The Underdogs: A Novel of the Mexican Revolution

In Short

This concise, unsparing novel follows a small band of Mexican peasants as their local feud against a regional boss expands into full-scale participation in the Mexican Revolution. Swept up by promises of land, justice, and plunder, the men fight their way across the country under the leadership of Demetrio Macias. Written by a country doctor who served alongside revolutionary forces, the book captures the raw momentum of guerilla warfare while charting the tragic shift from idealistic rebellion to aimless violence and bitter disillusionment. It stands as the defining literary portrait of Mexico’s revolutionary era.

The Story

The narrative opens in the mountains of Jalisco, where Demetrio Macias, a quiet farmer, is forced to flee his home after a local political boss sends federal soldiers to burn his property. Gathering a handful of fellow villagers, Demetrio takes to the hills. Armed with few rifles and boundless local knowledge, the small group ambushes an incoming column of government troops in a canyon, scoring a dramatic early victory.

As they movement grows, Luis Cervantes, an educated medical student and journalist who deserted the federal army, joins their ranks. Cervantes flatters Demetrio, convincing the illiterate leader that he is not merely defending himself against a personal enemy, but playing a historic role in a grand national crusade for liberty. Under Cervantes’s guidance, Demetrio’s band joins forces with larger revolutionary factions led by General Natera and ultimately aligns with the legendary army of Pancho Villa.

Through bloody battles, including the assault on Zacatecas, Demetrio rises to the rank of general. Yet victory brings no lasting peace or social renewal. As the original federal enemy collapses, the revolutionary forces fracture into competing, bloodthirsty factions. The initial spirit of resistance gives way to unchecked looting, execution of prisoners, and meaningless chaos. Demetrio’s fighters—once simple peasants—become hardened to murder and plunder. Opportunists like Cervantes quietly skim wealth from the cause and flee to safety, leaving the common soldiers behind.

Years pass, and the revolution turns in on itself. Demetrio returns to his native sierra, weary, hollowed out, and unable to explain why he continues to fight. Reunited briefly with his wife, who begs him to stop, he can only toss a stone into a canyon to show how momentum carries a falling object to the bottom once it starts. In the final scene, Demetrio’s depleted unit is ambushed in the exact same gorge where they won their first battle. As his comrades fall around him, Demetrio sits behind a rock, alone, calmly taking aim as the surrounding mountains remain serene and indifferent.

How It Unfolds

The spark in the sierra Driven into the hills after soldiers burn his home, Demetrio Macias gathers a dozen poorly armed neighbors and successfully ambushes a government column in a narrow mountain pass.

An intellectual enters Luis Cervantes, an educated deserter from the government army, is captured by the peasants; though initially suspected as a spy, he earns his place by treating wounded men and preaching political ideology.

Blood on the march The rebels join larger northern forces, storming cities like Zacatecas and experiencing the intoxicating thrill of victory alongside the brutal reality of merciless executions and widespread looting.

The descent into chaos Following victory over the government, the movement splinters into warring factions; Demetrio's men wander the countryside, engaging in pointless violence, heavy drinking, and gambling.

Return to the origin Exhausted and spiritually empty, Demetrio leads his diminished band back to their home mountain range, unable to quit a conflict that has taken on a momentum of its own.

The final stand Ambushed in the very canyon where their rebellion began years earlier, Demetrio sits behind a stone parapet, methodically firing his rifle as his last companions perish around him.

The People

• Demetrio Macias wants only to defend his family from a local tyrant, but his natural gift for ambush drives him to the top of the rebel ranks; he ends as a weary general unable to break free from the violence he helped unleash.
• Luis Cervantes seeks personal survival and financial gain while claiming to fight for high ideals; he uses his education to manipulate Demetrio before escaping the war with looted gold.
• Anastasio Montanez wants to remain loyal to his friend Demetrio; simple and uneducated, he moves through the war with childhood innocence alongside brutal, unthinking violence until his sudden death in combat.
• Pancracio wants the immediate excitement of bloodshed and plunder, driven by pure savagery; he finishes as an unrepentant killer who treats war as a casual game.
• War Paint seeks adventure and authority among the troops; she lives with fierce independence and harsh jealousy until Demetrio tires of her violence and casts her out.
• Camilla wants quiet affection and security, initially loving Cervantes before attaching herself to Demetrio; her devotion leads to a senseless death at the hands of a rival.

In Its Own Voice

"What are we fighting for? That's what I'd like to know."

Demetrio asks this simple question early in the campaign when Luis Cervantes tries to explain the high-minded political theory behind their revolt.

"A principle! That's why Villa and Natera and Carranza are fighting; that's why we, every man of us, are fighting."

Cervantes uses fiery rhetoric to convince the unlettered peasant fighters that their local struggle is part of a noble, historical crusade.

"To breathe is to inhale the air of barracks, prison, brothel, and pigsty all in one."

The atmosphere among the revolutionary ranks rapidly degrades into physical and moral decay as original ideals are forgotten.

What It's Really About

The novel presents a stark critique of political idealism when stripped of moral accountability. It asks how legitimate popular anger against oppression can be co-opted by cynical opportunists and self-serving leaders. Through Demetrio’s journey, the text examines the nature of violence itself—how a movement started to reclaim human dignity can end up stripping its participants of humanity entirely. The story argues that war creates an unmanageable momentum; once ordinary people are caught in its gears, the conflict continues under its own weight long after its original purpose has been lost or forgotten.

Why Read It Today

This book remains essential for anyone interested in historical fiction, Latin American literature, or the tragic reality of war. Instead of offering grand heroic myths, it delivers a swift, clear-eyed view of how revolutions actually feel on the ground—gritty, chaotic, and deeply human.

Readers should prepare for an unsparing tone. The narrative moves at a relentless pace without pausing for sentimentality, and it presents historical attitudes, crude language, and harsh battlefield cruelty without softening the edges. Characters commit atrocities with casual detachment, and the novel offers no easy moral heroes. Yet this brevity and honesty are precisely what make it powerful. It feels like an authentic dispatch from the front lines, leaving you with a lasting impression of the human cost of political upheaval and the tragedy of a struggle that consumed the very people it set out to save.