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DEPOSITED BY THE

LINONIAN AND BROTHERS LIBRARY

PORFIRIO DIAZ

PORFIRIO DIAZ

BY

RAFAEL DE ZAYAS ENRIQUEZ

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
NEW YORK
1908

COPVBIQHT, 1908, BV
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY

published Beptember, 1908

TRANSLATOE'S NOTE
It may interest the reader to know some
thing of the author of this hook, and of his
motive in writing it. Sefior de Zayas is the
Poet Laureate of Mexico, and has written,
besides poems, a considerable number of his
toric and other works. He was educated as a
lawyer, has been an officer in the army, and is
now a member of the Mexican Congress. He
has been a lifelong friend of President Diaz,
but has lately begun to differ with him on cer
tain points regarding the policy of govern
ment, as the reader of this book will notice,
especially in the last chapters. Sefior de
Zayas is an ardent patriot and thoroughly in
earnest ; he is so desirous that his exact feel
ing and opinion should be given to the public,
that he has gone over with the translator
every word of the American edition. The
book consequently represents the author's

TRANSLATOE'S NOTE
precise expression down to the turn of a
phrase and the use of a simile. Though this
may in some instances detract from the flu
ency of the English and not sufficiently take
into account the difference in taste and habits
of thought of the American and the Mexican
public, it has seemed to be of paramount im
portance in a book of this kind to reproduce
faithfully the thought of the author and the
atmosphere of his country. The chief value
of such a work is historical, and, as it stands,
this biography is a page from current his
tory, hot from the author's brain, and replete
with the spirit of Mexico.
T. Quincy Bkowne, Je.
Moeristown School, Morhistown, N. J.
January 15, 1908.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

PAGE

I. — Preliminary Reflections  1
II. — The Physical and Moral Characteristics of
President Diaz  Ig
III. — Period of Formation  51
IV. — Period of Development  73
V. — Diaz as a Revolutionary Leader ... 99
VI. — Diaz as President  128
VII. — The Re-election of General DXa.z . . 153
VIII. — Why General DIaz Has Remained in Power 172
IX. — Is General DIaz a Tyrant or a Despot? . 190
X. — Present Conditions in Mexico . . .217
XI. — The Last Phase of the Evolution of Presi
dent DIaz  252

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

Porfirio Dfaz in 1907  Frontispiece
President Dfaz in the Uniform of Major General . . 48
General Porfirio Dfaz in 1867  134
Sefiora Dofia Carmen Romero Rubio de Dfaz, Wife of
President Porfirio Dfaz  220

PORFIRIO DIAZ

CHAPTEE I
PBELIMINAKY BEFLECTIONS
TO judge a public man fairly, we must
consider first of all the objects of his
ambition, and secondly the means he
has used to gain these objects; nor should
we lose sight of the resources at his com
mand, the character of his time, and all
the surrounding conditions. Although in the
maelstrom of politics the means employed
may count for little, and only the results be
considered, it is a very different matter be
fore the tribunal of history. There every
thing must be examined with the most relent
less and impartial scrutiny; the maxim that
the end justifies the means will not pass mus
ter, and only that which is good in purpose,
as well as good in result, is deemed worthy.
1

POEFIEIO DIAZ
When in politics the desired end is ob
tained, whether through the use of reprehen
sible methods or not, society gladly appro
priates the fruits; for the public cannot be
expected to renounce its blessings, even if
they come from tainted sources. But the his
torian is obliged to analyze men and deeds,
motives and results; and, although he may
admire the achievement, he must censure the
man and never on any account represent him
as worthy of imitation, under pain of being
considered an accomplice of evil, without
gaining the credit of participation in the ad
vancement of society.
There is in the success of genius, however,
a quality which compels universal admira
tion; perhaps because his brilliancy dazzles
his contemporaries and prevents them from
seeing his faults. This effect is enhanced by
the work of the poet, who, carried away by
his own inspiration, makes a god of his hero,
presenting him before us endowed with every
perfection, without weaknesses or doubts, im-
2

PEELIMINAEY EEFLECTIONS
peccable, irresistible, the very incarnation of
omnipotent will, hallowed by his origin, and
deserving blind worship for the sake of his
mission. For this reason Plutarch in his
celebrated work, entitled " How a Young Man
Should Listen to Poetry," says, " As long as
a young man admires only that which poets
say and do rightly, there will be no ill ef
fects ; but if he admires indiscriminately, his
moral standards will insensibly deteriorate."
In history, we do not find the material
necessary for the formation of accurate esti
mates of the leaders of humanity, the creators
of nations, and the real makers of history, be
cause historians give greater prominence to
battles and events than to men, and always
follow a preconceived and pretentious philos
ophy, to which everything is subordinated,
whether in the name of Providence or Fate,
Evolution or Chance. In so doing, they fail
to give due weight to the effect of the per
sonality and genius of individuals ; forgetful
of the fact that the true study of mankind is
3

POEFIEIO DIAZ
man, and that history represents the eternal
ebb and flow of the tide of thought and ac
tion. History, to be of positive profit, should
give an insight into the springs of action of
the great leaders of humanity, such as Moses
or Christ, Alexander or Csesar, Leo X or
Luther, Charles V or Philip II, Frederick the
Great or Napoleon, Eichelieu or Voltaire,
Washington or Benito Juarez. We should
have placed before us all the resources and
difficulties surrounding the life of each, the
environment which molds from without and
the character of the man which modifies the
circumstances from within. For every ac
tion, no matter what its nature, is the direct
result of this double operation of the envi
ronment from without and the man from
within. Contrary to the opinion of many note
worthy authors, I attach as much importance
to the hero in a history as I should in a
dramatic poem; because I believe that his
tory, far from being impersonal, is supreme-
4

PEELIMINAEY EEFLECTIONS
ly personal; each epoch takes the character
impressed upon it by its greatest figure. For
this reason, I think that biography is of the
greatest value ; it really furnishes the key to
history. It also fills the countless gaps which
are always apparent when one studies a
period critically and with a desire to under
stand something more than the sequence of
names, dates, and events. But, in order that
biography may fulfill this mission, it is neces
sary that the biographer should proceed with
caution, with perfect understanding of causes
and effects, and with irreproachable impar
tiality. This last is a point of honor with
any one who devotes himself to a work of this
kind. Still he must not exclude enthusiasm,
nor, on the other hand, withhold censure
when it is deserved.
I believe the old custom of converting one's
hero into a demigod is as false and pernicious
as that, which many modern authors follow,
of undervaluing the subject of their biog
raphy to the point of making him common-
5

POEFIEIO DIAZ
place and without distinction. I agree with
Oscar Wilde that "cheap editions of great
books may be delightful, but cheap editions
of great men are absolutely detestable."
Carlyle was right, I think, in saying that
to form a just estimate of a man one should
consider first his virtues and afterwards his
defects. But, admitting, as I am sure we
must, that every character is made up of a
mixture of both, to present the former all at
one time, and the latter, catalogued separate
ly, afterwards, would make the work of little
value to the student. For to him the thing of
importance is the delineation of the charac
ter resulting from the combination of these
two elements in a human being. Analysis is
therefore necessary, but only on condition
that the personality should also be synthetic
ally reconstructed.
If biography is a sea filled with reefs, when
its subject is a man who from the beginning
of his career has followed a single course,
6

PEELIMINAEY EEFLECTIONS
consecrated to science or art, or has distin
guished himself only as a soldier or as a
statesman, how much greater is the difficulty,
when the subject of one's study unites to an
exceptional degree, as in the case of Porfirio
Diaz, the traits of both the soldier and the
statesman; figuring in the history of his
country as a great military genius, who is at
the same time and most of all honored as the.
statesman who brought peace and progress
to his people. In such a case, it is most
difficult to decide which side of his character
is most worthy of the admiration and appre
ciation of his fellow citizens and of the world.
And the admiration is so much the more jus
tified, when we realize that diametrically op
posed, if not mutually exclusive, qualities
are necessary to create a military genius of
the first order and a statesman of sufficient
power to modify the national character and
establish peace from the very elements which
he had previously used for carrying on war.
History furnishes examples of great war-
3 7

POEFIBIO DIAZ
riors, who were also great statesmen; we
must notice, too, that not one of these ever
made any attempt to bring about peace, or
had any idea of laying aside the sword, with
which he had cut his way to power and re
nown. Proof of this assertion will be found
in the cases of Julius Caesar, and Napoleon,
in both of whom we see united the great
qualities above mentioned. Caesar, who was
assassinated when at the height of his power
and glory, was at that very moment planning
a great expedition against the Parthians,
counting upon their defeat in order to return
through Scythia and Germania, and thus ex
tend the limits of his empire to the shores
of the ocean. Napoleon fell in the struggle,
and died a prisoner. " My power will fall,"
he declared, "unless I maintain it by new
victories. Conquest has made me what I am
and conquest must sustain me." Such was
his profession of faith. Washington was a
great statesman and a mediocre general.
Grant was a great general and a mediocre
8

PEELIMINAEY EEFLECTIONS
statesman. But in Porfirio Diaz we find both
qualities developed to the highest degree.
In the first part of his career, we see the
soldier, subordinating everything to the art
of war, his life devoted exclusively to the tri
umph, through arms, of those political prin
ciples which he had espoused, and to the
maintenance of national existence in the
face of the French invasion. He was the
most successful and renowned upholder of
his country's cause on the field of battle. In
the second part of his career, when he had
reached the presidency, we find the states
man studying the great problems of peace
and handling them with consummate skill,
eliminating all seeds of discord, restraining
unwholesome passions and dangerous im
patience, and banishing war, which at that
time seemed the natural condition of Mexico.
I believe that this apparent contradiction
in his career has its logical explanation.
For, although Porfirio Diaz had from the
first warlike instincts, a very natural thing
9

POEFIEIO DIAZ
in one who was born and brought up in the
midst of constant political and foreign wars,
his education fitted him for a civil career, that
of a lawyer ; furthermore, in his preparation
for college, he acquired the rudiments of sci
ence, which time and experience matured into
that practical statesmanship which has trans
formed Mexico. Thus we see that he was
well fitted by nature, and well prepared by
study, for the double role which he was des
tined to play.
Although Porfirio Diaz entered the career
of arms unexpectedly, he was not a half-
trained soldier ; he had studied the science of
war practically, in the field, and was pro
moted grade by grade in rapid succession, but
without any favoritism. He became general
of a division at the point of the sword;
through war he also gained reputation and
popularity, and with his sword, his reputa
tion, and his popularity, he won the Presi
dency of the Eepublic.
Once in that position, he turned his back
10

PEELIMINAEY EEFLECTIONS
upon the past, and concentrated all his power
upon the study of the present and the mold
ing of the future. His motto as a soldier was,
" Small resources and great effectiveness " ;
his motto as a statesman was, " Little politics
and much administration."
As a military chieftain, on the eve of bat
tle, he thought less about what he would do
after gaining the victory than of what he
would do in case of defeat. As chief execu
tive, on the other hand, he followed exactly
the opposite principle ; he always made up his
mind what he would do after he had obtained
the victory. This seems logical, because, in
a system that was almost entirely adminis
trative, the part played by chance, which cor
responds to politics, is almost a negligible
quantity. In waging war, he adopted the principle of
continually engaging the enemy, without giv
ing him respite or repose; and no matter
what might be the odds against him, he neu
tralized them by skill and strategy.
11

POEFIEIO DIAZ
In order to insure tranquillity, he followed
the system of making those who wished to
disturb the peace powerless and those who
had the power to do so his friends.
But that which is sufficient to bring about
mechanical peace is not sufficient to establish
organic peace; and the most serious charge
made against President Diaz is that he did
not realize this in time ; or that, if he did real
ize it, he made no effort to change his method
of procedure. It has been said by way of ex
planation that the indefinite prolongation of
his power has weakened his judgment, and
converted into personal ambition the patriot
ism, of which he had given such striking
proofs during the period of his heroic strug
gles and during the first three periods of his
tenure of office. These critics further assert
that, his only object being to govern as long
as he lives, he has subordinated all his knowl
edge and experience to this ambition, and has
permitted his admirable policy of national
education to degenerate into what has been
12

PEELIMINAEY EEFLECTIONS
called "a policy of conciliation": compromise
with all parties, in the attempt to convert
into accomplices both friends and enemies.
To my way of thinking, there is a differ
ent explanation, as I shall show at the proper
time. For the present, I shall simply say
that, in general, the foregoing explanation
would conform perfectly with human na
ture. When it is apparent that a system is
producing the desired results, few men dare
to introduce modifications, either because
they are restrained by the conservatism,
which all who govern long acquire, or for fear
that any innovation may bring about a catas
trophe. But, even if we admit that the above
explanation is the only logical one and main
tain that the charge is justified by the facts,
the fault would lie more with the people than
with President Diaz ; for, if it be true that he
has been oblivious of the public, it is equally
true that the public has been oblivious of
itself. It is said that at this point in his career
13

