3.1.1 The Military Samples11
There is a downward trend in the height sample for the period 1850–1950. The 40-year period during which this downward trend lasted corresponds to people growing up during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century; this suggests deterioration in living standards of the working classes during the last half of the nineteenth century. However, we should keep in mind that the
rurales sample, in which we observe the decline, is drawn from a particular portion of the popular classes, farm hands and craftsmen, but not miners or factory workers. It was men who worked in trades that were being displaced by the introduction of the railroad or artisans driven out of business by machines and manufactures.
12 For the most part these were men in the mid-30s, temporarily unemployed who enlisted in the
rurales, until something better came along. Over time the height of this sample declined and this suggests that the biological standard of living of this portion of the popular classes was deteriorating, a reflection of what was happening in the sectors of the economy where they had worked prior to joining the
rurales militia. The cause of this decline in height sheds light on how the end of the preindustrial era in Mexico affected certain portions of the population. The transformation of the economy fostered growth but, in the process, it also left some sectors of the population out of work; hence their standards of living deteriorated.
13 This phenomenon can also be interpreted as increased inequality as a result of the modernization of the economy. Moreover, this trend is also indicative of a rise in inequality vis-à-vis those groups who did grew wealthier with the economic takeoff experienced in the last decades of the twentieth century.
There is a difference in trends between the
rurales and the
federales for cohorts born in the 1880s and 1890s for the regression results; this difference is driven by the number of observations for those decades in each sample. For the 1890s the number of
rurales born in that decade aged 23 or more is particularly small; most of the observations for the decade correspond to young men who had not attained their final height. Let us remember that the rural police dissolved in 1913 after Francisco I. Madero’s assassination. The federal soldiers sample has a higher number of men 23 and older. Moreover, the recruits in the
federales sample come from a wider variety of trades than their
rurales counterparts (Table
1).
Table 1
Regressionmodel—military samples: dependent variable: height (cm)
Independent variables | 159 cm | | 160 cm | | 159 cm | | 160 cm | | 159 cm | | 160 cm | | 159 cm | | 160 cm | |
(1a) | | (1b) | | (2a) | | (2b) | | (1a) | | (1b) | | (2a) | | (2b) | |
Constant | 167.6a
| | 167.1a
| | 168.0a
| | 167.6a
| | 170.5a
| | 169.9a
| | 168.4a
| | 167.7a
| |
Occupation |
Unskilled | | | | | | | | | | −1.21 | | −1.24 | − | −1.21 | | −0.57 |
Skilled manual workers | 0.7b
| | 0.7b
| | | 0.4 | | 0.5 | | | | | | | | |
Skilled white-collar workers | | 1.1 | | 0.9 | | 1.1 | | 0.8 | | | | | | | | |
Provenance |
North | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Bajío | −1.2a
| | .1.2a
| | −1.4a
| | −1.4a
| | | −0.46 | | −0.5 | −0..43 | | | −0.47 |
Center | −3.3a
| | −3.4a
| | −3.3a
| | −3.5a
| | | −1.2 | | −1.42 | | −1.19 | | −1.4 |
South | −4.1a
| | −4.1a
| | −3.8a
| | | −3.6 | | −2.43 | | −0.29 | | −0.24 | | −2.91 |
Age |
18 | −2.2a
| | −2.3a
| | | | | | | −2.41 | | −2.47 | | | | |
19 | −2.1a
| | −2.4a
| | | | | | | −1.21 | | −1.14 | | | | |
20 | −1.7a
| | −2.1a
| | | | | | | −2.65 | | −2.74 | | | | |
21 | −0.9a
| | −0.8a
| | | | | | | −2.12 | | −2.29 | | | | |
22 | −0.7b
| | | −0.6 | | | | | | −1.67 | | −1.75 | | | | |
23 or more | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Birth decade |
1840s | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
1850s | | | | | | | | | | 1.11 | | 1.52 | | 1.12 | | 1.53 |
1860s | | | | | | | | | | 0.56 | | 0.81 | | 0.57 | | 0.82 |
1870s | | | | | | | | | | 0.07 | | 0.24 | | 0.07 | | 0.24 |
1880s | | −0.1 | | 0.2 | | −0.2 | | 0 | | −0.93 | | −0.96 | | −0.89 | | −0.93 |
1890s | | −0.2 | | 0.2 | | −0.4 | | 0 | | −1.6 | | −1.71 | | −1.62 | | −1.7 |
1900s | | 0 | | 0.2 | | 0 | | 0.2 | | | | | | | | |
1910s | | −0.3 | | 0 | | −1 | | −0.7 | | | | | | | | |
1920s | | −0.9 | | −0.2 | | −1 | | −0.3 | | | | | | | | |
1930s | | 1.2 | 1.8b
| | | −0.7 | | −0.3 | | | | | | | | |
1940s | | 1.2 | 2.1b
| | | 1.6 | | 1.8 | | | | | | | | |
Deserters | −0.4b
| | | −0.4 | −0.6b
| | | −0.5 | | | | | | | | |
X
2
| | | | | | | | | | 86.76 | | 91.67 | | 81.55 | | 87.32 |
R
2
| | 303 | | 265.3 | | 171.9 | | 142.5 | | | | | | | | |
N
| | 5176 | | 4976 | | 3309 | | 3194 | | 6129 | | 6027 | | 4495 | | 4412 |
Traditional historiography asserts that the Díaz administration was detrimental to the living standards of the popular classes because of the capitalist development model with which economic growth was set in motion. This model was based on the exploitation of the laboring classes, and in the case of peasants, it also meant the seizure of lands.
