Much has been written about Mexico’s 20-year revolution of the early 20th Century. Centered in Northern Mexico, the “people’s revolt” greatly influenced life along the border and throughout all of South Texas. From enterprising gun traders to mercenary American forces to U.S. military presence to help stop the violence from spilling over, life was robust in South Texas... One of the most important sociopolitical events of the 20th century, the Mexican Revolution of 1910 changed Mexican society, setting the country’s political, socioeconomic and cultural path for decades to come. At the same time, the Revolution attracted the attention of artists, writers and social thinkers worldwide as post-revolutionary reconstruction provided a natural social laboratory for new ideas and institutions. Despite recent economic and political reforms, the long term consequences of the Revolution are visible in Mexico in multiple arenas, including literature and the arts, social movements, labor relations and education. It doesn't take a political analyst, however, to see the similarities between the revolution's early 20th century impact on the Texas-Mexico border and the events that are happening today along that same international corridor. THE REVOLUTIONARY DAYS In 1910, the 80-year-old Díaz decided to hold an election for another term; he thought he had long since eliminated any serious opposition. However, Francisco I. Madero, an academic from a rich family, decided to run against him and quickly gathered popular support, despite his arrest and imprisonment by Díaz. When the official election results were announced, it was declared that Díaz had won reelection almost unanimously, with Madero receiving only a few hundred votes in the entire country. This fraud by the Porfiriato was too blatant for the public to swallow, and riots broke out. On November 20, 1910, Madero prepared a document known as the Plan de San Luis Potosí, in which he called the Mexican people to take up weapons and fight against the Díaz government. Madero managed to flee prison, escaping to San Antonio, Texas, where he began preparations for the overthrow of Díaz—an action today regarded as the start of the Mexican Revolution. Revolutionary force—led by, among others, Emiliano Zapata in the South, Pancho Villa and Pascual Orozco in the North, and Venustiano Carranza--defeated the Federal Army, and Díaz resigned in 1911 for the "sake of the peace of the nation." He went into exile in France, where he died in 1915. But it wasn't just Mexico that was affected by the "people's war". Many Mexican Revolutionary supporters, fearing military retribution in the smaller fled Mexico for the safety of the Texas. An exile community took root in many South Texas counties, and it maintained nationalist sentiments toward Mexico. The Mexican Revolution evolved into a struggle among rival chieftains, each of whom had his backers among the refugees. From Texas, political exiles gave support to an array of political and military figures-including Pascual Orozco, Jr., Victoriano Huerta, Francisco (Pancho) Villa,Francisco Madero, Venustiano Carranza, and Álvaro Obregón. Still others within the exiled ranks sided with Díaz and his ideological heirs and criticized from Texas the various revolutionary governments that served in Mexico from 1910 to 1920. These political differences spread quickly across Texas and affected most communities along the border. Political groups both supporting and opposed to the revolution operated similar to "clans", and eventually clans would vote to support or boycott a particular merchant, for example, and the economic impact on commerce in South Texas faltered. It was common, in fact, for exiles to ask merchants and bank officials which side they favored, the revolutionaries or the establishment of Mexico. Depending on their answer, these political exiles would choose to do business with them or would go to a rival company. Many of these exiles were influential citizens and managed to escape Mexico with their fortunes, immediately becoming influential in the community. A far worse concern was the large number of enterprising Americans, and even Europeans, who flocked to the border in an attempt to capitalize on the war. They included many soldiers of fortune looking for a paid battle and arms dealers who were quick to sell their goods to the highest bidder. Joining them were horse traders, food suppliers, and even filmmakers eager to catch a profit at the expense of war. In many ways, life became unsettled in rural South Texas as refugees and revolutionary and government soldiers fleeing the region would cross the river for safety on Texas soil. These groups sometimes stayed for a night and up to several weeks. U.S. troops stationed at Fort Brown and other outposts in West and South Texas were constantly chasing groups back across the river, occasionally engaging them in skirmishes. Among the more noted to have exchanged fire with U.S. military forces was noted revolutionary Pancho Villa, who frequented South Texas often in search of guns, ammunition and supplies. To make matters worse, motivated by anger against decades-old discrimination and contempt, Tejanos joined in a movement of armed resistance against oppression in 1915. Specifically, they joined in support of the Plan of San Diego, a call to arms apparently hatched in San Diego, Texas, by individuals who called for the establishment of a new nation of Mexican Americans and other oppressed minorities in the lands lost by Mexico in 1836 and 1848. Luis De la Rosa and Aniceto Pizaña led an uprising with recruits from South Texas as well as from the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila. The conspirators conducted raids on both sides of the border. Targets on the Texas side included newly developed farms, irrigation systems, and railroad lines. With these raids, widespread panic enveloped much of South Texas. Non-Hispanic In response, Texans organized vigilante groups to administer justice. The Texas Rangers, their ranks increased for border duty, arrived in the region to carry out law-enforcement activity, but often their actions degenerated into repression and violence against both immigrants and Mexican Americans. It was the signs of time, as they say, and many injustices on both sides of the border were the result of so much conflict and social and political degeneration within the region.   Others events surrounding the Mexican Revolution wrought havoc upon Tejanos. When Pancho Villa murdered sixteen Americans in Mexico in January, 1916, clashes between the anglo and Mexican populations of several border towns broke out. El Paso became the scene of several days of racial conflict. When Villista raiders struck Columbus, New Mexico, in March 1916 and the United States authorized Gen. John J. Pershing to undertake a punitive expedition into Mexico, Mexican President Venustiano Carranza de la Garza threatened counter invasions of the United States. From the Rio Grande valley to the Big Bend, local residents kept watch for attacks from across the border. In May 1916 raids occurred at Boquillas and Glenn Spring, and shortly thereafter the United States federalized the Texas National Guard. Small clashes along the border fueled further reports of imminent invasion by Carranza forces. Border incidents continued to occur long after 1916, especially in the Big Bend country. In the early 21st Century, historians are just now beginning to point at the circumstances and developments of the Revolution and compare them with what is happening today on the Texas-Mexico border. Today, like 100 years ago, unrest on the south side of the border is having an affect on the U.S. side. And like during the revolution, more and more sympathizers in the Texas Valley- largely with ties to Mexico - are taking a similar position. Many business owners and leaders of industry in South Texas are reluctant to tighten border security out of fear of economic reprisals. Yet the chance for spillover violence increases as social and political control in Mexico slides deeper into peril. Where once Pancho Villa and his revolutionary forces crossed the border to secure horses and supplies from a sympathetic U.S., now Cartel operatives and growing numbers of Mexican citizens fleeing trouble-ridden areas are filtering into Texas both legally and illegally to live, secure resources, or to find exile from the troubles brewing in Northern Mexico. And like during the early 20th century, U.S. political influence wavers on the issue, promising little relief from the growing problems being experienced all along the international border. History, it seems, does indeed repeat.