Plotino Constantino Rhodakanaty () was a Greek and Mexican socialist and anarchist, as well as a prominent early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Mexico. He is known as one of the first advocates for anarchist thought in Mexico. He was also an early activist in Mexico's mid-nineteenth century labor and campesino movement, which foreshadowed the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Rhodakanaty moved to Mexico in 1861 after being drawn to the country's rural system of small, self-governing agricultural communities. He published various books and essays about the threats of privatization and capitalism, and helped establish an "escuela libre" ("free school") in Chalco. After coming across a pamphlet containing materials published by the LDS Church in 1875, Rhodakanaty became one of the first people to be baptized into the church in Mexico. He conducted efforts to bring his friends and colleagues into the church, and was ordained an elder and leader of the local congregation before becoming disillusioned with the church in 1880 following the rejection of his plan to turn Mexico into a "utopian society." Little is known about his later years, and it is unconfirmed whether he remained in Mexico until his death or returned to Europe.
Early life
Rhodakanaty was born on October 14, 1828, in Athens, Greece. His father was a member of the Greek aristocracy, and his mother was Greek with Austrian citizenship. Rhodakanaty's father died near the end of the Greek War of Independence, and Rhodakanaty went with his mother to Vienna. There is some speculation with regards to Rhodakanaty's family and origins. Moses Thatcher, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated in 1880 that the mother of Rhodakanaty had been born in Mexico. Some believed that Rhodakanaty was a Mexican who had adopted a persona and foreign identity; others believed that he was born in London.
Rhodakanaty studied medicine in Austria and Berlin before traveling to Budapest in 1848 to assist in the failed Hungarian Revolution. He traveled next to Berlin, where he was exposed to the ideas of Hegel, Fourier, and Proudhon. He journeyed to Paris in 1850 specifically to meet Proudhon, after reading the latter's What Is Property?, where he stayed for seven years. While in Paris, he learned of Mexico's rural system, consisting of relatively self-governing agricultural communities, and of the threat bring posed to the people by capitalism and privatization. He then traveled to Barcelona to learn Spanish and prepare to move to Mexico, spending at least two years in a large anarchist community there. While in Spain, Rhodakanaty published his first philosophical work, titled De la Naturaleza, and worked to formulate a plan to preserve the agrarian way of life in Mexico.
First years in Mexico
Rhodakanaty arrived in Mexico in 1861, and within the year he published La Cartilla Socialista and began propagating the ideas of contemporary European thinkers, particularly those of Fourier, Proudhon, and Bakunin. La Cartilla Socialista lays out Fourier's program for agrarian socialism, and begins by asking: "What is the most elevated and reasonable goal that human intelligence can be devoted to? The achievement of universal association, of individuals and peoples, in order to fulfill the earthly purposes of humanity."
He published other radical essays, including Neopanteísmo, and founded various scholarly journals. In 1870 Rhodakanaty helped establish La Escuela del Rayo y del Socialismo, an "escuela libre" in Chalco. The term "escuela libre" was used by anarchists in order to distinguish themselves from government and church-influenced education. The school was run by a disciple of Francisco Zalacosta. In 1871, a former student of the school named Julio Lopez Chavez helped organize a peasant uprising, the manifesto of which—based heavily on anarchist ideas developed at the school—blamed the church, government, and landlords for the peasants' hardships. It was the first revolt in Mexico which called for the overthrow of the government, in favor of locally-controlled land redistribution and a decentralized system of autonomous villages with a common defense force based on libertarian principles.
In order to support himself, Rhodakanaty taught at the Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City, where he organized like-minded students. A circle of followers emerged among his pupils, including Santiago Villanueva, Francisco Zalacosta, Julio Chávez López, and José María Gonzales. These people and others would later form an important nucleus in the early Mexican labor and peasant movements.