The Under Dogs

novel by Azuela

Also known as: “Los de abajo”

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July 14, 2026

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The Under Dogs (Los de abajo) is a novel by Mexican writer Mariano Azuela, first published serially in 1915 and later as a book in 1916. The novel depicts the futility of the Mexican Revolution. Azuela, a medical doctor, wrote it while serving as an army doctor with Pancho Villa.1

The novel was written during a period of intense conflict and reflects Azuela's disillusionment with the revolutionary struggle. It was discovered and gained wider recognition in 1924 and significantly influenced subsequent Mexican novelists focused on social protest.1

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Mariano Azuela
…work, Los de abajo (1916; The Under Dogs), depicting the futility of the revolution, was written at the campfire during forced marches while he served as an army doctor with Pancho Villa in 1915. Forced to flee across the border to El Paso, Texas, he first published the novel as…
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…work, Los de abajo (1916; The Under Dogs), depicting the futility of the revolution, was written at the campfire during forced marches while he served as an army doctor with Pancho Villa in 1915. Forced to flee across the border to El Paso, Texas, he first published the novel as…
Read More

Latin American literature
The modern novel
…was Los de abajo (1915; The Underdogs), by Mariano Azuela. While the Mexican Revolution as theme continued to dominate Mexican fiction for a good part of the 20th century, in the rest of Latin America there appeared a host of novels that came to be grouped under the rubric novelas…
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…was Los de abajo (1915; The Underdogs), by Mariano Azuela. While the Mexican Revolution as theme continued to dominate Mexican fiction for a good part of the 20th century, in the rest of Latin America there appeared a host of novels that came to be grouped under the rubric novelas…
Read More