The Fight against Social Poison: The Case of the 1930 Anti-Alcoholic Campaign in Xalapa, Veracruz

Abstract

Emerging out of an incipient search for national regeneration, the fight against alcohol abuse was a popular cause among governments and civil associations in Mexico from the beginning of the twentieth century. In the case of Xalapa, Veracruz, at the time a city of certain relevance in educational and civic matters, the campaign to eradicate the vice of drunkenness was not taken lightly, and men’s and women’s committees made up of professionals in the field were organized. This article looks at the Xalapa anti-alcoholic campaign and the different activities carried out by these committees, particularly their informative and educational actions, as documented in primary source material from the Historical Municipal Archive of Xalapa.