Couldn't tell you 100% how to now since I haven't played Mexico in a while and the military system has changed significantly. Even then, I assume what works for V3 and V2 works here: play defensively and bait American troops into a kill zone with artillery. Early game AI is really bad at managing a prolonged war effort and will fold once they start to bleed, in my experience.
Last I played I ended up having so many immigrants I ran out of arable land and I kept having to build factories just to give people jobs, I had like half the worlds population in France sitting around unemployed on generous benefits clamoring for wine that I couldn't produce because despite fully producing 90% of the world's wine I still had a deficit.
Communist China is what I like to aim for, but it always takes me way too long to kick out all the reactionaries. Probably because I try to reform my way rather than bloody revolution.
I last played like 2 months ago but I think I got the Soviet union in the early 1900s like 1903. It was my first run not cheating at all so I felt super accomplished fighting off like 12 revolutions over the game from land reform to ending the monarchy, to like 4 revolutions back to back after we became communists with Rosa Luxembourg as the leader.
The earliest I managed to reform into council republic was France in 1890, I was at 98% Industrialists uprising progress, but they folded the instant the law passed.
ive been able to consistently go council republic by the 1860s as mega germany. the trick is to trigger the nihilists and bully moderates into being commies. also find a good state and build a ton of industry in it and move your capital there. im a big fan of wallonia, silesia, and bohemia. this gives trade unions more power.
if you do do it this early, i strongly recommend doing dengism, keep commercialized agriculture. having trade unions and the capitalists happy is a very good boon for the mid game industrialization frenzy
I tried going communist as Argentina and my poor understanding of the game led me to a revolution I couldn't win. Still went down with my comrades đ„Č
It's just my 4th save too, so I was bumbling around a lot too. And I guess Argentina is probably a bit harder to play anyways.
But I really like the kind of stories this game can tell. Really fun imo