POEFIEIO DIAZ
the last and final evolution of President Diaz
began, namely, his conversion into a tyrant;
but those who say this fail to take into ac
count the scientific axiom that there is no
such thing as spontaneous generation, either
in the natural or the political world. A tyr
anny can be only the logical result of a com
bination of contributing elements, such as the
preponderating will of an all-powerful ruler
and the tacit consent of a public, whose char
acter has been gradually weakened, until its
weakness has degenerated into cowardice.
If President Diaz has been a tyrant, his
tyranny has been less the work of the gov
ernor than that of the governed. It was for
their own security that the people of Mexico
concurred with foreign nations in making his
tenure of office permanent.
We have all helped to bring about this pecu
liar situation, first by considering President
Diaz a useful instrument, then a necessity,
and, finally, a Providential Being. Have we
not all shamelessly, and without excuses, pro-
14

PEELIMINAEY EEFLECTIONS
claimed him as unique in history, turning
gratitude into fanaticism, praise into adora
tion, and even tried to convince General Diaz
himself of the truth of these extravagances?
There never was a man with sufficient
strength of character or modesty to resist
for thirty years the skillful flattery, which all,
through self-interest, have heaped upon him.
Lack of virility in a people fosters presump
tion in its rulers.
Some one has said, " Happy the nation that
has no history ! " I say, " Unhappy the na
tion that is not making history ! " Because,
as soon as public interest in politics ends,
slavery begins.
In General Diaz we see two men, one a real
individual, forceful and self-made ; the other
created by the imagination, a figure reared
by our own flattery and lying, and by the
money-seeking foreign writers, who know
neither what Mexico was nor is. These last
have been courteously received by the Pres-
15

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ident and by the officials of the country. They
have been paid good money for bad informa
tion. They have spread broadcast false im
pressions about Mexico ! The list of writers
is long: from Hurbert Howe Bancroft, the
American historian, to Mrs. Alec Tweedy, an
English writer.
The first to discountenance such exaggera
tions was General Diaz himself, who well un
derstood that publications of this kind would
in the long run do harm. I think it is now
high time to destroy the misconceptions, to
correct the mistakes, and to represent Gen
eral Diaz as he is, in his full stature of a
man, with human passions, and human ac
tions; a remarkable character, very re
markable, extraordinary, if you are of my
opinion, but not superhuman, nor infallible.
I have admired him, followed him, and
served him. I believe I know him as thor
oughly and intimately as it is given one man
to know another, and I appreciate him at his
full value. 16

PEELIMINAEY EEFLECTIONS
In this work, the reader will find a lively
account of General Diaz, written with scru
pulous fidelity to the facts, and without mis
representations of any kind. My work is
neither the work of a partisan, nor that of an
enemy, but the frank and loyal statement of
a witness before the Tribunal of -History; a
kind of deposition " ad perpetuum," which I
wish to bequeath to posterity before death
claims me. I do not say " surprises me," be
cause death could not now surprise me, as
I have been for some time prepared for its
summons.

CHAPTEE II
THE PHYSICAL AND M0KAL CHABACTEBISTICS OF
PRESIDENT DIAZ
ETHNICALLY, Porfirio Diaz is a prod
uct of the mingling of the two prin
cipal races which inhabit Mexico. In
his veins there courses the mixed blood of the
Spaniard and the Indian, as is the case with
all the men who have distinguished them
selves in any career whatsoever in Mexico;
his character is a combination of the reflect
iveness of the " Misteca " and the tenacity
of the Asturian.
Men considered eminently practical are
usually hands without brains, and men called
idealists are apt to be brains without hands.
But Diaz, properly speaking, does not belong
to either of these two classes; for in him
these qualities are so evenly balanced that
they offset one another. Furthermore, natu-
18

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
rai ingenuity and acquired intellectual power
make up his character in almost equal pro
portions. He is a man of definite aims,
rather than an idealist; a man of action,
rather than a practical man; and he might
well say with Napoleon, " My iron hand was
not placed at the end of my arm, but con
nected directly with my brain."
Diaz first conceives a purpose, then reflects
upon the means of accomplishing it, carefully
estimates its magnitude and considers the ob
stacles in its way, and finally gathers his
forces to win the victory. He never measures
the power of his personality; he has blind
faith in himself, knowing that there always
remain in reserve ideas and resources with
which to meet the unexpected. He does not
trust in his star, as Napoleon did ; he has no
superstitions, as Caesar had; he never leaves
anything to chance. Being an inflexible
logician, a mathematical calculator, he ex
pects everything to turn out according to
his deductions and calculations. That is to
19

POEFIEIO DIAZ
say, he has absolute confidence in his own
genius. From the race commingling already men
tioned, he has inherited neither the fatalism
of the Indian, nor the superstition of the
Latin; or, if these factors have entered into
his make-up, they have neutralized each other
so perfectly that they have disappeared.
As a soldier, we see him always working
with the certainty and the inexhaustible en
ergy of the forces of nature. As a states
man, we see him acting with the firmness of
profound conviction and with the precision
of a mathematical formula. His self-com
mand is so perfect that he always succeeds
in whatever he undertakes, whether the task
is that of cutting his way through the armed
ranks of an enemy or through political vicis
situdes and obstructions. In military history,
he appears as a thunderbolt in attack, as a
rock in defense. But anyone who studies this
biography deeply and becomes intimately ac
quainted with its hero will be convinced that
20

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
even those actions which seem most violent
and hasty, such as the assault of Puebla on
April 2, 1867, were never actuated by a sud
den inspiration, but were the result of cold
calculation. One can see also that, if his
conception of defense was that of a rock for
stability, it in no way implied inactivity; for
whenever he found himself in the mountains,
pursued and surrounded by enemies, or shut
up within the walls of a fortification, he al
ways tried to assume the offensive.
As a ruler we find in him traces of audacity
identical with those which are conspicuous in
his military career; audacity in execution,
never in resolution ; for his plans are always
made with calm reflection. For instance, at
the commencement of his second term of of
fice as President, in December, 1884, he was
confronted by an empty treasury, a country
with all its resources mortgaged, and a people
overwhelmed with debt. In this situation,
which would have disheartened a man of the
utmost courage, Porfirio Diaz remained im-
21

POEFIEIO DIAZ
perturbable yet daring; for he promulgated
the edicts of June 22, 1885, which placed
all the creditors of the state on an equal
footing, temporarily suspended the pay
ment of debts, reduced the salaries of public
officials and employees, and converted the
claims against the treasury into notes at six
per cent, a rate which represented a just com
pensation in view of the arrangement to defer
payment. I do not find in Porfirio Diaz, either as a
general or as a statesman, that fiery rashness
or ill-considered bravery which has been at
tributed to him. Indeed, such qualities ap
pear to me serious defects, rather than vir
tues, in a general or a statesman ; for a good
soldier does nothing by chance, and a good
statesman knows that rashness hardly ever
results favorably. But what is more to the
point, it is strictly in accordance with the
facts to consider Porfirio Diaz a man of pru
dence in council and courage in action. His
prudence is not to be mistaken for mere com-
22

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
mon sense, which makes men choose the saf
est means in order to keep out of danger ; nor
yet that which in reality is nothing more than
the instinct of self-preservation; nor even
that of the higher order, which employs the
means most effective for achieving the de
sired results. His prudence is of the highest
type, that which distinguishes the true
hero, impelling him to follow resolutely the
promptings of his own nature, accepting its
advantages and disadvantages, conveniences
and inconveniences, and always remaining
true to his own individuality. In fact, the
chief secret of Porfirio Diaz's success is that
he has never falsified his own nature.
There are many points of similarity be
tween Diaz and Napoleon, but one must, of
course, always bear in mind the difference in
period and in general conditions. Porfirio
Diaz has a profound contempt for men in
general, although he has always tried to
hide it. And, after all, could there be any
thing more natural for a man in his position,
3 23

POEFIEIO DIAZ
who has constantly before his eyes all the
wretchedness of human nature: perfidious
envy, mean-spirited calumny, abject flattery,
groundless pretensions, barefaced ambitions,
infamous hypocrisy, and who is obliged to
contend against all these passions, and
against that horde of wonder-workers who,
whether they wear frock coats or uniforms
or the Sunday best of the middle class, are
all animated by a common self-interest. Any
one who sees all this will, I repeat, almost
of necessity feel a profound disgust for the
human race. This helps us to understand the
skepticism of Eichelieu, Cromwell, Charles
V, Philip II, Frederick the Great, and
Napoleon. For Diaz, as for these other
great figures in history, men are simply
factors in an equation, to be added or sub
tracted with the same indifference to second
ary considerations that a mathematician
would feel. But if the factor eliminated has
the power to become a dangerous enemy in
the event of his falling into abject despera-
24

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
tion, the statesman must keep him at a cer
tain level without permitting him to rise too
high or fall too low, until death removes the
man altogether.
Death has been a most powerful ally of
General Diaz. Every man who has crossed
his path or had the power to oppose him, has
fallen by death. I do not now refer to those
whom he has had shot as revolutionists, but
to all those others : Juarez, Corona, Pacheco,
Dublan, Eomero, Eubio, etc., whether ene
mies or dangerous friends. This does not
mean that I suspect General Diaz of having
aided in the disappearance of those men ; for
I am not capable of making such cowardly
insinuations, and calumny is the last thing I
wish to be guilty of. Death has come of its
own accord, as an intelligent and opportune
ally; that is all. Napoleon was less scrupu
lous ; he aided death.
Napoleon said that he had " made his gen
erals of common clay." Porfirio Diaz may
well say that he has done the same in the case
25

POEFIEIO DIAZ
of practically all his satellites. For with the
exception of Don Matias Eomero, and of Don
Ignacio Mariscal, the President has never
utilized the services or the talents of any
man who had reached eminence before the
Diaz regime. All those who have figured
in high positions since 1878 owe everything
to him; therefore it may well be said of
President Diaz, as it was of the great Cor-
sican, that he knows the capacity and the
quality of every one of the men whom he
manipulates. Diaz has always had an exalted opinion of
the press, not because of its usefulness to the
public, but because of the injury which it
might do to his plans. Not daring to destroy
it directly, he subjugated it. Following the
maxim that the press can only be combated
by the press, he started partisan papers and
aided them generously, in order to make in
dependent competition impossible. Napoleon
said that if he had granted liberty to the
press, his power would not have lasted three
26

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
days. President Diaz was of the same opin
ion, and for that reason armed himself with
the printing law, which fetters all those who
write or print. This he did in good faith ; for
in order to carry out his plans, it was neces
sary that neither his aims nor his methods
should be discussed. It was also necessary
to avoid opposition, which is always passion
ate with us, and leads to the revolutionary
impulse. This it was General Diaz's purpose
to kill once and for all.
Another aphorism of Napoleon is that a
great reputation makes a great noise, and
that the greater the noise, the farther off it
will be heard ; on the other hand, laws, insti
tutions, monuments, even nations, come to an
end, while the noise continues reverberating
down through the ages. Porfirio Diaz thought
the same, but with this difference: what in
Napoleon's case was simply a question of
vanity, with Diaz was a political creed. At
first his natural modesty made him shun
notoriety, but when he understood how use-
27

POEFIEIO DIAZ
fui it was, he accepted it and perpetuated it,
not in order to satisfy his own vanity, but
that of his countrymen; for he found that it
helped to keep them united to him through
their national pride. It also had the effect
of making it seem necessary that he should
continue in power. Nevertheless, I repeat
that President Diaz hates exaggeration and
dislikes a Wagnerian blast of trumpets.
Napoleon was jealous of his best generals,
and some people say that Porfirio Diaz also
was jealous of those who were prominent in
serving their country during the time of the
French invasion. To prove the charge, they
cite Escobedo and Corona, who, they say,
never enjoyed the favor of President Diaz.
I think that those who hold this opinion are
mistaken. In the first place, Diaz is unques
tionably far superior in military genius to
the two captains just mentioned ; there never
was any danger of their eclipsing him. In
the second place, Escobedo was a political
enemy of President Diaz, and Corona was
28

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
never truly one of his party. Finally, the
President did honor both of these men, and,
if he did not elevate them to the highest posi
tions, it was, as I have already said, because
he never used any men except those whom he
himself had molded and raised to office.
With Corona, furthermore, there was a
peculiar circumstance: he figured as one of
the possible successors of President Diaz.
Corona himself expected this honor, and not
without reason, for he had already been
made governor of the powerful State of Ja
lisco. This post he held until he came to a
tragic death at the hands of a crazy fanatic,
who committed suicide immediately after
wards. The family of General Corona en
joyed and still enjoys the firm protection of
President Diaz.
As a diplomat, President Diaz stands in the
highest rank. Some writers have maintained
that he belongs to the school of Machiavelli,
amended and brought up to date by Napo
leon ; that he is not afraid of either truth or
29

POEFIEIO DIAZ
falsehood, but uses both as circumstances re
quire. The above assertion is another grave
error. President Diaz is original in diplo
macy as in everything else. His diplomacy
is his own ; no one so well knows how to steer
between Scylla and Charybdis, without allow
ing either to so much as suspect which course
he has made up his mind to follow. He can
give out a false scent without falsehood ; just
as an expert swordsman tells no lies when he
makes a feint with his blade. Certain it is
that when he concedes anything, he does it
on the same principle as the fisherman, who
risks his worthless bait in order to catch a
fish. Pope Leo XIII, who was reputed a most
skillful diplomat, tried to make a concordat
with President Diaz, and sent as his agent
Monsignor Seraffini, an exceptionally gifted
man for the undertaking. After many visits
and frequent conferences with the President,
the Italian diplomat acknowledged himself
outgeneraled. In conversation with a friend
30

