The 1917 Constitution created a clear demarcation between policies before the Mexican Revolution and policies after the revolution. Before the Constitution of 1917, the policies formulated by the Mexican government were based on neoliberal principles. After the Constitution of 1917, more specifically articles 3, 27 and 130, Mexico was influenced by socialist and anarchist policies. The Constitution of 1917, focusing on the articles mentioned above, influenced many events from its formation until the end of the government of Lázaro Cárdenas. Article 3 paved the way for improving the school system in Mexico. Article 27 influenced the implementation of the ejido system and the beginning of the Mexican expropriation. Lastly, but most importantly, Article 130 was the fuel for a battle between Church and State. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, the inclusion of Article 3 in the 1917 Constitution greatly influenced the improvement of the Mexican school system. Before the 1917 Constitution, the Constitution mandated that every municipality in Mexico needed a school. However, a key part of the revolutionary concerns in the country came from the fact that the Constitution of 1857 was not being implemented by federal or local leaders. The 1917 Constitution, particularly Article 3, mandated that education was compulsory. Preschool, primary and secondary education were included in compulsory education. To satisfy the 1917 Constitution, the Mexican government devoted most of its budget to building schools for rural municipalities and hiring teachers. The inclusion of this article allowed José Vasconcelos, head of the Department of Education from 1920-1924, to implement Russian communist policies and practices in the Mexican education system. During this period, 1,000 rural schools were opened. Before 1900, less than 15% of the Mexican population was literate. As a result of Article 3 and Cárdenas' creation of over 8,000 rural schools, by 1940 50% of the population was literate. By way of comparison, the National Preparatory School opened in 1868 under Díaz's presidency focused not on creating egalitarian education for all, but on creating a school that catered to elites and prepared highly educated individuals for the bureaucracy. The increase in literacy in Mexico, and in any country, for that matter, is an important development because literacy is a good measure of education for a country. As the population becomes more literate, more people will pursue higher education and advanced careers, allowing Mexico to have a larger pool of professionals to draw from. The advancement of an educated population in Mexico has meant a broader democratic base and a more robust economic system. Second, Article 27 with its strong policy of nationalization of Mexican resources influenced the ejido system and created the long-established Mexican oil company, PEMEX. Article 27 focused heavily on agrarian reform with Mexico. Article 27, following Article 3, was strongly influenced by socialist values. This article stated: “The ownership of lands and waters within the boundaries of the national territory originally belongs to the Nation, which has had, and has continued to have, the right to transmit title to private individuals, thus constituting private property” ( Dispensation of the article). Furthermore, Article 27 also stated: “The federal government shall have the power to establish reservesnational and to abolish them” (Article Handout). Before the 1917 Constitution, land was organized according to the hacienda system in which wealthy individuals owned large tracts of land for agricultural purposes. However, Article 27 allowed the use of the ejido system. The ejido system was the traditional Aztec way of owning land. Under this system, individuals did not own land. Under this system, communities owned and maintained land. This was very close to Amerindian or Native collectivism, similar to communism in Russia. Under the ejido system, Obregón redistributed over 3 million acres of land to Indian communities between 1920 and 1924. These individuals were clearly linked to the Porfiriato, and for this they were punished for being part of a government now considered a dictatorship. Additionally, Plutarco Elías Calles, president of Mexico from 1924 to 1928, redistributed 8 million acres of land into the ejido system. Calles also targeted members of the Porfiriato who managed to escape Obregon's redistribution plan. Calles, being as anti-religious as he was, also confiscated the Church's lands. Lázaro Cárdenas, president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940, influenced by the actions of previous presidents and the provisions of Article 27, expropriated 49 million acres of land and returned it to Mexican communities. However, between 1936 and 1938 the strength of Article 27 and the Bucareli Arrangements Agreement were to be tested. The Bucareli Agreement of 1923 mandated that Article 27 was not retroactive to American companies that had begun using oil reserves in Mexico before the 1917 Constitution because both America and Mexico had realized the contributions that America had made to the Mexican economy in the past. . This agreement also recognized Obregon's government and all subsequent presidents. Furthermore, this agreement and Article 27 influenced the dispute between the Confederation of Mexican Workers and the oil companies. The workers asked for $65 million in wage increases and compensation while the oil companies agreed to give only $14 million. The oil companies refused to accept the arbitrator's middle ground of $26 million. Even after the disagreement reached the Supreme Court, the oil companies refused to pay the unions. On March 18, 1938, Lázaro Cárdenas declared the Mexican oil companies expropriated, declaring that they would not be owned by Mexico without compensation. Cárdenas used Article 27 to justify his actions and the obvious fact that the oil companies were not operating in the interest of the Mexican people. Cárdenas, with the help of the Mexican people, agreed to pay $20 million in compensation to the oil companies. This is an important development influenced by the 1917 Constitution because to this day Mexican Petroleum, better known as PEMEX, governmentally owns oil companies in Mexico. Last but not least, Article 130 influenced the increased conflict between the Church and the Mexican state. When the Constitution was drafted, strong nationalist and anarchist sentiments circulated throughout Mexico. Article 130 of the Constitution established the Church as a non-legal entity. By creating the Church as a non-legal entity, the Church now had less power in dealings against the Mexican state. Therefore, the Mexican State could regulate the Church without the Church having the legal means to refute the State's policies and provisions. Article 130 also sought to combat the immigration of foreign missionaries and religious people. As a key principle, Article 130 reduced the power of the Church. Under the Calles administration, it closed..