UC Berkeley

This dissertation studies the relationship between the Mexican conservative middle classes and the post-revolutionary state from the 1920s to the 1960s. It approaches this topic through the prism of U.S.-founded businessmen's philanthropic associations, known as international "service clubs," such as the Lions and Rotary. Beginning in the 1920s, when the first Rotary Club was established in Mexico, men and their female relatives were drawn to them because they associated Rotary and Lions clubs with "modern," cosmopolitan values. By mid-century, tens of thousands of Mexicans were members of these international clubs. During Mexico's unprecedented period of economic growth, known as the "Mexican Miracle," service clubs became a facet of urban life, hosting weekly luncheons, dinners, business seminars, and charitable fundraisers. Over time, however, Rotary, Lions, and other clubs also became sites of conservative political activism.

Scholars have mainly examined middle-class conservatism in Mexico through formal political parties, such as the Nation Action Party (PAN), or the Catholic Church, suggesting that these two institutions offered the only outlets for conservative politics under the post-revolutionary state. This interpretation, however, posits a reactionary and institutionally-narrow view of the middle classes. It also underestimates the transnational circulation of conservative ideas, and ignores the range of ways in which the middle classes participated in politics. This dissertation approaches the question middle-class politicization by examining the U.S.-founded service clubs they populated.

"Serving the Nation" addresses three overarching questions. First, how did the Mexican middle classes independent from government-sanctioned organizations engage with the hegemonic-party state throughout the 20th century? Second, how did conservative politics develop outside of formal opposition parties and the Catholic Church? Third, what influence did U.S. international civic organizations have in the politicization of the middle classes? Based primarily on the internal files and publications of Lions, Rotary, and other clubs in Mexico, this study argues that the self-described middle classes were drawn to these businessmen's organizations and, after joining, they modified club ideology to advance a conservative political agenda and their cultural interests. By providing a crucial ideological and organizational framework, service clubs became instrumental in the politicization of the conservative middle classes. Without an effective middle-class organization, such as there were for workers and peasants, service clubs afforded the middle classes an independent vehicle to interact with the post-revolutionary state. Finally, this story also has implications for understanding the role of US non-state actors in foreign contexts. "Serving the Nation" challenges the notion that US-based service clubs were successful instruments of American cultural and economic imperialism.