Throughout the Mexican Revolution, the ebb and flow of conflict in the north-central Laguna region (see Map 1) fed directly into the mainstream of national politics. From 1900, the Laguna's workers and peasants expressed economic and social discontent through insubordination, theft, banditry and sporadic – sometimes organised – demands for better wages and working conditions. Following the lead of a discontented, highly competitive and fractious landholding elite, they were among the first to revolt against the Porfirio Díaz government and continued to influence the direction of the revolution as the region was alternately fought over and administered by each of the north's principal factions. The ultimate triumph of any faction in the revolution required control of Mexico's north, and that required controlling the Laguna.