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
of mine, who had become intimate with Mon
signor Seraffini, the latter confessed that he
had never encountered such a man as Presi
dent Diaz. When he thought he had him
cornered, with no way of escape except that
of a direct answer, Diaz slipped through his
fingers with the agility of an eel. In spite
of skillful cross-questioning, Seraffini failed
to discover what the President thought re
garding the concordat. He never succeeded
in eliciting any kind of a promise, a " Per
haps," a " We will see," or even a refusal.
General Diaz is head of the Freemasons in
Mexico. He is of the thirty-third degree and
Grand Commander for life. At the same time
he is the invisible head of the Catholic
Church, its arch protector and its director,
influencing indirectly the appointment of
bishops and archbishops and the creation of
new dioceses and archbishoprics. In this
way he has managed to prevent Mexican
Freemasonry, which has always been Jac
obin, and the clergy, which has always been
31

POEFIEIO DIAZ
revolutionary and retrogressive, from mak
ing a single move. He presides at the chief
masonic functions, his wife presides at im
portant religious ceremonials; thus, both
Jacobins and Ultramontanes have been sat
isfied, and each party claims a victory, which
in reality is nothing more than a defeat for
them both.
This is another instance, some people say,
of what they call "the policy of concilia
tion." But in reality it is another indica
tion of the subordination and pacification,
to which I have already referred, each body
revolving in the plane of its own orbit and
having for its center the President of the
Eepublic. In politics it has been the chief aim of Pres
ident Diaz to obtain the friendship of the
United States. This once gained, he has in
creased and strengthened it to the utmost.
To maintain these ties, he has been willing
to make every kind of sacrifice; to such a
32

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
point has he carried his policy, that there are
those who say that to-day there is nothing in
Mexico worth so much as citizenship papers
of the United States. Others assert that the
President has no real sympathy with the
United States, but is acting like a child
seeking the protection of a stronger and
more formidable comrade against the ag
gression of his schoolfellows. To this big
boy he gives in return his best toys and most
tempting dainties.
The fact is that President Diaz has a sin
cere admiration for the Government and
people of the United States. It has always
been his policy to strengthen the friendly
relations between the two countries and to
make the relationship evident to all the
world. Moreover, it is quite possible that,
if he had not realized this aim, his achieve
ments for Mexico would not have reached the
magnitude which they have actually attained.
The friendship of the United States means
to President Diaz the security of his north-
33

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ern frontier, the elimination from politics of
any question of international friction with
his powerful neighbor, a cloud which loomed
upon the horizon several times during his
first two presidential terms. Friendship
with the United States means also the secur
ity of our southern frontier, which has been
threatened by Guatemala every time that
country has succeeded in securing the moral
support of the United States, as she did when
Mr. Blaine was Secretary of State. Friendly
relations with the United States means the
introduction into Mexico of American cap
ital, and of great business undertakings by
Americans. This of itself has been one of
the most important elements in the develop
ment of the country, because it has increased
the reputation of Mexico, inspired confidence
in European nations, and made it possible
to organize the public debt and to raise loans.
It has served also as a powerful check upon
the turbulent elements of the interior, by
making them understand that anyone who
34

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
conspires against the Government might
thereby precipitate American intervention,
thus endangering the nationality of Mexico
itself. This has been in reality one of the
principal factors in the pacification of the
country and the maintenance of permanent
peace. It has been conclusively proved that there
is in men a constant tendency to consider as
inseparable an efficient cause and its results.
The idea of power and the idea of greatness
have been evolved in the mind with such close
analogy that they appear at first sight as
identical, or, at least, as so closely related
that they have become inseparable. It is this
misconception, which makes it impossible to
conceive Alexander or Caesar or Napoleon
as men of ordinary stature, and justifies the
saying of the sculptor Bouchardon that when
he reads Homer, he beholds men ten feet
high. The same thing has happened in the case
35

POEFIEIO DIAZ
of General Diaz : imagination represents him
as a Colossus and in all his pictures he ap
pears as a man of great height. On horse
back he does actually carry out the illusion,
because he has the habit, so common among
military chiefs, of riding very tall horses.
When sitting he produces the same impres
sion, because he is long of body and a trifle
short of leg. Even on foot he appears taller
than he really is, because of a certain erect-
ness of carriage, acquired during the last
twenty-five years ; a sort of personal impres-
siveness, perhaps the outward expression of
the evolution which has been taking place in
his character and position. One might al
most say that since he left off being a soldier,
he has acquired the military carriage.
To any one of us, who has known him dur
ing the last forty years, this is evident; to
others a glance at his photographs, taken at
different periods, would demonstrate this
evolution. As a young man he looked somewhat timid,
36

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
certainly far from self-confident. He was
awkward, thin, with something of a stoop,
and careless in his dress. The change in him
really commenced after his second presi
dency in 1884. Contact with the best soci
ety, the influence of his second wife, his
relations with the diplomatic corps, the exi
gencies of his high political position, the
culture which he was insensibly acquiring,
and his genius, have all contributed to trans
form him in appearance from a guerrila
chief to an accomplished man of the world,
grave and with an air of unaffected elegance
and dignity.
This athletic pose has been by some people
attributed to senile vanity. The truth is that,
as he has grown older, General Diaz has seen
fit to exhibit more and more the physical force
and agility, which were always in him ; but to
my mind it has been brought out not by van
ity, but for political purposes. It is a manner
assumed to inspire public confidence and a
belief in his remarkable energy and lasting
37

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ability to remain in power and to carry all
the cares of state upon his ample shoulders.
General Diaz is a little above medium
height, and one might well say that he is of
the model size for an active man; he makes
one conscious of his power. He has broad
shoulders, large chest, well-developed and
prominent muscles, with no sign of embon
point; his figure has a muscular contour,
which in spite of his age is not obscured
with fat; in short, he has a Herculean con
stitution and shows it in every line. His
head is of good size; his forehead is moder
ately high, broad and open; his eyes are
dark and symmetrically placed; his glance
is firm and a little severe when he is speak
ing, and extraordinarily penetrating when
he listens; his nose is regular, somewhat
broad at the end, with rather open nos
trils, as if his well-developed lungs needed
to breathe a great quantity of air ; his mouth
is neither large nor small, covered with a
gray, military mustache; his lips are firm
38

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
without compression, and look as if they
knew how to keep silent, even under torture,
and as evidently could speak fluently when
occasion demanded, without ever falling into
garrulousness; his chin is somewhat fleshy
but well shaped; his ears are large rather
than small; his neck is broad and a trifle
short, like that of a man descended from a
race accustomed through many generations
to carry the weight of a steel helmet; his
color is high, as that of a full-blooded man
should be, but without a trace of plethoric
lividness; his hair is short, stiff and thick;
in its time it was black, but to-day it is gray;
his hands are of medium size, somewhat
broad and nervous; his legs are short com
pared with his body; his feet well propor
tioned. In walking he carries his head high with
out stiffness or haughtiness; breathes deep
ly and easily; has a look of confidence, as
normally developed men should have ; a firm,
resolute step, light without precipitation.
* 39

POEFIEIO DIAZ
These outward signs correspond to those of
a man who has full confidence in himself,
boundless energy, and is destined to long life.
His attitude is one of easy activity ; just what
one would expect of a dominant nature which
acts without effort. Apparently he has not
a single muscle held forcibly in restraint, and
his firm, free movements indicate a person
with a will always ready to assert itself.
His moral make-up corresponds to his phys
ical. His is a soul of steel within a body of
iron. The body is unbreakable, the soul has
the temper of a Toledo blade, rigid in cutting,
flexible only in the thrust ; not with the flexi
bility of the subdued, but of the conqueror,
and it immediately returns to the attack with
greater force than before, and never breaks
nor twists.
In General Diaz memory, intellect, and will
are all equally well developed. His memory
is astoundmg; he remembers the face and
name of everyone whom he has ever seen,
even if only once; he recalls the circum-
40

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
stances and place of meeting. He also has a
good memory for events, dates, and places.
He is a great character reader. It seems
to be instinctive with him when anyone
speaks to him upon a matter of importance,
even if it is entirely new to him and very
complex, to concentrate all his attention upon
it; and hardly has one time to sketch the
outline, before he has grasped its connection
and its details, as if by intuition.
He enters into the business of administra
tion down to its minutest details, without be
coming petty. He takes up each day, at great
length, his immense private correspondence,
and dictates the answers. He keeps in touch
with the affairs of the whole world, and keeps
pace with science and literature as well; he
reads and studies, who knows when! His
voice is low, strong and somewhat hoarse;
his speech is deliberate, but always has the
ring of command.
Among his intimates, especially when he
leaves the Capital for a visit to the country,
41

POEFIEIO DIAZ
or for a hunt, he shows traces of the boy af
ter school is dismissed. He has a veritable
passion for hunting and is a first-rate shot.
On trips of this kind his spirits break out
into something very like joviality, though
he never quite reaches that point; he is,
however, what one would call extremely good
company, and at such times he does not want
to talk shop.
He is to-day, as always, extremely temper
ate in his eating and drinking, and very much
averse to late hours, although he is amply
able to stand them. He gets up at sunrise,
takes a cold bath, goes through some gym
nastic exercises, and then has a walk. His
life is as regular as clockwork, and for that
reason he has time for everything and does
everything at the proper time.
When he finds it necessary to speak in pub
lic, he expresses himself with restrained elo
quence, interspersed with felicitous phrases.
He always goes straight to the heart of the
question, handling it with tact, yet in a
42

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
straightforward manner. As a rule, under
the excitement of inspiration, however calm
he may be outwardly, a certain softening,
almost sadness, comes over him and tears
dim his eyes.
In his private life he is, perhaps, even a
finer man than in his public character. He
commands the greatest respect and admira
tion of his friends, and might be called a
perfect model in his family. In fact, his
supremely well-ordered private life has been
one of the chief causes of his popularity, as
well as of his success and his inexhaustible
energy. This has been a blessing to Mexico,
for if General Diaz had been a libertine, the
corruption of Mexico would have surpassed
that of Eome at the time of the Caesars.
Plutarch, in his work entitled "How to
Eeap Benefit from our Enemies," asserts
that among the benefits which these may con
fer upon us, one of the greatest is that of
obliging us to live always on our guard
against plots; another consists in forcing us
43

POEFIEIO DIAZ
to live honestly in order to outdo our rivals,
not by combat, but by obliging them to be
secretly jealous of our good qualities.
Had Porfirio Diaz read these words of wis
dom, or did he know them by instinct ? I can
not say; but the fact is that from his early
youth he has been what he is to-day at sev
enty-seven years. Those who have known
him longest, those who have lived with him
in the intimate association of the military
camp, those who have seen him at short
range in all the phases of his existence, agree
that he has not changed an atom in his
habits. Temperate both by nature and by training,
he has never given himself up to the dissi
pations so common among the young men
of the army, especially when they are in the
field ; he never has taken the least advantage
of the halo of glory, which surrounded him
when he was still quite young, to enter upon
any of those romantic adventures, for the
indulgence of which he might well have been
44

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
pardoned on account of his youth and his
position. Strict with others, he has always been par
ticularly strict with himself, and his private
conduct has served as a constant example to
his equals and to his subordinates. He has
always taken duty for his standard — duty
fulfilled to the letter.
This athlete of countless struggles, this
gladiator of countless victories, has had the
forethought and the ability to create a refuge
in which to rest, when he laid down his arms,
or set aside the cares of administration — a
refuge where he might convert himself into
an everyday man, refresh his body by repose,
and renew the temper of his soul through the
affections of his family.
When we consider the home life of Napo
leon, we find that this monopolizer of all
the glories committed grave errors, upon
which, perhaps, the ultimate disaster of his
portentous labors turned. These errors con
sisted in never having known how to make
45

POEFIEIO DIAZ
a true friend, nor to love and be loved by
a woman. He was a consummate egotist;
he had no notion what the give and take of
love meant; he succeeded in making himself
admired and feared, but not loved, nor re
spected. There was in him brain without
heart, force without feeling. In short, he was
a monster, in whom was nothing human but
the form.
General Diaz, as we have seen, did not
make these mistakes; he well knew how to
make friends who should be, as it were, the
completion of his own being on its material,
intellectual, and emotional sides. General
Diaz attracted to his circle companions, who
came because of their avarice, and he took
care that their greed should never be sati
ated; he well understood how to keep them
attached to the ruler who dispensed favors.
He inspired the affection of two women, who
became identified with him, and who suited
admirably the two roles which he played one
after another in public life. His first wife
46

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
followed him during the years in which he
was acquiring fame, and died at the very
hour of his triumph. His second wife was
by his side while he was making an immortal
name for himself, and shared in his deifica
tion. Both were the completion of his moral
self, bringing to him that feminine quality
which is necessary for the perfection of the
soul of man, for it is that which humanizes
him. Such is President Diaz, roughly sketched,
physically and morally. He has a bodily
frame well calculated to resist the wear and
tear of life, and ready to perform all its ac
tivities with the agility of the gymnast and
the strength of the athlete. He is the type of
the soldier and the gentleman, he cuts a good
figure on horseback in his military uniform,
resplendent with magnificent decorations,
both national and foreign ; he makes an equal
ly good appearance in the drawing-room, in
the severe dress of the civilian, only relieved
47

POEFIEIO DIAZ
by a simple boutonniere. He looks like a
man who can withstand the strain of long
days in the saddle or on foot without over
fatigue and pass nights on the watch, or
sleeping under the light military tent, without
injuring his health; who would be quite un
affected by exposure to deluges of rain or
the tropical sun, or the winter snows of our
high mountains; he is proof as well against
the cares of administration, the disappoint
ments of politics, and the rubs of everyday
life. I do not dare to maintain that the appear
ance which we all note is a reality. No one
knows what General Diaz really is physically,
or how he may look to his valet, when he is
not on parade. His seventy-seven years of
constant struggle and stress of mind must
have made internal ravages, which he care
fully conceals.
The effort on behalf of Minister Liman-N
tour, which President Diaz has been making
for some time past, is considered by many
48

PRESIDENT DIAZ IN THE UNIFORM OF MAJOR GENERAL.

