In May 1901 Praxedis was accepted as a correspondent on Filomeno Mata's anti-Diaz journal 'Diario del Hogar', but whether this was a full or part time post we do not know. Later that year however he joined the Second Reserve of the army, rising in November 1901 to the rank of subteniente of cavalry.
By 1903 he had become interested in the anti-Diaz Liberal movement that had been founded two years before, and began to read their publications in particular Camillo Arriaga's 'El Demofilo' and Ricardo Flores Magon's 'El Hijo del Ahuizote'. At the same time he began to read the works of Bakunin, Kropotkin and Malatesta, which were at that time difficult to obtain, although Kropotkin's 'The Conquest of Bread' had been published in pamphlet form by the opposition journal 'Vespar' during the preceding year.
On April 2nd 1903 a demonstration of 10,000 liberals, in Monterrey, Nuero Leon, protesting against the re-election of General Bernardo Reyes as state governor, were fired on by federales under the command of Reyes himself. 15 protesters were killed and many more wounded. When the news of this massacre reached Praxedis he resigned his military post in disgust and returned to his family's hacienda in Los Altos de Ibarra. He worked there as an agricultural labourer until September. 1904 when he, together with Francisco Manrique and Manuel Vasquz, two fellow workers on his father's hacienda, decided to leave Mexico and find work in the United States.
Crossing the border at El Paso, Texas, Praxedis and his two companions made their way to Denver, Colorado, where he and Manrique found work with the mining firm of 'The Colorado Supply Co.' In early 1905 they left Denver and after working for several weeks as wood cutters in El Dorado, California, they arrived in San Francisco in March. Here Praxedis began to publish 'Alba Roja' (Red Dawn). Unfortunately nothing is known about this journal as no copies have survived, but from the title we can assume it was of a revolutionary nature, most probably written for the benefit of Mexican workers in the U.S. Whether a success or failure, 'Alba Roja' ceased publication when Praxedis left San Francisco in the middle of the year and headed for Pueblo, Arizona,where he worked for some time in a coal mine. Towards the end of 1905 he moved yet again, this time to Morenci, Arizona, where he found more permanent work in the foundry of the 'Detroit Copper Mining Co.'
In the following year, 1906, the first contact was made between the 'Junta Organizadora del Partido liberal Mexicano' and Praxedis, when in May Manuel Sarabia, representing the lunta, visited Praxedis in Morenci. The Junta, which had been formed the preceding year in St. Louis, Missouri through the initiative of Ricardo Flores Magon, aimed at coordinating all anti-Diez revolutionary activities both by exiled groups in the U.S., as well as groups within Mexico itself, and probably knew the name of Praxedis through 'Alba Roja'.
The month following Salabia's visit Praxedis founded the group 'Obreros Libres' made up of Mexicans working in the mines of Morenci. Praxedis himself was the president and Manuel Vasquez the, secretary. The group in fact was an auxiliary Junta to the Junta of the P.L.M. Regular collections were made and the group was able to send funds to help the main Junta in St. Louis.
In September 1906 the first P.L.M., inspired uprising took place in Mexico, but owing to ill-organisation and the infiltration of the revolutionary movement on both sides of the border by governmental informers the uprising came to nothing. Many P.L.M., members were arrested both in Mexico and the U.S., including two Junta members, Juan Sarabia and Antonio I. Villarreal, Ricardo Flores Magon narrowly avoiding arrest himself in El Paso. On the run, with the price of $50,000 on his head Ricardo went to Los Angeles, California via Sacremento and San Francisco. Later he was joined by Librado Rivera and Villarreal, also on the run, and together they founded 'Revolucion' in June 1907, which they published clandestinely.
The activities of Praxedis during this period are unclear. There is some evidence to show that he may have undertaken several missions for the Junta in Mexico after the 1906 rising but this is not sure. However in June 1907 he moved to Douglas, Arizona where he worked in the mines of the 'Copper Queen Co,' and on the 29th of that month was appointed the Special Delegate of the Junta. He also began at this time to write articles for 'Revolucion'.