14 Nonetheless, the evidence presented here suggests that the decline in standards of living began little over two decades before the Díaz dictatorship was actually inaugurated; thus, Porfirian administration policies could not have been the only reason for this decline. Political instability, transformation of modes of production that marked the end of the preindustrial era and displaced people from their traditional occupations, dire circumstances in the public finances, and disentailment of communal peasant properties were all causes of this decline.
The federales military sample covers a period that includes generations growing up during the Porfiriato, the revolution, and the first decades of the postrevolutionary period. Changes are not as steep as one would expect in a period marked by so many changes and instability. The first three decades covered in this sample show stagnation that would correspond to cohorts born during the last decade of the dictatorship and the revolution, with a decline in average statures for those born and growing up in the 1910s and 1920s. The last three decades of the period display a recovery trend that accelerates during the 1940s, which coincides with a period of growth for the middle classes, rapid population growth, and stagnation of the lower income strata.
In terms of evolution of biological standards of living there does not appear to be any significant deterioration due to the dictatorship that allegedly induced pauperization of the lower classes; the improvement observed for cohorts born toward the end of the Díaz period is modest compared to its economic performance that generated prosperity for the higher income strata. Industrialization processes taking place and economic growth did not produce an improvement in the quality of life of populations from which the army was getting its recruits. This evolution in the average height of soldiers is understandable given that industrialization at its early stages does not necessarily translate into an improvement in the biological standards of living of a population.
15 In addition, as we mentioned earlier, changes in land tenure were not conducive to improving the livelihood of the average peasant. All these suggest that economic modernization did not narrow the gap in living standards across social classes.
The average stature of recruits born in the 1910s decade decreased; these are people growing up and during the revolution and the first decades of the postrevolutionary period. It is not surprising to observe a decline. It might, however, be surprising that the decline is not steeper given the chaos created by the years of armed rebellion. After all, this was a violent war that took a heavy toll in human life. One explanation for this could be formulated under the Malthusian postulate that anything that raises the death schedule, for example, war, disorder, disease, or poor sanitary conditions, will increase material living standards. A fixed amount of resources is distributed among fewer people. Although this postulate applies to preindustrial societies, given that industrialization was only taking place in a small number of regions compared to the extent of the Mexican territory, we would argue that in this case the Malthusian argument holds.
The high death rate increasing material living conditions hypothesis is compatible with the meager recovery in stature observed for cohorts born during the following two decades. Still, this seems too meager a recovery for a revolution based on the granting of worker’s rights and the undertaking of an agrarian reform. The improvement observed in living standards is rather deceptive and suggests that institutional reforms mandated by the 1917 constitution were meant to favor the popular classes but were only enforced to ameliorate the lives of a reduced portion of the working classes, namely those inserted in the formal economy.
In contrast, the substantial increase in average stature for cohorts born during the late 1930s and 1940s coincides with the launching of a welfare state and with government’s commitment and recognition of its responsibility to assist the poor during the Lázaro Cárdenas administration, especially with the introduction of universal public health initiatives, such as national vaccination campaigns for children. The social development that stemmed from this commitment appears to have yielded positive results in the standards of living of the population from which the military were enlisting their recruits in the mid-twentieth century. We can then argue that there was a reduction in inequality in living standards starting in the 1930s.
With regard to regional disparities and differences across social classes in these samples, we can say that regression results for both samples are consistent. Recruits born in the north and Bajío are taller than their counterparts in other regions. Enlisted soldiers who were originally from the central and southern regions were shorter, with the exception of Mexico City and Veracruz, which were more economically dynamic regions than many parts of the center and south at the time.
Environmental differences play a relevant role, too. The north and Bajío had lower densities of population and were big-cattle-raising regions. Lower densities of population meant a lower exposure to diseases and epidemics. Throughout history, it has been observed that hunter-gatherers, seminomadic groups, and communities living in small settlement were less likely to be exposed to infectious diseases and epidemics; hence, their health tended to be better in general than that of sedentary communities.
16 Regions that have significant cattle production normally will have a higher meat intake in their diet and will sell meat at relatively lower prices than regions that do not raise cattle. Traditional diet in the northern and Bajío regions was richer in animal protein, and this had a positive impact on final adult statures.
Regression results also show that in both samples unskilled workers are slightly shorter than skilled workers. Such height differences suggest that men who had a trade were taller than those who did not. Being trained in a trade results in a form of human capital that correlated positively with a better biological standard of living.