CHAEACTEEISTICS OF DIAZ
people as a sure sign of his decadence. I do
not believe it ! In this, as in everything else,
the President is following a political motive,
perhaps that of making ready a remote suc
cessor, watching him and trying to make him
popular little by little, without regard for the
fact that he can never become a successful
candidate ; for Mr. Limantour, notwithstand
ing all his prestige, can never become Presi
dent of Mexico, because the constitution for
bids it.1
To sum up the whole life of President Diaz
in a word, one might say that his most strik
ing bodily characteristic is force, his most
striking mental characteristics compelling
will and irresistible energy. Even the poor
est character reader, seeing President Diaz
1 The Mexican Constitution requires that the President of
the Republic shall be a native Mexican; it is not enough that
he should have been born within the national territory, for,
as we follow the jus sanguinis not the jus solis, his parents
also must be Mexican citizens. Senor Limantour's father and
mother were French, and he remained of their nationality,
until he was twenty-one. At that time, he chose to become a
Mexican citizen. He is, therefore, a citizen by naturalization
only.
49

POEFIEIO DIAZ
for the first time, without having the slight
est previous knowledge of his personality,
could not fail to perceive at once that the man
before him amounted to something and was
a distinct character.

CHAPTEE in
PEBIOD OF FOBMATION
JULIUS C^ESAE, in his eulogy at the
funeral services of his Aunt Julia, wife
of Marius the Elder, spoke of his own
genealogy. " My maternal grandfather,"
said he, " was descended from Ancus Mar-
tius, one of the first kings of Eome, and my
father belonged to the Julian family, which
was descended from Venus. There is, there
fore, in my blood, the sanctity of kings, the
masters of men, and the majesty of gods, the
masters of kings." In this respect, Porfirio
Diaz did not resemble the conqueror of all
Gaul. Neither kings nor goddesses were
among his ancestry. His origin is much
more humble, and for this reason his eleva
tion to the supreme power is all the more to
his credit.
Porfirio Diaz was born in the city of Oax-
51

POEFIEIO DIAZ
aca, capital of the state of the same name, in
the " Meson de la Soledad," so called because
of its proximity to the church which bears
that name. The house has disappeared, and
in its place stands to-day the public school
"Porfirio Diaz."
His father was Jose de la Cruz Diaz and
his mother Petrona Mori, both descendants
of the Spanish and native Indian races.
Sefiora Mori's father was of Asturian stock,
and her mother, Tecla Cortes, of the pure
Mexican-Indian race.
Jose Diaz and Petrona Mori had already
had five children, when a boy was born who,
on September 15, 1830, was baptized with the
name of JOSE DE LA CEUZ POEFIEIO
DIAZ. His godfather, Jose Augustin Do
minguez, was a man of college education,
and at that time curate of Nochixtlan;
later he became Bishop of Oaxaca. In the
baptismal record the date of the birth of the
child is omitted, but September 15th has
been generally considered as the birth-
52

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
day of the President of the Mexican Ee-
public. Don Jose had been farrier of a regiment,
and on taking up his quarters in Oaxaca, he
installed in a part of his house a blacksmith's
forge and a veterinary hospital. In the
midst of these poor surroundings, Sefior and
Sefiora Diaz lived, free from actual want,
and brought up their numerous family, which
was further augmented by a seventh child,
Felix, who was the last.
In 1833, hard-working Don Jose died a vic
tim to the epidemic of cholera, and Dofia
Petrona remained a widow, poor, and under
the necessity of vigorous struggle in order
to live and support her children. This she
succeeded in doing, because of her character
and energy.
Porfirio Diaz came into the world under
very unfavorable circumstances, according
to the common opinion on such matters, but
under the most favorable circumstances, ac
cording to my judgment. Poverty, border-
53

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ing on misery, makes the best mold in which
to cast great characters. History proves this
in a manner quite irrefutable. As far as
Mexico is concerned, the three greatest men
she has produced, Morelos, Juarez, and Por
firio Diaz were turned out of this mold.
Adulation represents Porfirio Diaz as a
prodigy from his very infancy. Nothing
could be more untrue ; he was not precocious
in childhood, nor distinguished as a student
in college. His education was not better than
the average. The best proof of this (in spite
of all published statements to the contrary)
is that General Diaz read badly and wrote
worse — in a hand which rivaled Napoleon's
for illegibility. Napoleon is said to have
been unable to read his own handwriting ; no
expert could decipher his scrawls, and, fur
thermore, his knowledge of grammar was con
spicuous by its absence. I have no wish to
detract from either general's reputation, but
to state matters just as they are. However,
it is not necessary to know grammar in order
54

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
to win battles and elevate one's self to the
rank of a hero ; nor is it necessary to know
Latin in order to achieve fame as a states
man. On the contrary, a first-rate univer
sity education is, in my opinion, apt to be a
grave impediment in the way of either
achievement. Porfirio Diaz did not owe his success to his
schooling, but to his genius. He was neither
precocious nor backward, but normally de
veloped. Almost before he had mastered the rudi
ments, he began to learn his chosen trade,
that of carpentry. In 1845, when he was
only fifteen years old, his mother made up
her mind to enter him in the Oaxaca Semi
nary, in order that he might take the prelim
inary course necessary to prepare him for
the priesthood.
In pursuance of this object, he continued
his studies till 1849, when, at the suggestion
of his godfather, Don Jose Augustin Domin
guez, the Church was decided upon as his
s 55

POEFIEIO DIAZ
career. This decision was made to please his
mother and to take advantage of his god
father's offer of a chaplaincy. In those days,
a chaplaincy opened the way to a life of
broad opportunities.
If Porfirio Diaz did not show any great
disposition for his books, he did, like Ber
trand Duquesclin, reveal excellent qualifica
tions as a fighter with clubs, fists, rocks, or
any weapon which came to hand. In those
days of riot and revolution, Porfirio's fight
ing tendencies found ready means for their
development, and he was made captain of
a company of boys who were learning to drill
in the squares and open places of Oaxaca.
At that time a battalion of National Guards
was being organized in Oaxaca to resist the
American invasion. It never saw actual ser
vice, for it was composed of boys, a fact
which gave it the nickname of " Better-than-
Nothing." In this way, Porfirio learned how
to handle a rifle, and according to some biog
raphers, took his first lessons in tactics and
56

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
strategy at the same time under Lieutenant
Colonel Ignacio Uria.
Thus it happened that in 1850 Porfirio
gave up the idea of becoming a priest, to the
great disgust of his family, and entered the
Institute of Oaxaca to study law, a career
much more to his taste. In the institute he
was irresistibly drawn toward a group of
young men who were affiliated with the Lib
eral Party. He advanced regularly in his
course, and, at the end of 1853, took his first
examination in the law, and in January, 1854,
his second.
But Destiny evidently did not intend Por
firio Diaz either for the priesthood or the
law. The ominous dictatorship of Santa-
Anna had become insupportable. In those
days there was public spirit in Mexico, and
men of courage and sound principles who
were ready to fight against tyranny !
On March 1, 1854, in the State of Gue
rrero, the revolutionary Declaration of Ayut
la was proclaimed, and on March 11th the
57

POEFIEIO DIAZ
garrison of Acapulco re-affirmed the Decla
ration, with some changes.
Santa-Anna, baleful president for Mex
ico, was both a knave and a fool, however
contradictory this may seem, for 4he first
requisite of a rascal is intelligence. He
was anxious to smother the revolution in
blood, and marched toward the State of
Guerrero; but at the same time, wishing to
deceive the public, he hit upon the idea of
requesting the people to decide by vote
whether he should continue to exercise the
dictatorial power, which he now stood ready
to surrender.
On October 20, 1854, this bombastic tyrant
declared to the nation, through the medium
of the Secretary of State, Don Ignacio
Aguilar, his conviction that it was impossible
to govern without dictatorial power, but that
he did not desire to retain this power ex
cept with the full confidence of the Mexican
people ; he was, therefore, anxious to consult
their wishes. With this end in view he de-
58

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
creed that, on December 1st, the presidents of
the local boards should hold in all centers of
population of Mexico mass meetings, in which
every Mexican, of whatever class or condi
tion, should participate, in order to express
with perfect freedom and inviolability his
opinion upon this grave question. He further
directed the people to express their will only
upon the following points: "1st, Whether
Santa- Anna, President of the Eepublic, shall
continue to hold the supreme power with the
same unrestricted authority which he to-day
exercises ; 2d, In case he is not to continue to
exercise these unlimited powers, to whom
shall he delegate this authority at once and
forthwith? "
In Oaxaca more than six thousand persons
voted to continue him in his tyrannical pow
ers; only two had sufficient courage to ex
press their true opinion — Miguel Euiz, who
voted against the first clause, and named as
president Don Juan Bautista Ceballos, and
Porfirio Diaz, who did the same, but gave his
59

POEFIEIO DIAZ
vote in favor of General Juan Alvarez,
leader of the revolution then in progress. In
spite of all his promises of liberty and guar
antees to respect individual opinion, all who
voted for General Alvarez were arrested and
convicted of conspiracy.
Santa-Anna's perfidious action, and the
order of arrest, determined Porfirio Diaz's
future; he immediately decided to flee from
Oaxaca and join one of the revolutionary
bands. Thought and action being one with
him, he proceeded at once to Mixteca, and
joined the force of one Captain Herrera,
composed of two hundred men, badly armed,
and without organization.
This force was pursued and put to flight.
Porfirio Diaz remained in hiding until July,
1855, when the Santa-Anna government was
overthrown in Oaxaca by a popular insurrec
tion. At that time, Porfirio Diaz was made
sub-prefect of Ixtlan, and there organized
shortly afterwards a force of one hundred
and fifty men, with whom he participated in
60

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
the triumph of the Eevolution of Ayutla.
After that, he became commander of a bat
talion of the National Guard. This position
he soon resigned and returned to his sub-
prefecture of Ixtlan. Here he remained only
a short time, as the Eeactionary Party had
appealed to arms to overthrow the govern
ment, which had been set up according to the
" Declaration of Ayutla."
At that time, the government of Oaxaca
was reorganizing the National Guards to
fight against the guerrilla bands of revolu
tionists which had invaded the state, and
Porfirio Diaz was made captain of the
" Second Battalion of the State." This was
the real beginning of his military career;
from that time on he followed this calling
continuously and with distinction.
Many of the biographies of President Diaz
represent him at this time as a military gen
ius, and as actual director of his superiors.
In fact, nothing of the sort was the case; I
have General Diaz's own statement on this
61

POEFIEIO DIAZ
point. During the first period of his military
career, he made up his mind to observe, study,
and obey. There was, of course, within him
the material for a great captain, and this
material was slowly developing, favored by
circumstances. Diaz's first position was that of a subaltern
who understood orders and knew how to
carry them out. He was well disciplined, a
good organizer, and brave. He took natu
rally to the art of war, acquired experience,
and afterwards transformed the art into a
science. On August 13, 1857, he was seriously
wounded in the battle of Ixcapa. It took four
months to heal this wound, but he pulled
through, thanks to his sound constitution.
He returned to the fight before he had com
pletely recovered, in order to cooperate in
the defense of the city of Oaxaca, which was
menaced from December, 1857, to January,
1858, by the Eeactionary leader of unsavory
memory, Jose Maria Cobos.
62

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
President Comonfort launched his baleful
coup d'etat; after this came General Felix
Zuloaga's declaration of support, in which
he explained the plan of Tacubaya, ignoring
the Constitution of 1857, and proclaiming
" Eeligion and Privileges."
Diaz's work in the Constitutional Party
showed him to be a true Liberal, and he con
tinued fighting for this noble cause. He fig
ured with some distinction in the so-called
" Three Years' War," having taken part in
the capture of Jalapa (Oaxaca) on February
25, 1858, and in the battle of Las Jicaras on
April 13th of the same year, as commander-
in-chief. This action resulted in his promo
tion to the rank of major on July 22d. At
that time, he was both political head and
military commander of Tehuantepec.
Diaz still suffered from the wound he had
received at Ixcapa, as the surgeons had not
been able to find the bullet. But by good for
tune, some American surgeons, who hap
pened to be at Tehuantepec, undertook the
63

