4
The Wise Man
5
The Family
2 Knowledge and Power
1
Renewal
2
The Break
3
On the Campaign Trail
4
From the Government Palace
5
On the Road to the Chamber of Deputies
6
The Trip
7
The Polemical Dispute
8
Ideological Passion
3 Exodus
1
In the CROM
2
Collapse
3
The Labour Law
4
The Road to the Left
Part 2 Crusades
4 A Journey into the World of the Future
1
The Preparations
2
The Trip
3
Different Perspectives
4
Back in Mexico
5
The President and the Leader
6
The Gide Case
5 The Foundations of the Nation
1
The Preparations
2
The First Pillar
3
Into Action
4
The Schism
5
Disunity
6
The President and the Leader
6 A Continental Feat
1
In Santiago de Chile
2
The Planning
3
In the United States
4
In Europe
5
The Founding Congress
6
To the Attack
Part 3 War: Threshold of a Better World?
7 Fight Fascism!
1
The Defeat of the Spanish Republic
2
Exile
3
Face to Face with Leon Trotsky
4
The Pact and Its Violation
5
In Soviet Intelligence
6
The Undesirable Anti-fascists
8 The Illusory Unity
1
On the Campaign Trail
2
The Victory
3
The Farewell
4
The Re-election
5
The Elusive Unity
9 The Fragile Harmony
1
The Latin American Panorama
2
The Congress
3
The Celebrated Trip
4
The Catavi Massacre
5
Coups and Blows
6
From Montevideo to Caracas
7
From Philadelphia to Cali
8
The Elusive Harmony
Part 4 Animosities and Confrontations
10 For the Renewal of the Nation
1
The Future
2
On the Campaign Trail
3
The Roundtable
4
Elections in the CTM
5
The Expulsion
6
The Crisis of the Nation
11 For the Spilled Blood
1
The Postwar Map
2
In London
3
In Paris
4
In the Other Europe
5
Confrontations
6
In People 's China
12 Emancipation
1
Removing Obstacles
2
On an Inspection Tour
3
In Lima
4
The Third Congress
5
The Oil Workers
6
Failed Emancipation
Part 5 On the Fronts of the Cold Peace
13 Rearmament
1
The People 's Party
2
UGOCM
3
Back on the Campaign Trail
4
Aftermath of Defeat
5
The Succession
6
The Cold Peace
14 Mission Completed
1
Anti-communist Liberalism
2
Liberal Internationalism
3
In Decline
4
The CTAL Dies in Bucharest
5
The CTAL Completed Its Historic Mission
15 The Road to 1968
1
PPS
2
Against the Current
3
On the Final Campaign Trail
4
Schism in the Party
5
1968
Epilogue: Testament and Testimonies
Bibliography and Works Cited
Index
Illustrations