While the military conflicts of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) are well-documented, the concurrent intellectual and ideological battles, particularly those concerning the role of women in the new Mexican state, were equally transformative. Central to this ideological struggle was Hermila Galindo Acosta (1886-1954), a political strategist, writer, and radical feminist whose work fundamentally shaped the discourse on women’s rights. Through her influential journal, La Mujer Moderna, and her direct engagement with the Constitutionalist government, Galindo advanced a feminist agenda that was often decades ahead of its time, positioning her as a pivotal, if controversial, figure in the broader history of women in the Mexican Revolution.
Political Ascent within the Carrancista Movement
Born in Lerdo, Durango, Galindo possessed a formidable intellect and a talent for oratory that brought her to the attention of Venustiano Carranza, the head of the Constitutionalist faction. After joining his movement in 1911, she quickly rose to become his private secretary, a position of significant influence that provided her with a unique platform to advocate for political and social reform. Carranza, recognizing her capabilities, entrusted her with crucial propaganda missions, not only within Mexico but also as his diplomatic representative to Cuba and Colombia, tasked with promoting the Constitutionalist cause throughout Latin America. This role allowed her to operate not merely as a subordinate but as a key political operative, shaping the intellectual currents of the Carrancista movement from within.
La Mujer Moderna and the Radicalization of Feminist Discourse
In 1915, Galindo founded the weekly journal La Mujer Moderna (“The Modern Woman”), which became the primary vehicle for her revolutionary feminist thought. As historian Anna Macias notes, the journal was a space where Galindo articulated a vision of female citizenship that was unprecedented in Mexico. The publication consistently advocated for a range of radical issues, including:
• Women’s Suffrage: A consistent demand for the right to vote and hold public office. • Secular Education: The promotion of scientific and secular education for women, free from religious dogma.
• Sexual and Reproductive Rights: A call for comprehensive sex education in schools and a re-evaluation of women’s sexuality, including the right to divorce. This was, by far, her most controversial position.
• Anti-Clericalism: An open critique of the Catholic Church, which she argued was a primary institution in the subjugation of women [4].
Through La Mujer Moderna, Galindo was not merely asking for women’s inclusion in the existing political structure; she was demanding a re-evaluation of the patriarchal norms that underpinned the entire social order.
Challenging the Revolutionary State
Galindo’s radicalism was put on full display during the First Feminist Congress of Yucatán in 1916. Although she did not attend, a paper she authored, “La mujer en el porvenir” (“Woman in the Future”), was read aloud. In it, she argued that women’s biological impulses were as valid as men’s and attacked the societal double standard that punished female sexuality while celebrating male promiscuity. The speech scandalized the more conservative attendees and ignited a fierce debate about the acceptable limits of female liberation.
Undeterred, Galindo carried her fight directly to the new revolutionary government. In 1917, she submitted a proposal to the Constituent Congress demanding full political rights for women, including suffrage, in the new Constitution. When her proposal was summarily rejected, she launched a symbolic yet powerful protest: she registered as a candidate for Deputy in Mexico City. Although she reportedly won a majority of the votes, the all-male Electoral College refused to certify her victory, citing the very laws she sought to overturn. This act of political defiance starkly illustrated the patriarchal limitations of the new revolutionary state, which, for all its progressive rhetoric, was not yet ready to grant women full citizenship.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Foresight
Disillusioned by the Carrancista government’s failure to enact meaningful feminist reforms, Hermila Galindo largely withdrew from public life after 1923. However, her intellectual contributions had already laid an indispensable foundation for future generations of Mexican feminists. Her work challenged the narrow confines of 19th-century domesticity and articulated a vision of modern womanhood rooted in intellectual freedom, political participation, and sexual autonomy. While many of her ideas were too radical for the revolutionary era, they were not forgotten. They were the seeds from which the successful suffrage movement of the 1950s and the broader feminist struggles of the 20th century would ultimately grow.
References
Soto, Shirlene Ann. The Mexican Woman: A Study of Her Participation in the Revolution, 1910-1940. R&E Research Associates, 1979.
“Hermila Galindo.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, last modified [Date of last modification], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermila_Galindo.
Macias, Anna. “Women and the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920.” The Americas 37, no. 1 (1980): 53–82.
Cano, Gabriela. “Hermila Galindo: una feminista en la Constituyente de 1917.” Revista de la Universidad de México, 2017.
Orellana, Laura. Feminismo y revolución en México: el Primer Congreso Feminista de Yucatán, 1916. Siglo XXI Editores, 2017.
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