POEFIEIO DIAZ
operation and succeeded in removing the
bullet. After this, the young soldier recov
ered all his strength and energy.
In the year 1859 (June 17th) occurred the
battle of Mixtequilla against Lieutenant
Colonel Espinosa. In this battle the above-
mentioned commander of the Eeactionary
forces was killed. On account of this success
ful action Diaz was promoted, on July 6th, to
the rank of lieutenant colonel of infantry.
On November 25th he attacked the city of Te
huantepec, which had been occupied by the
Eeactionaries during the time which Diaz
had employed in going to Coatzacoalcos to
receive and dispatch a convoy of war,
Wrought from the United States and destined
for the Liberal forces in the southern part
of the Eepublic. This commission was dis
charged admirably by Diaz; it secured him
promotion to colonel of infantry, and his
commission was dated back to November
25th. In referring to this period, General Ig-
64

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
nacio Escudero says that Porfirio Diaz, who
was then hardly twenty-seven, had sustained
for two years, with a mere handful of men,
an unequal contest in the midst of a hostile
population, without receiving a dollar in
money or a single militiaman from either the
State or the Federal government. In spite
of the poverty of the region in which he was
operating, its unhealthful condition, and the
reactionary sentiment prevailing there, which
caused them to refuse him all kinds of sup
plies and munitions of war, clothing and the
like, he paid his forces and settled all ex
penses of public administration, and, in ad
dition, succeeded in gaining the confidence of
the people and the credit of the merchants.
On January 21, 1860, occurred the battle
of Mitla, agamst Marcelino Cobos, a victory
like that of Pyrrhus, which was in reality a
disaster. On February 2d was fought the
action of Fortin de la Soledad against the
same rebel chief; on March 9th that of Mar-
quesado against Casimiro Acebal; on May
65

POEFIEIO DIAZ
15th that of Ixtepeji against Anastasio
Trejo. The Liberal commanders operating in the
State of Oaxaca, decided to attack Oaxaca
city, at that time held by Jose Maria Cobos,
who was strongly entrenched; according
ly they began to organize their respective
forces with this end in view. On July 31st,
Porfirio Diaz marched out of Ixtlan with his
contingent, and on August 3d arrived before
Oaxaca, Colonel Salinas with him.
The forces of the Liberals amounted to
barely 700 men, with 2 pieces of mounted
artillery; those of Cobos reached 2,000 men,
and he had in addition 6 field pieces and 6
pieces of mounted artillery. The undertak
ing could not have been more audacious on
the part of the Liberals, for they were at
tacking a fortification with forces inferior to
those of their entrenched adversaries. Nev
ertheless, the place was taken in a series of
open attacks.
Porfirio Diaz was wounded in the leg, but
66

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
did not leave the field for a single moment.
As a mark of reward for these achievements,
President Juarez raised him, on August 22d,
to the rank of a colonel of the regular army,
and arranged that he should proceed imme
diately as chief of staff of the brigade, which
was about to leave Oaxaca to commence op
erations in the central part of the country.
In that region the decisive battles against
the Eeactionary Party were about to take
place. This brigade made a junction with the
division of General Ampudia, and the " Three
Years' War " was virtually ended on Decem
ber 22, 1860, by the defeat of the Eeactionary
Party at Calpulalpam. On the 11th of the
following January Juarez made his tri
umphal entry into the Capital of the Ee-
public. Upon the reestablishment of the consti
tutional regime, young Colonel Diaz was
elected a deputy from Oaxaca to the Union
Congress, and he relinquished the command
67

POEFIEIO DIAZ
of his troops in order to take up his new re
sponsibilities. But the Eeactionaries, although van
quished, were not yet crushed, and com
menced guerrilla warfare, pillaging villages
and committing all sorts of crimes. General
Leonardo Marquez, the most conspicuous of
these chiefs, after Miranon, organized a
considerable force and attempted to at
tack the Capital, but the plan was frus
trated, and Porfirio Diaz was one of the
principal heroes of that memorable day,
June 24, 1861.
At the same time, President Juarez organ
ized a division for the purpose of annihilat
ing Marquez. He placed the division under
the command of Gonzalez Ortega, the victor
of Calpulalpam.
One of the brigades in this division was
that of Oaxaca, the one of which Porfirio
Diaz had been Chief of Staff (Mayor de Or
denes), and by a mere chance — the illness of
General Ignacio Mejia, who was its real com-
68

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
mander — it actually took the field under Por
firio Diaz.
The campaign was vigorous and short.
Marquez had more than 5,000 men and 8
pieces of artillery, and moved with extreme
rapidity. But his pursuers did not lose track
of him, for Colonel Diaz moved with even
greater rapidity, and in the early morning of
August 13, 1861, surprised Marquez in Ja-
latlaco. Diaz had orders to hold Marquez in check,
cut off his retreat, and await the arrival of
Gonzalez Ortega with the main body of the
army. But the young Colonel could not re
sist the chance so propitiously offered him.
He penetrated with his forces to the center of
the camp of the Eeactionaries, without being
perceived, until he came to the porch of the
parish church, in which the headquarters of
the army was located.
Diaz made his attack with his usual dash
and daring, his soldiers performed prodigies
of valor, and when the sun rose Diaz saw with
69

POEFIEIO DIAZ
surprise that the number of his prisoners
was seven times as great as that of their
conquerors. Nevertheless, Marquez, Zuloaga,
and others of the principal chiefs succeeded
in making their escape.
Gonzalez Ortega felt great admiration for
this bold stroke, and asked the President to
promote forthwith the young and daring
Oaxacan Colonel. But he added that, if the
outcome had been different, Diaz would have
been subjected to a court martial for having
acted contrary to the orders from headquar
ters. Was this charge justified? Diaz un
derstood that as soon as day broke the enemy
would become aware of his presence, and
either retire, which would frustrate the plan
of following up Marquez, or fight, which, in
view of the smallness of the forces under
Diaz's command, would oblige him to re
treat, in order to give General Ortega time
enough to come up. Diaz understood that
night surprises not infrequently turn out
unfavorably for those who undertake them;
70

PEEIOD OF FOEMATION
but at the same time he reasoned with good
ground that the enemy would be tired out
and unprepared, and he determined to risk
all for the sake of all, judging that the pre
ponderance of chance was on his side, and
knowing also that Marquez, as soon as he
perceived the attack, would think that the
whole Liberal army was upon him — and so it
turned out.
Some people have thought that they saw in
this attack the evidence of ambition. They
are mistaken. At that time Porfirio Diaz was
one of the least ambitious men in Mexico.
He acted in obedience to his inner con
viction that, considering the circumstances,
there was no other wise course to pur
sue. General Ortega understood this well
enough. President Juarez acted upon the recom
mendation and promoted Colonel Diaz at
once to the rank of brigadier. This hap
pened on August 25, 1861, and in the above
capacity Diaz took part in the battle of Pa-
6 71

POEFIEIO DIAZ
chuca, on October 20th, under the orders of.
General Tapia.
At this point ends the first period of the
military career of our hero : his time of initia
tion, of study, and of probation. The sub
altern had been promoted grade by grade
until, at barely thirty-one, he had become
brigadier, and achieved a reputation. Only
one place remained between him and the
highest position in the army — that of gen
eral of division. This he was soon destined
to reach through the French intervention,
which was already at our doors, and would
furnish ample opportunity for promotion.

CHAPTEE IV
PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
THIS is not an appropriate place to
discuss the causes which brought
about the French intervention, nor
to mention the dishonorable conduct of the
representatives of France in Mexico, for the
reader will find all this, elaborated with full
details, in works of another kind. I am at
present concerned only with what affects the
military life of Porfirio Diaz, and I am glad
to say that it fell to the lot of his forces to
fire the first shot in this disastrous cam
paign, and also to fire the last in the final
siege and occupation of the Capital of the
Eepublic. In truth the French, in violation of the
Treaty of Soledad, instead of retiring to a
line back of Chiquihuite, as had been agreed
upon, treacherously attacked a Mexican out-
73

POEFIEIO DIAZ
post. This consisted of a company of forty
men belonging to the Second Brigade of Oax
aca, the one which Porfirio Diaz commanded.
The brave Colonel Felix Diaz, younger
brother of the general, commanded the out
post, which fought heroically against 400
French soldiers. Colonel Diaz, after being
wounded and taken prisoner, was overpow
ered, but escaped that very night from the
clutches of his enemies. By this attack, which
took place on April 19, 1862, hostilities were
opened. Porfirio Diaz was in command of the ad
vance guard of the Mexican army, and held
a position on the plains of Escamela, about
six miles from the place in which his brother
had been set upon. He at once took the neces
sary steps to resist the enemy. Zaragoza,
who was the general in chief, ordered a re
treat; General Diaz's contingent became the
rear guard, and covered the retrograde move
ment with bravery and faultless maneuvering.
In the action of April 28th, on the heights
74

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
of Acultzingo, it fell to the lot of General
Diaz's forces to check the advance of the
French while the main army was retreating.
General Zaragoza ordered him to defend the
position, at any cost, for an hour after the
last of the national troops had passed over
Colorado Bridge. Diaz, with a handful of
men, blocked the French advance until night
had fallen. Then he quietly retired.
On the memorable day of May 5th, General
Diaz figured among the principal heroes. His
defense of the outpost of "La Ladrillera,"
his fight in the open field against the best
soldiers of the French army, the boldness
with which he obstructed the advance of these
troops, and the defeat which made them flee
in disorder to their camp, constituted one of
the most glorious episodes of that never-to-
be-forgotten day. General Zaragoza was
obliged to send most peremptory orders to
Porfirio Diaz to induce him to relinquish his
pursuit of the enemy and return to the city.
After this defeat, the French retired
75

POEFIEIO DIAZ
toward Orizaba with General Zaragoza fol
lowing them, and the French intervention
would certainly have been ended at that city
in the State of Vera Cruz, had it not been for
the disaster which befell General Ortega's
forces at Borrego Hill, at daybreak, on July
14th. This disaster frustrated the admirable
plan of the Chief of the Army of the East.
On the same day the French attacked Zara
goza. This battle, generally known under
the name of " Accion de la Ceiba," was un
favorable to the French, whose forces were
driven back and obliged to take refuge in the
trenches of Orizaba, pursued by Berriozabal
and Porfirio Diaz.
In spite of this success, Zaragoza consid
ered it prudent to fall back toward Puebla.
He appointed Porfirio Diaz provisional com
mander of the division of General Llave,
who had been wounded in Borrego, and this
made Diaz Governor and Military Command
er of the State of Vera Cruz, which had al
ready been placed under martial law. But
76

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
General Diaz succeeded in obtaining his re
lease from this civil command and returned
to the Army of the East as Chief of the Sec
ond Brigade of the First Division.
Zaragoza died a victim of typhus, and was
succeeded by General Gonzalez Ortega, who
defended Puebla during the memorable siege
maintained by Forey from March 16th to
May 17, 1863.
In this siege, so full of instances of hero
ism and so glorious for the Mexican force's,
Porfirio Diaz stood out as one of the most
eminent figures in the defense of his country.
His principal achievements were the defense
of the barracks of San Marcos and of the
Square of San Augustin, which won him
honorable mention in the report of the ac
tions of April 3d and 4th. He also gained
distinction for his share in the day's fighting
which took place on the 19th of the same
month. His brilliant conduct on these occa
sions gained him promotion to the rank of
general, under date of May 29, 1863.
77

POEFIEIO DIAZ
Diaz was taken prisoner in Puebla with the
entire garrison, which surrendered uncondi
tionally. But he was one of the first to es
cape and make application to Juarez to be
allowed to continue serving his country.
Juarez left the Capital and confided to
Diaz the command of the Central Army,
whose duty it was to cover the retreat of the
president. On October 14, 1863, Juarez made Diaz
general of division, and entrusted to him as
his field of action the Eastern Section, begin
ning with the State of Oaxaca.
Diaz accepted the responsibility, and with
a small army moved from San Juan del Eio
by the mountain road toward the southeast.
He was obliged to traverse a region occupied
by the French and by an army composed of
those Mexicans who had betrayed their coun
try and allied themselves with the French.
This was the beginning of Porfirio Diaz's
period of great military achievement. He
arrived at Tasco, and on October 26th, 27th,
78

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
and 28th engaged in his first battle as
General of Division, which resulted in the
defeat of the garrison, the capture of its
defenders, and the appropriation of a
considerable quantity of arms and ammu
nition. After this, he marched rapidly toward
Oaxaca, which was destined to become his
base of operations. During this period he
had under his exclusive command the States
of Oaxaca, Puebla, Taxcala, and Vera Cruz;
he succeeded not only in administering, as
far as possible, these State governments, but
also managed to give aid to the patriots, who
were struggling for the cause of national in
dependence in Tabasco and Chiapas.
But the great plans which this intrepid
captain had conceived could not be realized,
because of treason in the ranks of the defend
ers of their country and the consequent dis
affection of many of its sons.
General Bazaine, commander of the French
army, was greatly disturbed when he per-
79

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ceived the progress that Diaz was making,
and decided to attack him personally with
the best forces he had under his command.
He ordered General Brincourt, who was op
erating in the State of Puebla, to advance
upon the frontier of Oaxaca. This Brin
court did at once, marching with 2,000 men
against Huajuapam de Leon at the same
time that Colonel Giraud, with the Seventh
of line, directed his march toward San An
tonio Nanahuatipam.
At this point Diaz conceived one of his ad
mirable plans. He started ostensibly for
Huajuapam, and, on reaching Tejiipam,
turned suddenly to the right to attack the
rear guard of the French at La Canada. At
Nanahuatipam, Colonel Espinosa had been
posted with one battalion to oppose the
forces of Brincourt. Diaz ordered Espinosa
to maintain his position, at all costs, until
further notice, in order that he might sup
port Diaz, when he should attack the rear
guard of the French. Unfortunately, Es-
80

