El Primer Congreso Mexicanista Convenes in Laredo in 1911

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

On Sept. 14, 1911, el Primer Congreso Mexicanista (First Mexicanist Congress) met in Laredo, Texas in order to discuss social, labor, educational, and economic issues facing Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the United States. At the meeting, Jovita Idár was elected president of El Congreso’s Women’s League. As its president, Idár organized the Women’s League to provide education for poor children. Idár also worked as a journalist for her family’s paper, La Crónica, criticizing discrimination against Mexican Americans and advocating for women’s rights, including the right to vote.

• Zinn Education Project article Sept. 14, 1911 El Primer Congreso Mexicanista Convenes in Laredo

• Texas State Historical Association page on Jovita Idar
• Dos Vatos Films Precious Knowledge Trailer
• Ted Talk Ron Espiritu’s Why Ethnic Studies Matters