Resumo

MENDEZ-ROJAS, Diana-Alejandra  e  ORTEGA-REYNA, Jaime. Red Bandanas. The National Children’s Union and the Modernization of Mexico’s Left. Estud. hist. mod. contemp. Mex [online]. 2023, n.65, pp.211-242.  Epub 26-Jun-2023. ISSN 0185-2620.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iih.24485004e.2023.65.77774.

This article discusses the trajectory of the National Children’s Union (UNI), an initiative led by the Mexican Communist Party (PCM) in the late 1970s, intended to defend children’s rights. The creation and strengthening of this organization -alongside the defense of women’s rights, sexual freedom, and caring for the environment- was a clear indicator of the modernization of the Mexican left. Without renouncing to its traditional discourse, which focused on the demands of laborers and peasants, the Mexican left sought to put new conflicts and social issues in the national political discussion. This article analyzes the development of the UNI in the context of the modernization of the Mexican left and, specifically, the transformations within the PCM.

Palavras-chave : communism; children’s rights; Mexican Communist Party; political modernization; leftist.