Following the arrest of Ricardo Flores Magon, Villarreal and Rivera by the U.S., authorities on August 23rd after their hiding place had been discovered, Praxedis moved to Los Angeles where he assisted Manuel Sarabia and Lazano Gutierrez de Lara in the production of 'Revolucion'. However the journal was forced to close by the U.S., authorities in January 1908 after first the arrest of de Lara and then of Sarabia.
On November 9th 1907 Praxedis had his first meeting with Ricardo Flores Magon, when he visited the three imprisoned Junta members in Los Angeles county jail. Following this meeting Praxedis was appointed second secretary to the Junta.
Now the task of organising and coordinating P.L.M., activities on both sides of the border fell to Praxedis and Ricardo Flores Magon's younger brother, Enrique, who had just returned to Los Angeles from New York. After the official suppression of 'Revolucion', Praxedis went to El Paso, Texas where he made contact with various revolutionary P.L.M., groups in that area. He also supervised the shipment of funds and arms across the border to groups active in the northern Mexican states of Coahuila and Chihuahua.
At about this time the father of Praxedis died, leaving him a share in the family hacienda. This inheritance Praxedis rejected.
After months of patent planning and waiting, the time for a second P.L.M., uprising was drawing near. Armed groups on both sides of the border were prepared for action when on June 18th disaster struck. The homes of P.L.M., activists were raided in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua after information had been given to the police by an informer who had infiltrated the group. Five days later, on June 23rd, Texas Rangers raided the home of Prisciliano G. Silva in El Paso and seized 3000 rounds of ammunition and important documents including a letter written by Ricardo Flores Magon and smuggled out of jail by his companion Maria Talevera. This letter listed many P.L.M., groups within Mexico who were ready to rise up. The U.S., authorities immediately handed this letter over to the Mexican dictatorship, and at their request Ricardo Flores Magon and his two comrades were held incommunicado in Los Angeles county jail.
Nevertheless, despite this initial set back the first P.L.M., group crossed the border on the night of 24th-25th and took the town of Viesca, Coahuila with ease, the local police putting up only a token resistance during which one gendarme was was killed and one gendarme and one rebel wounded. The insurgents then opened up the jail freeing all who were held there. Making their way to the public square they then proclaimed the P.L.M., manifesto and declared the Diaz dictatorship null and void, After this horses and funds from the public office were expropriated for the revolution. All this was accomplished without harm to any of the civil population. Unfortunately, this newly liberated population believed that the insurgents were not P.L.M., liberators but bandits, mainly because they had approached the town from the U.S. border. In the face of this public opinion the insurgents had no alternative other than to withdraw.[2]
"The evacuation of Viesca became unavoidable," wrote Praxedis later. "The volunteers of liberty came forth from their appointed stations and left, followed by the looks of love and of hope of the proletarian women whose sympathies had been enlivened by the actions of the true conservers of peace and order, who had voluntarily taken upon their indomitable shoulders the appelation of bandits".[3]
Once out of the town the rebels dispersed, some crossing the border into the U.S., and others joining other active P.L.M. groups.
The following day, to the cry of "Comrades, forward to death or the conquest of Liberty!", a P.L.M., group of 40 men led by Praxedis, Benjamin Canales, Encamacion Guerra and Jesus M. Rangel attacked the town of Los Vecas (today Ciudad Acuna), Coahuila. Although the town had a garrison of over 100 federales, the soldiers, instead of staying in their barracks hid in the homes of the civil population to stop them giving aid to the rebels. After a bloody struggle during which the federales were reduced to only 15 men, the town was finally taken. Because of the insurgent losses though it was decided to evacuate the town. This retreat was led by the wounded Jesus M. Rangel. The price for the capture of Las Vacas was very high. Many seasoned militants lost their lives including Canales, who was killed during the initial attack, Nestor Lopez and Modesto G. Ramirez.[4]
Praxedis crossed back into the U.S. and on July 1st, he, together with Enrique Flores Magon, Jose Inez Salazar, Francisco Manrique and 7 other comrades crossed back into Mexico and attacked the town of Palomas, Chihuahua after first cutting the telegraph wires leading from the town. Searching the homes of civilians first to avoid a repetition of Las Vacas, the insurgents finally found a force of 25 rurales locked in their barracks. An attempt to dislodge them though was repulsed. In this struggle Francisco Manrique was killed, and Praxedis and another comrade wounded.[5]
Revolutionary action by other P.L.M., groups took place in other parts of the country. An attack was made on the towns of Matamoros, Tamulipas, but this came to nothing as did an uprising by the P.L.M., group of Janos, Chihuahua. In Baja California the town of Mexicali was attacked by a small P.L.M., force who then headed inland, while an uprising of Yaqui indians in Sonora was led by Fernando Polamarez. Risings that were intended to take place in other towns and areas never materialised because of the mass arrest of militants by the dictatorship after the U.S. authorities had given them documents found in the raid on Silva's home the day before the revolution. This then was the P.L.M., revolution of 1908. Although by no means a military success it was of the utmost importance in paving the way for the great revolution to come.
