President Lazaro Cardenas Signing Oil Nationalization Coloring Pages

President Cardenas signed the oil nationalization decree on March 18, 1938. This date is now celebrated in Mexico as Oil Expropriation Day, a national holiday that honors this brave decision to reclaim Mexico's natural resources from foreign control.

Foreign oil companies were paying Mexican workers very low wages while making huge profits from Mexican oil. When these companies refused to follow Mexican labor laws and pay fair wages, Cardenas took action to protect Mexican workers and sovereignty.

Pemex (Petroleos Mexicanos) was created immediately after oil nationalization to manage Mexico's oil industry. It became one of the world's largest oil companies and provided Mexico with billions of dollars in revenue over the decades.

The United States and Britain were very angry and tried to punish Mexico economically. They organized boycotts of Mexican oil and froze Mexican assets in their banks. However, Mexico found new trading partners and survived the pressure.

Cardenas was known as a president who truly cared about poor people and workers. He redistributed more land to peasants than any other Mexican president and always traveled simply, often staying in ordinary hotels rather than luxury accommodations.

Born in 1895, Cardenas joined the Mexican Revolution as a teenager and worked his way up through military and political ranks. He served as governor of Michoacan state before becoming Mexico's president from 1934 to 1940.