Pancho Villa The Bandit Murder History Essay

Although Pancho Villa was known as a bandit and a murderer to the government and the rich, his well planned strategies had two positive outcomes; they helped overthrow the corrupt Mexican Government and had a positive impact on the Mexican Community, His actions made a positive impact on the Mexican Community because like Robin Hood, he stole from rich and gave to the poor. He stole cattle herds for the poor so they would have meat to feed their families. Like Pancho Villa once said, “Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something.” Villa was an idol to peasants. There was no one else in Mexico trying to help the poor out. This is why Pancho Villa started fighting and taking over towns to help the poor out. He then decided to unite with Francisco I. Madero, Emiliano Zapata, and Orozco to fight for rights of poor an overthrow the Mexican Government and its President Profirio Diaz. Pancho Villa and his men overthrew the Mexican Government little by little attacking different towns in different parts of Mexico unexpectedly and very successful. Villa and his men were unstoppable; the Mexican Government did not know what to do with Pancho Villa and his men. Villa soon became the first commander. We may ask our selves why would Pancho Villa be considered a hero or an up stander? Or maybe we may ask did Pancho Villa use violence but he was more than just a bandit and a murderer. This is how the famous Pancho Villa story began.

Pancho Villa was born as Doroteo Arango son of a sharecropper who at the time was living in a Hacienda in San Juan Del Rio, Durango. Villa and his family worked for a rich man, who was owner of the Hacienda. Pancho villa was so young yet, he witnessed the harsh reality of being poor and having to deal with the mistreatment of the poor. Back in those days the rich became richer by taking advantage of the lower classes and treating them like salves. On September 22, 1894 Pancho Villa came to the hacienda with news that the owner intended to have some type of sexual interaction with his 12 year old sister. Villa then 16 years old, went looking for the owner he shot him and fled to the mountains, where he spent the next 16 years running from the law, by 1896 he had become a bandit. Surrouned bandits, he learned a lot: he stole cattle, robbed great amounts of money and also committed assaults against the rich. Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor became his life plan. In 1910 things became worse for the poor Mexican peasants. They became frustrated with the high cost of food and the mistreatment of the rich. Their anger and frustration turned into violence, things in Mexico were not going to change they thought since President Profirio Diaz was not doing anything to help the situation or the people. This is when Fransico I. Madero came into the picture. He promised change for the lower classes Pancho Villa joined with Madero to be part of the Mexican Revolution and lead 28 men. Villa was known as the best Guerrilla fighter and he was the first to defeat government soldiers. By 1913, Pancho villa led an army of 3,000 men which used strong charges and attacked successfully at nights.

One of Pancho Villa’s most successful battles was the battle of Zacatecas. This battle was the biggest and bloodiest battle of the Revolution. Tales say the streets of Zacatecas city were flowing with blood of thousands of dead soldiers and civilians from both sides. One of Pancho Villa’s other victorious achievements was when he attacked Columbus, New Mexico in March 1916. Two days before this occured a terrible act was committed against 20 Mexicans in El Paso, Texas. According the reports, these 20 Mexicans had been arrested by police and then were soaked in kerosene and someone set them on fire. All 20 Mexicans were burned alive. From this point on Villa and his men were more than ready to fight the entire American army. The Columbus attack occurred at 4:45 A.M on March 9, 1916 their attack caught American soldiers by surprise by firing into their tents. From this day forward not only did Mexican government want Pancho Villa caught and sent to jail, but the United States also wanted him killed or sent into American jail. Villa made history by becoming second foreign military attack on American soil since the British in the war of 1812. This was the last great goal Pancho Villa did because after this the Mexican government retired Villa with Twenty five thousand acres of Canutillo lands in northern Durango and his men received lands in Rio Conejos and military pay for a whole year, A great friend of Villa once said that Pancho never left his gun “His gun was more important to him than eating and

sleeping.” This must have meant that fighting, robbing and killing was in Pancho Villa’s blood he grew up fighting for the rights of the poor. He would never forget the hard lessons he learned as young poor kid.

After this time Pancho started studying business because he wanted to do good things for the poor still, Pancho Villa founded a bank which mainly focused on giving loans to farmers, these loans were provided by the uncommon low interest rates. The low rates allowed poor farmers to buy the necessary tools and seeds for their fields. Also he provided a school for the farmers children. His Hacienda soon became like a miniature of Villa’s ideal Mexico and the poor really appreciated it. Villa never had an education but he understood that it was really important for these kids to get an education because he wanted them to get out of the horrible conditions that surrounded them. On the morning of July 20, 1923 seven riflemen fired 150 shots in 2 minutes into his car. Till this day no one knows why and who gave the order for the death of Pancho villa. On November 17, 1982 the Mexican Army started a museum honoring Villa. His museum is located in the same home he had, there are pictures of him the same car where he had been killed in even the same armor he was killed in. The aftermath of Pancho Villa’s death was shocking to many Mexican’s they all felt that now it was up to them to continue his fight. There was plenty people who hated Pancho Villa but they will never compare to those who love him. “Pancho Villa was hated by thousands, but loved by my millions”. So if your still thinking that Pancho Villa was not an up stander and I’m hoping you think he is because despite the fact he killed many rich people and he robbed it had a real meaning to why it was done. Pancho Villa knew how it was to be poor and be mistreated by the upper class. He just did not know any other way to get rid of the discrimination of his own people so he used violence as a way to get the Mexican’s government attention and it worked. Because in the end President Diaz fled from mexico knowing he had messed up the rights for his people. Pancho Villa is just another citizen of his country who found the way to help. His method was just different from Gandhi’s and Martin Luther King. Everyone is different and have different methods. He did great things for the poor. He founded his own bank making sure the farmers would receive a great amount of money for their necessities and the necessities of their children. I don’t think a lot of people out there did what he did. Pancho Villa will forever be remembered.