Despite traditional historiography, which paints a picture of de la Barra and other Porfirian "reactionaries" trying to subvert the "Revolution," this book demonstrates that de la Barra and the Porfirians endorsed many of the same ideas as Madero and his civilian colleagues, including a belief in democracy and progressive social reform. These themes became the legacy of the Madero years, but properly could be ascribed to an entire generation of political and intellectual leaders rather than to a single individual.