Revolutionary Mexicanist Action
Mexican political party / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Revolutionary Mexicanist Action (Spanish: Acción Revolucionaria Mexicanista), better known as the Gold Shirts (Camisas Doradas), was a Mexican fascist, secular, anti-Semitic, anti-communist, ultra-nationalist paramilitary organization, originated in September 1933 in Mexico City and operated until disbanded in 1936. With ultra-nationalist, strikebreaking roots and Nazi German support, the organization sought to expel Chinese, Jews, and communists from Mexico. The organization often violently engaged with labor movements associated with the Mexican Communist Party and with labor strikers.[1][2][3][4][5]
Revolutionary Mexicanist Action Acción Revolucionaria Mexicanista | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | ARM |
Leader | Nicolás Rodríguez Carrasco |
Leader of Women's Faction | Leonor Gutiérrez |
Founder | Nicolás Rodríguez Carrasco |
Founded | 25 September 1933; 90 years ago (1933-09-25)[1] |
Banned | February 27, 1936 |
Membership (1936) | ~60,000 |
Ideology | Ultranationalism Fascism Nazism Secularism Anti-communism Antisemitism Anti-Chinese sentiment |
Political position | Far-right |
Slogan | Mexico for Mexicans |
Nicolás Rodríguez Carrasco, a brigadier general under Pancho Villa in the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution, led the group during its most active period. Many founding members of the paramilitary had also been veterans of the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920. Members were known as "the Gold Shirts", a name reminiscent of Villa's elite soldiers whom he referred to as "los dorados" (the golden ones).[2][3]
Operating under the motto of "Mexico for Mexicans", the organization called for the expulsion of Jews and Chinese from Mexico. The Gold Shirts advocated the seizure of Chinese- and Jewish-owned businesses.[3] They also fiercely opposed labor movements and often clashed with members of the Mexican Communist Party. The group was very active in union busting, with the Gold Shirts instigating violent clashes with strikers.[3][2]
The organization received financial support from the Nazi Party of Nazi Germany, from the National Fascist Party of Italy, and from Mexican industrialists such as Eugenio Garza Sada (1892–1973). The Gold Shirts also received political protection from ex-president Plutarco Elías Calles (in office from 1924 to 1928), who vehemently opposed the Cárdenas government[3][6][7] (in office from 1934 to 1940).