Following the ill-fated attack on Palomas Praxedis and Enrique Flores Magon made their way by foot to El Paso via Ciudad Guzonan and Ciudad Juarez. From El Paso they went to Alburquerque, New Mexico, where Praxedis stayed to give his wounds time to heal. While he was convalescing he wrote articles for the Liberal journal 'Reform, Libertad y Justicia' of Austin, Texas edited by Antonio de P. Aranjo and Tomas Sarabia, until Aranjo was arrested by the U.S., authorities and the paper suppressed.
His wounds healed Praxedis left Alburquerque and went to Douglas, Arizona while Enrique Flores Magon headed for San Francisco. In Douglas he made contact with Jesus M. Rangel, and began planning a third and hopefully successful uprising. After Las Vacas Rangel had led a rear guard action when in August he and a small P.L.M., guerrilla group ambushed a column of federales in the Sierra del Burro, Coahuila, killing 20 soldiers.
In September Praxedis went to El Paso where he was able to organise more revolutionary groups while Rangel went to Oklahoma to obtain funds for the P.L.M., cause from Mexican mine workers.
At the beginning of 1909 Praxedis, as the Junta's special delegate, toured the central and southern states of Mexico, making contact with as many active groups as he could. At the same time Hilario C. Salis and Candido Donato Padua were organising P.L.M., activities in the states of Oaxaca, Puebla and Tlaxcala. Both were veterans of the 1906 uprising and Padua, who was the P.L.M. 'Military' commander of the Vera Cruz area had managed to keep a group active since that time. Praxedis was able to keep in contact with these two comrades by letter, using the code name Nihil.
Returning to the U.S., at the beginning of March he travelled through Kansas, Missouri and Illinois enlisting support for the P.L.M., from members of the Socialist Party.
In August he was again in El Paso where he joined Rangel and Andrea Villarreal, the sister of Antonio, who were both engaged in organisational and propaganda work there. The day following Praxedis' arrival though Rangel was arrested by the U.S. authorities for the "violation" of the neutrality laws and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. After this set back Praxedis went to the south of Texas where he found work for a time in a sawmill, after the U.S. Law machine had started to harass him.
Praxedis' arrival in El Paso also saw the publication of the first issue of 'Punto Roja', a revolutionary journal he had been planning since his convalescence after Palomas. As most of the other Liberal journals in the U.S., had been suppressed by the authorities, 'Punto Roja' was of immense importance as it was one of the few ways that P.L.M., members would keep in contact with the movement. For its short life Punto Rola sold 10,000 copies per issue. How many issues it ran to though is not known, and unfortunately as with 'Alba Roja' no copies have survived, although some of the articles that Praxedis wrote for it were reproduced in a small volume of collected works published by the 'grupo cultural Ricardo Flores Magon' of Mexico City in 1924.[5] Soon after the appearance of 'Punto Rojo' Praxedis was forced to leave El Paso, the journal being then run by an American socialist, William Lowe, and two Mexicans, Clemente Garcia and Antonio Velaral.