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
pinosa gave way before the time; but, in
spite of this, Diaz attacked the enemy and
dislodged him, and would have obtained a
complete victory, if Espinosa had attacked
the French in the front. But this was not to
be ! The French had time to re-form, thanks
to their discipline and courage, and turned
into a disaster what had already been a vic
tory for our army. This action took place
on August 10, 1864. Diaz fell back upon Es
pinosa, and both countermarched to Oaxaca,
in which place General Diaz made the mis
take of shutting himself up.
General Mariano Escobedo, the general
who afterwards became the conqueror of
Maximilian, and Eafael Benavides separated
from General Diaz on account of a disagree
ment. The French general, Courtois d'Hur-
bal, who was directing the campaign until
the arrival of General Bazaine, marched up
on Oaxaca, and inflicted disaster after dis
aster upon our troops, until they were
obliged to shut themselves behind the ill-
81

POEFIEIO DfAZ

defended walls of Oaxaca, which was now
formally besieged.
The besieging army numbered 10,000 men,
well disciplined and well equipped, the be
sieged barely 2000, most of whom had been
reduced to a state of demoralization by their
continued defeats. Desertions were of daily
occurrence, and at last there was no alterna
tive but surrender. General Diaz presented
himself entirely alone before Bazaine's camp,
saying that he gave himself up a prisoner and
asked no guarantees of any kind for himself,
only for his troops. Why did he take this
step, which has been so much criticised by
his enemies ? Because he no longer had suf
ficient resources to continue resistance; be
cause his forces were demoralized and ready
to rebel against him. He knew that they
were plotting to assassinate him in order to
put an end to the siege, and that they were
disposed to go over to the enemy. This was
undoubtedly the actual state of affairs at
that time. 82

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
Bazaine took possession of Oaxaca on Feb
ruary 9, 1865, and General Diaz was sent to
Puebla, where he was imprisoned in the Con
vent of La Compafiia, until the night of Sep
tember 20th, during which he escaped in a
bold and truly romantic fashion, if one may
be permitted to use this phrase. The fugi
tive fled from Puebla, accompanied only by
a single individual, and proceeded with the
greatest possible speed to Coayuca, where
the guerrilla chief, Bernardino Garcia, await
ed him with fourteen men.
At this point in his life, the period of Diaz's
wonderful success begins. On the follow
ing day (September 22d), he surprised, with
his fourteen men, the garrison of Tehuit-
zingo, took away their arms, reorganized
into a company of forty men, and started for
Piaxtla. There he defeated a squadron of
cavalry (September 23d), which was dis
patched against him from Acatlan. He took
their arms and horses, and proceeded rapidly
in the direction of the State of Guerrero. In
83

POEFIEIO DIAZ
Tlapa, Colonels Cano and Segura joined him
with a picket of sixty men.
Bazaine dispatched a party of 200 infan
try and fifty cavalry in pursuit of Diaz, under
the command of Visoso. Diaz surprised his
pursuers on October 1st and defeated them
completely, killing forty men and taking
many prisoners and a considerable number
of arms, besides a large sum of money, which
he used as a nucleus for the commissariat of
the Army of the East. On December 2d he
again encountered Visoso at Comitlipa, and
completely annihilated his forces.
Diaz began the year of 1866 with the vic
tory of Tlaxiaco against Triujeque (January
6th). On February 25th he fought General
Jose Maria Ortega in " Lo de Soto " ; on
April 14th he again defeated Triujeque in
Putla; on September 5th he put Virikar to
flight in the battle of Huajuapam ; on the 23d
of the same month, he routed a column of
Austrians at Nochixtlan, in which fight the
Austrian commander, Count Ganz, was killed.
84

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
On October 13th occurred the first of his
great victories, that of "Miahuatlan," in
which Oronoz and Testard were defeated;
on the 18th. occurred the second, even more
brilliant and glorious for Mexico, that of
"La Carbonera"; and on the 31st he took
the city of Oaxaca, which for some time he
had been besieging.
All this he accomplished with the nucleus
of fourteen men of Bernardino Garcia, to
which he had added daily. His force con
sisted of 700 men when he fought the battle
of Miahuatlan. He began to organize his
army in Oaxaca with the first-class muni
tions of war which he had captured, and
closed the year 1866 by defeating Eemigio
Toledo in the action of " La Chitova."
The year 1867 was destined to bring great
renown to Diaz. Already the French army
was retiring after four years of bloody and
useless struggle. Porfirio Diaz commenced
his advance toward the center of the country
during the first fortnight of February, and
85

POEFIEIO DIAZ
had his headquarters established in the Villa
de Acatlan when Mr. E. Burnouf, Maximil
ian's emissary, presented himself and made
tempting proposals, looking toward the ar
rangement of a truce, by which a cessation
of hostilities might be arranged during the
retreat of the Archduke Maximilian from
the Capital to Vera Cruz, where he intend
ed to embark. The Eepubliean commander,
however, refused to make any such arrange
ment on the ground that, as commander-in-
chief of the army, which had been entrusted
to him by the government of the Eepublic, he
could have no other relations with the Arch
duke than those which the code of military
laws permitted with a leader of the enemy.
Mariscal Bazaine, now converted into an
implacable enemy of Maximilian, also ap
proached Diaz, through the mediation of Don
Carlos Fiel, who proposed that arrangements
be made by which Diaz should occupy the
Capital. He further offered to sell him arms,
equipment, and munitions of war. But Diaz
86

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
also refused to enter into negotiations with
Bazaine. The Eepublican leader continued his
march, constantly increasing his ranks with
the various parties which he met on the way.
On March 8th he arrived before Puebla with
3,000 men under his command. The place
was well fortified, and it seemed unheard-of
rashness to attempt to take it with such
meagre resources.
At that time the Eepublican General Mari
ano Escobedo was besieging Queretaro, the
place in which Maximilian had shut himself
with his best generals. President Juarez
thought, apparently with good reason, that
the denouement of the Imperial drama de
pended upon the capture of Queretaro, and
he tried to concentrate upon the place the
greatest possible number of forces. With
this in view, he ordered General Diaz to
send troops to Queretaro. This order the
young commander obeyed immediately, dis
patching the forces of the Second District
7 87

POEFIEIO DIAZ
of the State of Mexico and a brigade from
Puebla, under the command of General Juan
N. Mendez ; he further arranged that General
Eiva Palacio, who was then in Toluca, should
join this division with the troops under his
command. Fortunately, a few days after this, the
Division of the South formed a junction with
the Army of the East, and General Escobedo
detached General Guadarrama with the cav
alry, as he considered it unnecessary in the
siege of Queretaro.
Diaz at once undertook to capture Puebla
by means of minor engagements. He suc
ceeded in occupying successively the follow
ing points: Santiago, Molino de Huitzotitla,
the barracks of San Marcos, the Hospicio and
the Convent of "La Merced." By March
13th, he held possession of all these places,
but, in the meantime, General Leonardo
Marquez, Viceroy of the Empire, had suc
ceeded in making a sortie from Queretaro,
with orders from Maximilian to reach the
88

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
Capital, there raise an army, return to his
aid, and inaugurate a counter-siege. Mar
quez is a man of coarse antecedents and cruel
nature, but a bold and intelligent soldier. He
reached the Capital, and in a few days organ
ized an army of 5,000 men and a large con
tingent of artillery. Marquez has been much
criticised for his conduct on this occasion.
It has been maintained that his duty as a sol
dier was to start at once for Queretaro to aid
his sovereign, as he had been ordered to do.
But Marquez was not merely a soldier: he
was also a general, and he thought that the
forces he had raised were not sufficient for
the business in hand, and, furthermore, that
there was in Puebla plenty of war material ;
that the continuous advance of Porfirio Diaz,
his military genius, his dash and drive, as
sured his triumph over the besieged; that
Diaz would then strengthen his army by the
war material which Puebla would furnish;
that he would march with all speed upon the
city of Mexico, which he would find ungar-
89

POEFIEIO DIAZ
risoned ; that he would take the Capital with
out resistance and proceed afterwards upon
Queretaro. Therefore the resourceful Vice
roy decided with much prudence and faultless
military judgment, to fall upon the forces of
Diaz, which were decimated and worn out by
daily combats, defeat them, and force them
to give up the siege, increase his army in
Puebla, and then hasten to the aid of Quere
taro, with a great army, at the same time
leaving his rear covered. Consequently,
Marquez started for Puebla, and the news
struck consternation into the hearts of the
principal Eepublican leaders.
General Diaz called a council of war to
decide what should be done. Several officers
were of the opinion that it would be better
to retreat than to expose the army to certain
defeat. Others wished to go out to meet
Marquez, and, if they defeated him, to return
to Puebla. Justo Benitez, General Diaz's
secretary, made it evident that retreat would
be worse than a defeat, because it would de-
90

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
moralize their forces, and make it necessary
to again reorganize them; that to go out to
fight Marquez would be pure rashness, be
cause in an open field the superiority would
lie entirely with the Viceroy; therefore the
only remaining recourse was to stake all
upon the immediate assault of Puebla, be
fore the arrival of Marquez ; that if the city
fell, as was to be expected, they might then
march out to engage Marquez in the open;
if, on the other hand, they did not take
Puebla, there would still be time to gain the
mountains. These ideas of Justo Benitez
really emanated from General Diaz. Beni
tez was merely the expounder of the care
fully matured plan of the brave General.
The plan was adopted and the necessary
preparations for the attack were made at
once and with the greatest secrecy, for it
was considered better that the troops should
not know what was to take place, until the
moment for action arrived. A feint at break
ing camp was made, the baggage being moved
91

POEFIEIO DIAZ
to the rear of San Juan Hill, and measures
to secure the retreat were ordered. It must
have been about twelve o'clock at night, on
April 1st, when General Ignacio Alatorre,
commander of the First Division of Infan
try, by an arrangement of General Diaz,
ordered the maneuvering for the assault.
Thirteen columns were formed. At three
o'clock on the morning of the 2d, there arose
upon San Juan Hill the flames of an enor
mous bonfire. This was the signal for the
attack. The commanders of the thirteen col
umns threw themselves with the courage of
desperation upon the entrenchments of the
enemy, and in the darkness performed the
most sublime acts of heroism which our his
torians have ever recorded.
When day broke, the streets were strewn
with corpses, and among the dead were sev
eral officers of the attacking columns; the
trenches were deserted, the enemy van
quished, and the forces of the Eepublicans
were converging upon the principal square
92

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
of Puebla, cheering the leader of the Army
of the East, acclaiming him the reigning hero
of that superb day, without equal in the an
nals of our history.
Diaz did not lose an instant. The forts
" Guadalupe " and " Loretto," which com
manded the city, still remained in the hands
of the enemy. It was necessary to capture
them forthwith before the arrival of Mar
quez. " Loreto " surrendered on the night
of the 3d, and a few hours later " Guada
lupe " capitulated unconditionally.
On the 3d, Diaz had given orders that the
cavalry should be kept on the march, watch
ing for Marquez. General Diaz now rapidly
reorganized his army, incorporating in it the
soldiers whom he had just conquered, a very
common practice in Mexico; he then moved
forward in the direction of Apizaco, to meet
the Imperialist General, who was closely fol
lowed by General Guadarrama, with the
4,000 dragoons sent by General Escobedo
from Queretaro; this saved the situation; for
93

POEFIEIO DIAZ
even with the addition of the forces which
General Diaz had recruited from Puebla,
his numbers were inferior to those of Mar
quez. Diaz ordered Colonel Lalanne to engage
Marquez from the front until he himself
should come up and be able to act in conjunc
tion with Guadarrama. Lalanne, who is to
day almost forgotten, though he deserves an
epic poem, fought with the utmost heroism;
was repeatedly routed, but as frequently re
formed and contmued the struggle, not with
any hope of winning, but simply to carry out
orders. Marquez continued to advance until
he reached the ranch of San Pedro Notario,
where some squadrons of cavalry from the
Valley of Mexico opposed him. The after
noon of the 8th closed with Marquez at the
ranch of San Lorenzo, where General Diaz
attacked him on the 9th, but, unfortunately,
a terrible storm prevented him from follow
ing up his victory. Marquez took advantage
of the darkness to fall back, but the retreat
94

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
soon degenerated into a rout, as the Eepub
lican cavalry followed him up indefatigably
from San Cristobal to Texcoco. The Im
perialists, however, fought bravely and fell
without asking quarter. Marquez immedi
ately took refuge in the city of Mexico, and
on April 12th General Diaz laid siege to the
place. On June 20th, the Capital surren
dered, at the moment when the Eepublican
columns were preparing for the attack, twen
ty-four hours after the execution of Max
imilian, Miramon, and Mejia, in Queretaro,
which had been in the possession of General
Escobedo since May 15th.
Such is the history of the glorious cam
paign which placed General Diaz on the very
pinnacle of fame. It might be said of the
young commander that from the day he es
caped from Puebla to that on which he took
possession of the Capital, his country's
boundaries were extended at every step of
his horse, to paraphrase the words of Fernan
dez Gonzalez regarding the Cid Compeador.
95

POEFIEIO DIAZ
Whatever envy and party hatred may say
to the contrary, this campaign was a great
one, and the assault of Puebla on April 2d
was sublime. It may not have been in ac
cordance with military science, but it cer
tainly exemplified to the highest degree the
art of war, and it was not science that won
the victory, but courage. Furthermore, in
spite of all assertions to the contrary, this
really was the decisive action of the whole
campaign; for if General Diaz had been de
feated, or if he had retreated, Marquez would
have brought aid to Queretaro, and the war
would have been prolonged indefinitely. I do
not believe that the cause of the Empire
would ever have triumphed, but its existence
would have been prolonged, and the anxiety
and drain upon the vital energies of the
country would have continued. This was
the culminating act of heroism of the honest
Oaxacan, and it demonstrated clearly his ex
traordinary energy, resourcefulness, persist
ence, bravery, and disinterestedness. 96

PEEIOD OF DEVELOPMENT
On June 22d, the day after the occupation
of the Capital, Diaz sent a communication to
the Minister of War, placing the city at his
disposition, and stating that, as he no longer
considered it necessary to retain the plenary
powers with which he had been invested, he
tendered his resignation from the office of
General in Chief of the Army of the East.
General Diaz paid over to the government
$315,000, which remained in the treasury of
the army after all expenses had been paid;
an example of honorable dealing unparalleled
in Mexico up to that time, and a proof of the
ability he had shown in raising and disburs
ing the funds.
General Diaz retired alone to a small coun
try estate called " La Noria," in the State of
Oaxaca, which had been presented to him by
his countrymen. It was at this time that he
received the title of Cincinnatus. "Little
remains to the greatest of men if virtue for
sakes them," says Plutarch. Porfirio Diaz,
as soldier, administrator, and citizen, and as
97

POEFIEIO DIAZ
a private individual, united all the requisites
demanded by the Eoman historian for the
full measure of a hero. In modestly with
drawing into seclusion, he stood out in relief
all the more.

