Las Anarquistas: The History of Two Women of the Partido Liberal Mexicano in Early 20th Century Los Angeles

Abstract

This thesis covers the history of the radical liberal and later anarchist Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM) by concentrating on two women within the organization, María Talavera and Lucía Norman. By doing so, it disrupts the traditional narrative of the organization as centered on Ricardo Flores Magón and showing the women as much more than simply having a role in the party, but as placed in a gendered group where they slowly gained autonomy over time. The paper follows the two women through two periods in Los Angeles, first noting their emergence in the PLM, and considering their place in the party as compared to the rhetoric established by male party leaders. The second period shows how through each successive arrest, trial, and imprisonment of the men, the women gained power and leadership. Lastly, the paper ends examining where it falls in and how it diverges from the literature on gender in the Progressive Era, Mexican Revolution, and PLM, emphasizing these two women as independent and politically conscious individuals in the midst of the persecution of the party.