At the beginning of 1910 Praxedis was working in Houston, Texas until he was forced to move to Bridgeport where he worked in the coal mines there. He was also able to contribute articles to 'Evolucion Social', a liberal weekly of Tohay. At the end of May 'Punto Rojo' was forcibly closed down by the police and a month later Praxedis was forced to move again after the Diaz dictatorship had offered the price of $l0,000 for his capture.
On August 3rd Ricardo Flores Magon, Antonio I. Villarreal and Librado Rivera were freed from Florence jail, Arizona, where they had been serving an 18 months sentence for
the alleged "violation" of the neutrality laws. They immediately went to Los Angeles where they were met at the railway station by hundreds of P.L.M., sympathisers. At the end of August Praxedis left San Antonio, where he had been working in the railway workshops, and joined Ricardio Flores Magon in Los Angeles In September the publication of 'Regeneracion' was resumed with Praxedis as a member of the editorial board.
All the Junta members now united, (except Juan Sarabia who was in prison in Mexico) plans for a third uprising were put in hand. Already as early as April P.L.M., 'military' leaders meeting in Tlaxcala had decided, that because of the general unrest throughout the country, the time for revolutionary action was opportune. This opinion was strengthened when in May 1500 armed peons took the towns of Vallaladolid, Yucatan holding it for 4 days, and the following month 300 peons in Bernardino Contla, Tlaxcala, took the town hall in the name of the P.L.M., and were dispersed only when a detachment of federales were called in.
As they prepared for their social revolution the junta was somewhat surprised to find that Francisco O. Madero, an unsuccessful candidate in the presidential elections held the previous June (Madero had stood for the anti re-electionist Party and after his defeat accused Diaz of rigging the election) was planning an uprising to begin on November 20th. Their plans not being fully finalised the Junta contracted as many P.L.M., groups within Mexico as they could and told them to time their uprising with that of Madero. They were careful to also send out a general circular which explained quite clearly the way in which the groups were to act towards the followers of Madero.
" . . . The Junta advises you to rise up in arms using Madero's movement, but not to join it . . . attract all those of good faith who are willing to fight; trying all the time to counter-act all Maderist tendencies, so that the Revolution may be made for the benefit of the Mexican people, instead of being a criminal way for the ambitious to gain power . . ."[7]
These instructions were signed by all the Junta members.
The Maderists rose on their appointed day but were all but defeated. The P.L M., now took the offensive.
At the end of November Praxedis left Los Angeles for El Paso where he gathered together a group of 22 men, and on the night of December 19th crossed the border into Chihuahua. His plan was to take several small towns in the north of the state and then march on the state capital, Chihuahua. On December 22nd the insurgents expropriated a train bound for El Paso, 20 Km south of Ciudad Juarez. They took the engine and one car and went as far as Guzman blowing up bridges and cutting telegraph wires behind them. At El Sabenal they were joined the following day by an additional 25 rebels. That day Praxedis was able to report back to the junta in Los Angeles,
"Until today there has been nothing new. But today the Northwestern Railroad is without bridges. The people are joining us voluntarily, Guerrero."[8]
In Guzman the rebels divided themselves into two columns. While one, led by Prisciliano G. Silva marched towards Laguna de Santa Maria, the other consisting of 32 men led by Praxedis marched towards Casas Grandes. Their intention to take this town though was abandoned when they discovered that the town hid a garrison of 450 federales. Bypassing Casas Grandes they attacked the town of Janos on December 29th. After a long and bloody fight the town was taken by the P.L.M., insurgents, but before the detachment of federales stationed there were overcome they managed to alert the Casas Grandes garrison. Immediately a force of 150 federales together with a detachment of rurales were sent to Janos. During the night engagement that followed their arrival Praxedis was mortally wounded. He died at the age of 28.
In November 1932 his remains were exhumed and taken to the state capital, Chihuahua, where they were reinterred with great pomp. This was done not to honour an anarchist but to honour a mere "national hero" by a so-called "revolutionary" regime that then, as today subjects anarchists to the most brutal torture and murder.
All material on this page from 'The anarchists and the Mexican Revolution Praxedis G. Guerrero 1882 - 1910' by Dave Poole. First published in 'Cienfugos Press Anarchist Review No 4', 1978