CHAPTEE V
DIAZ AS A BEVOLUTIONABY LEADEB
GENEEAL DIAZ'S character, the re-
, nown which he had acquired as a
brave, loyal, and intelligent soldier;
the modesty which he showed after the tri
umph of the Eepublic over the Empire; his
proverbial honesty and consummate skill in
administering the government of the Eastern
states, entrusted to him by President Juarez
during the long campaign through which
they were under his exclusive control; the
popularity which his generous conduct had
won for him, his youth, his political princi
ples, his patriotism, his prudence and energy,
all combined to make him the natural head of
the party, which I will call "Progressive."
Around him were grouped the younger and
more ambitious men, the impatient Liberals,
the soldiers who had served under him, both
99

POEFIEIO DIAZ
the professional Eevolutionaries and those
who in good faith desired active progress, and
even many Imperialists, who could not brook
Juarez. They formed a heterogeneous party,
as far as the number of its groups was con
cerned, but a homogeneous one, in the com
mon aspirations which it saw personified in
the person of its leader.
When the first general elections took place,
after the restoration of the Eepublic, the
Liberal party was already divided into three
groups, made up of the personal followers of
Juarez, Lerdo de Tejada, and Porfirio Diaz.
Beyond a doubt, all the prominent men in
these groups believed that patriotism de
manded the reelection of Juarez, in order to
give him, by this action, a vote of thanks, and
to show their appreciation of his devoted
labors in the defense of the country and its
institutions. But apparently they considered
that their moral obligation ended there ; for,
immediately after his reelection, their polit
ical passions broke forth in Congress, in the
100

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
press, and in public utterance, making deeper
than ever the division between the before-
mentioned groups, which now began to take
on the nature of separate organizations.
The group under Juarez became conserva
tive in the literal sense of the term; that is,
its members put forth all their energies to
maintain the new order of things unchanged
and to see that the existing system was
perpetuated with Juarez permanently in
power. Lerdo de Tejada's group decided upon
evolution, believing in the existing order as
a basis, but holding the opinion that it must
be amplified, and, above all, that the power
should change hands and an entirely new
administration be elected. This group, how
ever, conspired in a manner more or less
covert. The group under Diaz was radical. It
wished to change everything, and became
known as " The Party of Eegeneration."
Naturally, it was the most active, the most
101

POEFIEIO DIAZ
impatient, the most fiery of the three, and
ended by becoming revolutionary.
In 1871, the time for the next elections,
the three parties threw themselves into the
struggle with determination, each one put
ting forth a perfectly definite programme.
Juarez won, but did not obtain an absolute
majority at the polls.
Lerdo de Tejada used all his diplomacy to
convince Juarez that it was his duty, in the
interest of public tranquillity, to resign the
presidency before Congress assembled as
the Electoral College, to decide in the last
appeal which candidate should be proclaimed
elected.1 Juarez answered him with firmness that
the law and his duty prohibited such a step,
1 In Mexico, the election of a president is indirect and of the
second grade. In the first grade, the citizens choose electors;
in the second grade, the electors constituting the Electoral
College of each district vote for their candidate. In due
time, Congress makes a count of the votes cast in all parts of
the country and declares elected president the candidate who
has obtained an absolute majority, that is, more than half
of the total number of electoral votes.
If no candidate has received an absolute majority, Con-
102

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
and that, if Congress proclaimed him pres
ident, he would maintain the office with reso
luteness and honor as long as life remained,
respecting in this juncture, as he always had,
the public wish, expressed through legitimate
channels. Lerdo de Tejada abandoned diplo
macy and plotted in Congress.
The Diaz party did not wish to await the
result of the vote in Congress, for they had
discounted it in advance, and decided that, in
view of the wire-pulling that would be done,
they possessed neither the numbers nor the
political experience necessary for victory in
a struggle of this kind. Therefore they
started, on October 1, 1871, the ill-advised
revolution of "La Ciudadela" (the citadel
of the city of Mexico), which was instantly
crushed by Juarez.
This revolution, suppressed in blood by
General Eocha, the state of excitement, the
gress then makes an election (of the third grade) by vote of
an absolute majority of the Deputies present, but their choice
is restricted to those candidates who have obtained the largest
number of votes in the elections by districts.
8 103

POEFIEIO DIAZ
urgent appeals of the Diaz party, and the
obligations already entered into by General
Diaz with his partisans, forced him to emerge
from retirement, and assume the role of
leader. Diaz made public, on November
10th, the "Plan de la Noria," in which he
maintained that a call to arms was neces
sitated by the danger to the national institu
tions caused by the repeated reflections,
accomplished through the violent and un
lawful action of the Federal Executive; by
the horrible massacres of Merida, Atexcatl,
Tampico, Barranca del Diablo, and La Ciu
dadela; by the incompetence of some, the
favoritism of others, and the corruption of
all. In General Diaz's Eevolutionary procla
mation, the reelection of a president was
absolutely forbidden and other reforms to
the Constitution were proposed.
All revolutionary proclamations are ex
aggerated. This must of necessity be so from
their very nature; they are conceived and
brought forth by unrestrained passions, when
104

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
the minds of their authors have reached the
highest point of excitement, and the public
is carried away by extremes of opinion. It
follows, therefore, that such plans, although
put forth in the utmost good faith, exagger
ate the defects of the Government which they
are designed to overthrow, and make it ap
pear an insupportable disgrace for the coun
try to tolerate, without taking into account
the difficulties which these very Eevolution-
aries themselves have created in the time of
conspiracy which always precedes revolu
tion. This state of affairs makes the acts of
the Government, which are prompted merely
by the instinct of self-preservation, seem vio
lent and tyrannical, although they may be
necessary for the maintenance of order or
more or less justifiable as acts of reprisal.
The revolutionists also put into their pro
gramme of improvement alluring promises,
almost always impossible of fulfillment; not
with deliberate intention to deceive, but be
cause they really hope to carry out the high
105

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ideals which an aspiring spirit holds before
their eyes, thus preventing them from seeing
the difficulty, nay, even the impossibility of
carrying out at all fully the promises which
they have made.
The task of the revolutionary party al
ways elicits more sympathy than that of the
government. The former makes use of the
eloquence of passion, which finds a response
in all classes, even the lowest ; while the lat
ter finds itself confined to the language of
reason, which is only appreciated by the edu
cated classes.
Moreover, in politics, accusation is easier
than justification. The former always mas
querades under the guise of Liberty, and
makes an appeal to the sentiments of civil
courage and exalted altruism, or at least to
the spirit of solidarity. The party in power
always appears open to suspicion and tainted
by selfish interests, which they are striving
to defend with cunning and sophistry. A
candidate, as a revolutionary leader, can
106

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
make a boast of radical and extreme opin
ions, because he is without responsibility
and speaks to a party whose desires he
knows and is willing to flatter. But such
artifices are not open to a government, be
cause its responsibilities are fixed and bind
ing. It must appeal to the entire nation;
it is the representative of law and order.
The revolution of " La Noria " suffered
serious disasters because of lack of prepara
tion, organization, and cohesion. There were
too many leaders, and each one acted inde
pendently. In war, nothing is so prejudicial
as too many commanders.
Upon an exhaustive examination of the life
of General Diaz, moreover, it is evident that
the favorable outcome of his projects has
been entirely due to his own individual power
of accomplishment. His officers have rarely
been successful when operating at a distance
from him. His presence alone, like that of
Caesar and Napoleon, was worth an army;
and, like Frederick the Great, he has shown
107

POEFIEIO DIAZ
himself so rich in resources that he has as
tounded everyone by rising from the deepest
abyss of apparently insurmountable difficul
ties to the topmost pinnacle of success.
The issue between the Eevolutionary Party
and the Government was decided by the death
of Juarez, on July 14, 1872. Lerdo de Tejada,
who was at that time President of the Su
preme Court, took upon himself the office of
Vice-President of the Eepublic, and thus as
sumed the inheritance of the " Great Pa
triot." 1
In several of my works upon this period
of Mexican history, I have sketched the char
acter of Don Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada. He
was a man of great talent, of extraordinary
learning, possessed of all the qualities neces
sary to make a great minister, such as Eich-
elieu, Cavour, or Bismarck, but quite lacking
in those which a chief executive must have.
History is full of such examples.
'At that time the position of President of the Supreme
Court carried with it that of Vice-President of the Republic.
108

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
In order that my readers may better under
stand the incidents to which I am about to
refer, I must here sketch again the charac
teristics of this distinguished statesman.
Lerdo de Tejada was a man who had been
irritated rather than disciplined by the vicis
situdes of life. He looked at everything with
skepticism, and always held the attitude of
uncertainty toward the outcome of every
thing. To him, principles were only the ar
tifices under which ambition lurked. He did
not sympathize with the aspirations of his
time, as the genuine political leader must. He
gave no place to sentiment or ideals, and per
sistently refused to see in men anything but
acts of self-interest, never theories nor con
victions. He was a mixture, strange as it
may seem, of persistence and changeable-
ness. On assuming power, he committed two
grave errors through his failure to recognize
the significance of the actual position of af
fairs from the historic and sociological stand-
109

POEFIEIO DIAZ,
point; he did not pay any attention to the
aspirations of the nation, and he failed to
appreciate the strength of the Diaz party.
He did not understand the value of General
Diaz as an ally, nor what it would mean to
have him as an enemy. He did not know how
to preserve, much less to augment, his party.
He made no approach to the opposition
party, and no attempt to attract it to his side.
He persisted in surrounding himself with the
officers of the Juarez administration, in spite
of the fact that he considered them incapable,
and was afraid of them, even though he held
a low estimation of their powers. He was an
eminent logician of the fatalistic school, a
school which makes the irreparable mistake
of ignoring the logic of facts ; and, most seri
ous of all, he failed to understand that in
politics conditions are more dangerous than
doctrines, because they are possessed of a
more irresistible logic.
Lerdo was like Juarez, in that he was a
most vigorous advocate of civil administra-
110

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
tion as opposed to militarism. But Juarez,
a better judge of men and things, and of the
tendencies of the times, instead of opposing
directly and openly the military faction, drew
it to him, and controlled it. Thus it hap
pened that he numbered among his most de
voted followers such leaders as Ignacio
Mejia, Eocha, Alatorre, Ceballos, Alejandro
Garcia, and others. Lerdo, less practical, did
not understand how to hide his aversions,
and soon found himself without a single
leader identified with him. It is true that
some men served him loyally, but Juarez was
served with enthusiasm as well as loyalty.
When Lerdo came into power, through the
death of Juarez, he of necessity accepted a
double mission: first, to allay the nation's
irritation, and quench the smoking torches of
revolution; second, to guide the country into
the paths of progress, and to develop its
riches. I thought for a considerable time
that the situation which Lerdo found when
he became president was too great for his
111

POEFIEIO DIAZ
powers, and that the Government was more
despotic than he himself wished it to be. But
I was mistaken. The situation was simply
this: his peculiar traits of character made
him unfitted to govern.
Lerdo inaugurated his administration by
proclaiming amnesty to the Eevolutionarists,
who thought that patriotism impelled them to
lay down their arms. General Diaz himself
accepted this amnesty as a sacrifice to his
country's welfare. Lerdo thought this act
conclusive, and eliminated the Diaz party as
a factor in his political problem, instead of
regarding it as an important element. Jua
rez could not bring about peace for reasons
which I have fully explained in my book,
dedicated to " The Great Eepublican," ¦* but
Lerdo might soon have done so, if he had
conciliated the opposing groups of Liberals.
When the presidential elections took place,
Lerdo was the only candidate, and won an
'Principally because we Porfirists, with our continual
revolutions, would not permit him to do so.
112

