The unrest in the Mexican textile industry which reached its culmination with the riot and brutal massacre of workers on January 7, 1907, at Río Blanco, Veracruz, was one of three serious popular challenges to the Porfirio Díaz regime. These conflicts showed the regime's inability to develop adequate measures for dealing with the rapid modernization of Mexico. In the Río Blanco case, the role of the Veracruz governor, Teodoro A. Dehesa, has been generally ignored by historians. Mexicans were aware of his sympathy for the workers and his distaste for the methods of the capitalists. His public condemnation of the government, especially the Científicos, contributed to the strength of the growing opposition and was an additional factor in the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The role of the Mexican Liberal Party is central to the understanding of this labour dispute. The author maintains that neither the PLM presence nor influence should be understated.