The Present of an Illusion: José Revueltas and the Moral Voice of Dissent

This work presents an analysis of the intellectual and political legacy of Mexican writer José Revueltas in an attempt to properly assess the relevance of his thought and work. This can be elucidated through his literary and political work as an heterodox communist, who always placed words before weapons, although he toyed with the idea of violence as the midwife of History and defended its revolutionary role. His time in prison as well as his differences with the Soviet Union and the Mexican Communist Party influenced his Marxist outlook and provided him with a different set of answers to the questions posed by the failures of the October Revolution. Cognitive democracy, a concept developed by Revueltas and alienation theory (in which capitalist society affects not only the working classes but every manifestation of human life)) constitute his legacy. His life is also a cautionary tale about religious commitment and politics.