The Mexican revolution is one of those times in history where the historical accounts are so biased, it is hard to reveal the true occurrences and motivations of the time. There are legislation and facts that point out some things, but legislation can be ignored and data can be altered to prove anything desired. It is this reason that all historical accounts and factual data have been ignored and the artistic impression of the Mexican revolution was examined in its place. The novel, El Indio, by Gregorio Lopez y Fuentes, portrays the times around the Mexican revolution through the eyes of the Indian community. El Indio shows the unity within the Indian community and how little they were involved in the revolution or bettered by the results of it. Another piece of art, a mural by Diego Rivera, shows a different view of the Mexican revolution - a time of unity between all revolutionaries and a betterment for all. It is from the comparison and contrast, of minute details and images, within these two pieces of artwork, that the meaning of the Mexican revolution can be discerned.

El Indio tells a story of the Indian people, who are unified as one body more than specific individuals who watched, from a distance, the Mexican revolution and were hurt by the effects of the revolution rather than benefited. The Indian people, within the novel, have unity among themselves, supporting one another through the hardships. “They all looked alike in the first light of the moon. Their color was the same and their features identical” (63). This is a detail of the Indian people which shows their unity as a people, not individuals. When they feared repercussions of their actions they knew “a new cycle of suffering had begun...and they could survive it only if the whole tribe faced it together” (63). They faced everything together as a people, singling no one person out, and receiving the punishment together. It is also significant the novel is written with no names and very few individual identities, they are even described as a “flock,” never talking of the people but of a group (254). According to the novel, El Indio, the Indian population did not participate in the Mexican revolution. The account of the actual revolution is encased in a three page chapter. The revolution is never mentioned by name and the people fighting in the war are referred to as “cavalry” and “detachments” (197-199). One night the fighting began and “the defenders of the site were forced to retreat: so it was said by those who were by the road” (198-199). This is a good example of the distance the Indians kept from the revolution, never becoming involved until ordered, and even then not knowing what they are supporting or fighting for. “A troop...demanded provisions, and also drafted a levy of twenty young men to serve [them] as ‘guides’; but he gave them rifles at once, and made them take the van. They never came back” (199). The results of the Mexican revolution, according to El Indio, did not better the Indian community, but rather impoverished and enslaved it more. Chapter nine of the novel is a symbolic account of the times from when the Indians were in rule up until after the Mexican revolution. In the beginning of the chapter images of pagan religions and freedom are evident. The fiesta, in itself, is a pagan ritual that had been performed once a year since they could remember. The freedom image comes from the dancing on top of the valdor when attached to ropes, the dancer flung themselves from the platform to fly around the pole screaming like an eagle, a symbol of freedom. At the end of the chapter, alcohol and disorder take over, symbolizing their loss of freedom and in the end there is distruction when one drunken man falls from the valdor to his death. Towards the end of the novel there are many references to the Indians’ spoiled crops or their lack of ability to plant the crops in the first place. The revolution had given them their land back but took all their time in building roads out of stones from ancient Indian structures, which destroyed part of their historical identity, and schools which turned out to be useless for the Indian children because the teachers did not speak the Indian language. The last chapter is titled “Distrust” which shows that nothing truly happened to better the Indian people, they still distrusted the upper class and feared for their welfare. Lopez creates a strong argument, in symbolic as well as literal examples, that states that the Indians took no part in the Mexican revolution and also received no benefit from it.

The other artwork studied, the Diego Rivera mural, showed it’s own side of the story, through subtle detail, within the mural. The mural, as a whole, was commissioned by the new constitutionalist government, which suggests that the viewpoint could be altered to appease the government and their people. One of the images Diego Rivera creates, within the mural, is the unity among the revolutionaries. If one is to trace the directions in which each person in the mural is looking, one would find that twenty-three of twenty-nine people, on the right side of the mural, seem to be looking at Diaz or his army. This unity in focus is not shown with those on the left side of the mural. Only eight of the twenty-one people are looking towards the revolutionaries, the others seem to be ignoring the revolutionaries all together. Another detail that symbolized unity is the placement of each person. On the right side of the mural, the men tend to be in lined rows, filling up all available space and even spilling over to the left side. However, on the left side, the placement of characters seem to make a circle and the center is left in blank space. Each man on the left side is placed on the outer rim, even stacked up and hidden. This is especially evident in the upper left corner, where Diaz has his faceless army, only drawn swords and fancy hats can be seen. Because the right side is placed within compact rows, and the left side is a compacted rim, it suggests a unity within the revolutionaries, no excluded people pushed to the outer limits. Diego Rivera uses placement and focus of each character very precisely to give the impression of unity within the revolutionaries and one of distance between Diaz and his “groupies.” There is another impression Diego Rivera creates within his mural - an image of betterment for the people. This can be seen in the numerous artifacts and symbols placed within the mural. Land, liberty, and bread is demanded from one sign, while headlines about important revolutionary dates are pronounced from newspapers. The constitution of 1917, in particular article 27 and 128, is waved from one hand between others holding a hammer and sickle symbolizing a communist theory. Some interpret the communist portion of the mural Rivera’s own political statement. Still, other symbols of betterment for the common man include Zapata’s manifesto, displayed nearby Zapata himself, and an overall representation for everyone in Mexico, giving identity to all cultures and races. Diego Rivera uses placement of character as well as symbols of legislation for the betterment of the people to suggest that the Mexican revolution was a time in which the revolutionaries focused on a common goal and received a betterment for every man in Mexico, in identity, land, liberty and bread.

The two artworks, explained above, are examples of the different kinds of viewpoints the people of Mexico have of the Mexican revolution. While the novel believed that the Indian population had no participation in the revolution, the mural claims that everyone fought side by side with a common goal. The one comparison between the novel and the mural that was the same was the stressed importance of unity, in the novel it stressed the unity within the Indian community, and in the mural it was a unity within the revolutionary party. Though they may be different in context and participants, the ideal is the same. Another contrast between the two is the effects of the Mexican revolution on the common folk. The novel believed that the revolution only made the hardships worse for the Indian communities, degrading and disintegrating their identity. The mural, on the other hand, gave specific articles of the legislation presented to create a betterment of the people and also portrayed a greater identity of the Mexican people, including the Indians.

The Mexican revolution is a complicated time period to study and expect to get definitive answers. There is no proof that what the novel says is correct or what the mural says is correct. Everything is all based on interpretation and the audience and benefactors who are connected with the artwork. The novel, El Indio, creates a vision of Mexico in which the Mexican revolution is not fought by or for the Indian people, and results in indebting the Indians further rather than benefiting them. On the other hand, the mural by Diego Rivera, shows a common goal within all revolutionaries, including the Indians, which gives them everything they had taken from them and creates an identity for the Indian people. Between the two impressions given from these artworks, it is more likely that the novel’s impression of the Mexican revolution is more accurate simply because the benefactors of the mural was the new government who was trying to smooth the rough edges of their dealings in the revolution.