A EEVOLUTIONAEYj LEADEE
easy victory. Even the Eeactionaries voted
for him, though they acted upon a vain hope,
as the future showed. Thus it was that Ler
do, elevated to the presidency by the death of
Juarez, and confirmed in that position by the
popular vote, found himself without enemies ;
the Juarez party, having lost its leader, had
no further reason for existence ; force of cir
cumstances obliged them to dissolve, and its
scattered members were under the necessity
of making new party affiliations or raising a
new standard. But Lerdo committed the
blunder of retaining to a man the ministers
of Juarez's cabinet.
The Lerdist party took their leader's tri
umph for their own, and were disposed to
make liberal concessions to the Porfirists *
and to take in the orphaned Juarists, in order
to strengthen themselves and become a na-
'The Dfaz party is called in Mexico the Porfirist party,
but I have more frequently used the former phrase, because it
more nearly conforms to Anglo-Saxon usage. It is more
convenient, however, to use " Porfirist " when referring to
individuals, as " Dfazist " would be an impossible word.
113

POEFIEIO DIAZ
tional party; but Lerdo soon gave them to
understand that it was one thing to be a can
didate and another thing to be a president.
He made it evident that he was going to have
his own way, because he considered the vic
tory his, and in no sense due to the efforts
of his partisans.
The Diaz party, in spite of the impatience
which characterized it, was disposed to bide
its time, and support Lerdo in his undertak
ing, on the assumption that he was patriotic,
progressive, and honorable, and, therefore,
would not put forth any pretensions to a re
election when the next term came round.
But Lerdo undervalued his supporters, in
dividually and collectively, and gave them no
share in his administration; yet, when the
time for election again approached, he put
himself forward as a candidate.
The Eeactionary Party and the Imperial
ists had remained without leaders and with
out a platform; many of them were buried
in Queretaro, under the ruins of the Empire.
114

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
They thought that Lerdo would accept them
as one of the national contingents, and as a
counterpoise to Jacobinism; but Lerdo re
pulsed them, and showed himself more of a
reformer than Juarez himself, thus blotting
out every shadow of hope for the Eeaction
aries, and giving the vestiges of the Imperi
alist party to understand that there was no
possible chance of their again coming into
power. It is asserted that Lerdo had no
thought of reelection ; that this was suggested
by his friends, and that he let them have their
way. The most fatal of all policies is that of
laisses faire, for it is usually taken to mean
that the leader does not know his own mind.
Lerdo, at the beginning of his term, as has
already been said, did not have a single op
ponent; at the end he did not have a single
follower; he was not even himself his own
partisan. It is certainly a fact that as pres
ident he was his own worst enemy.
The Diaz party, disgusted by the tactless
conduct of Lerdo, and cognizant of the stren-
115

POEFIEIO DIAZ
uous efforts that his party was making for
his reelection, decided again to take up arms,
and on January 5, 1876, in the town of 0 jit-
Ian, district of Tuxtepec, and State of Oax
aca, the "Plan of Tuxtepec" (Eevolutionary
Declaration) was proclaimed by Colonel
H. Sarmiento and his associates, disavowing
Lerdo de Tejada as president, and, conse
quently, all the officers of his administration.
This plan was seconded on the 21st by Gen
erals Fidencio Hernandez and Juan N. Ea-
mirez, and by the district of Ixtlan, also of
the State of Oaxaca, and soon the Eevolution
had spread over the whole country. Lerdo
resisted in his usual half-hearted manner,
and his troops fought without enthusiasm.
In spite of the disturbed state of the coun
try, a pretended election was held — which
deceived no one — and Lerdo was declared
elected. Following his usual custom, Lerdo
let things take their course. At the eleventh
hour, he wished to retrace his steps. He
separated himself from the Juarez party,
116

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
and endeavored to resurrect the Lerdist par
ty, pure and simple. He changed his cab
inet, but not his methods. This cabinet was
derisively called the " Carmelite Brother
hood," because all that it could do was to
comfort the President during the last days
of his expiring term.
Jose Maria Iglesias, at that time President
of the Supreme Court, and, therefore, also
Vice-President of the Eepublic, did with
Lerdo what Lerdo had done with Juarez.
He foresaw clearly the approaching down
fall of President Lerdo de Tejada, either
through the Eevolution against him, or
through the expiration of his legal term of
office, on December 1, 1876.
It was a notorious fact that there had been
no legal election, and that the pretended re
election of Lerdo was therefore farcical. Not
even the officers who were fighting for him in
the field took it seriously. Among them the
prevailing opinion was that their allegiance
to President Lerdo terminated at one minute
117

POEFIEIO DlAZ
past twelve on December 1st, and on this ac
count they were called " The Decemberists."
Meanwhile the Eevolution gained ground,
and finally, on November 15th, a decisive bat
tle took place on the field of Tecoac between
the Eevolutionaries, under the command of
General Diaz, and the Lerdists, under General
Ignacio Alatorre. Diaz won, and the war was
virtually at an end.
Iglesias had been mistaken. He thought
that the question at stake was between him
and Lerdo, and that the latter, in making a
coup d'etat, and claiming reelection, when
it was notorious that there had been no vot
ing at the polls, had put himself in the same
position as Comonfort; that in consequence
Iglesias himself would play the part which
Juarez had played during the so-called
" Three Years' War." But he did not real
ize that the circumstances were not the same ;
that he had neither the power nor the repu
tation of Juarez, " the Eeformer " ; that pub-
118

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
lie sympathy was with General Diaz; that
his own party was principally composed of
estimable youths and lawyers, who were very
talented, it is true, but consummate idealists,
little fitted for practical action, and quite
without followers.
Iglesias abandoned the Capital, fearful
that Lerdo would imprison him, and thus in
capacitate him from taking up the executive
power. He set up a migratory government ;
that is, one which changed its location every
time danger threatened. He thought that he
could restrain the victorious Eevolutionaries
by merely invoking the Constitution ; that the
men who had fought so many years to gain
possession of the Government would again
temporarily relinquish it, and recognize the
rights of Iglesias, which were founded on an
order which had just been overthrown. He
ignored the fact that a constitutional revolu
tion is an impossibility; that the moment a
revolution is started, even though it be with
the object of again putting the Constitution
9 119

POEFIEIO DIAZ
into force, it is, by the mere use of arms,
placed outside the Constitution. In my judg
ment, Iglesias's recourse to arms to over
throw Lerdo, invoking a law, which had not
yet been infringed, put him into the category
of a Eevolutionist, just as much as General
Diaz, who was fighting in the field to pre
vent the accomplishment of Lerdo's design;
in other words, his standing before the
Constitution had been invalidated by his
own act.
I do not deny that Iglesias was acting in
good faith and without personal ambition.
He wished to constitutionalize the Eevo
lution. If Iglesias had remained President of the
Supreme Court, accepting all its conse
quences as Juarez did, if he had from this
position protested agamst the decree which
declared Lerdo reelected, and if, when Lerdo
fled from the Capital, he had remained there,
taken up the executive power, and in this
character met the Eevolution as it invaded
120

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
the Capital, his position would unquestion
ably have been impressive, strong, and com
pelling; and then, perhaps, the Diaz Eevo-
lutionists would have had to go over to him,
"uniting in one the two causes, and appeal
ing to the public to solve the problem by
its vote.
But this was not what happened. Lerdo
fled, Iglesias moved his position, and Gen
eral Diaz entered the Capital with the laurels
of victory, organized a provisional Govern
ment, and again took the field to fight the
Lerdist and Iglesias parties, and thus com
plete his work. He established a Government
in fact. The force which sustained Iglesias
went over with arms and baggage to General
Diaz or disbanded. Lerdo sailed for New
York by way of Panama, and Iglesias sailed
for New Orleans en route for San Francisco.
Both then conspired from without, Lerdo for
restoration, Iglesias for legalization, appar
ently without comprehending that, if they
gave up while they were in the country, with
121

POEFIEIO DIAZ
considerable resources at their command,
their undertakings from without, bereft of
resources, was ridiculous.
General Diaz held elections ; the public rat
ified the Eevolution, and elected its leader
Chief Magistrate of the Eepublic. Lerdo,
in virtue of his skepticism, lived and died in
exile. Iglesias returned to his country, say
ing, to quote his own words, " Grief over pub
lic affairs, homesickness in exile, and circum
stances entirely personal, made my residence
out of the country a veritable sacrifice."
With this statement he justified his return.
It is true enough that his ostracism was self-
imposed and without adequate reason, and I
am the last person to deny him the judgment
which he asks of impartial history in the
following words : " Without ambitions of any
kind, he sacrificed all to the fulfillment of
Duty." Under these circumstances, the only
question for the historian to discuss is
whether Iglesias chose the best method of
fulfilling his duty. 122

A EEVOLUTIONAEY. LEADEE
To whom was the triumph of the Eevolu
tion due? It is difficult to give a categorical
reply to such a question ; but I honestly think
it was due rather to the stupidity of the Gov
ernment, the skepticism of Lerdo, and the
lack of confidence of the army, than to the
political and military skill of General Diaz
and the efforts of his followers.
It is said that General Mejia, Juarez's
Minister of War, whom Lerdo had retained,
betrayed the President. I have never en
tertained this belief; Mejia acted in this in
stance with his usual lack of perception, that
is all. Although Mejia was a general, he was
not a soldier ; he never had the true military
spirit, and he did not accomplish a single
thing of real value, but he was never dis
loyal. He was one of the great number of
men who were thrust into high positions, no
body knows why, and retained there through
a sort of tacit acquiescence on the part of the
people. In my opinion, Mejia was elevated
to this position simply because he was an
123

POEFIEIO DIAZ
Oaxacan, and an old friend of President
Juarez. Some people say that when the
Eevolution broke out Mejia drew up an ade
quate plan, which was rejected by Lerdo,
and that from that time on the Minister of
War determined to give up completely his
own initiative and to follow the orders of the
President. The forces of the Government, although
they always fought without confidence or en
thusiasm, inflicted frequent and severe de
feats upon the Diaz forces, without under
standing how to reap from these triumphs
all the advantage possible, or even wishing
to do so.
As a Eevolutionary leader, General Diaz
made serious mistakes. The first he made
at the time of the uprising against Juarez,
by starting revolution in the South, when the
great majority of his backing was located in
the North ; the second he made at the time of
the uprising against Lerdo, by going to the
North to head the Eevolutionists, when the
124

A EEVOLUTIONAEY LEADEE
strength of his resources lay in the South;
that is to say, in Oaxaca, Puebla, and Vera
Cruz. After being overthrown in Icamole, Gen
eral Diaz fled to the United States, and from
New Orleans went to Vera Cruz in the steamer
" City of Havana," disguised as a Cuban
physician. At Tampico a battalion of in
fantry was taken on board, and General Diaz
thought that his incognito had become known
and that he was lost. General Diaz threw
himself into the sea, trusting in his skill as a
swimmer to reach the shore. This he never
would have succeeded in doing, because his
strength had been much broken by an illness,
from which he was still suffering. Fortu
nately he was noticed as he threw himself
overboard, and a boat was launched, which
undoubtedly saved him from certain death.
The purser of the steamer "Alphonso K.
Coney" hid the general, and thanks to his
cleverness and the aid given him at Vera Cruz
by General Juan de la Luz Enriquez, Agustin
125

POEFIEIO DIAZ
Maranon, and the brothers Alpuche, owners
of the lighters which loaded and unloaded the
American steamers, he was able to reach the
shore, disguised as a sailor, mount a horse,
and start by way of Boca del Eio for Alva
rado, whence he reached Oaxaca. When the
police of Vera Cruz made a search for Gen
eral Diaz, he was already beyond their reach.
In Oaxaca he organized a small army, and,
in the mean time, succeeded in regaining his
health. Lerdo at that time did not know how
to make hostilities against him. With very
poor equipment, Diaz marched toward the
center of the Eepublic, and was met by Gen
eral Ignacio Alatorre, who came out to op
pose him with a strong division, consisting of
the three arms.
The two armies came in sight of each other
on the ridge of Tecoac, as has already been
said. The Government forces fought with
out spirit; Alatorre showed himself some
what sluggish, according to the military crit
ics ; nevertheless, he would have defeated the
126

A EEVOLUTIONAEY. LEADEE
Eevolutionaries, if it had not been for the
opportune arrival of General Manuel Gon
zalez, with a considerable force, which imme
diately attacked the governmental command
er with intrepidity, and thus gave the victory
to the Eevolutionary leader.
The Eevolution found its principal ally in
the opposition of the press, which completely
robbed the Government of its prestige, intro
duced lack of confidence and depression into
the ranks of the army, and fired the public
mind against what we then called " the most
disgraceful tyranny." What a tyranny! It
not only sanctioned liberty, but even per
mitted license in the press! The more ex
haustively one studies this period, the more
he is confirmed in the conviction that defeat
was due not so much to the Eevolution
aries as to the Government, which literally
wrought its own downfall.

CHAPTEE VI
DIAZ AS PBESIDENT
FIRST PERIOD
IN several of my works already published,
I have studied the first period of Pres
ident Diaz's presidency. I therefore
find myself obliged to repeat much of
what has already been said in my previous
writings. When General Diaz came into power, he
found himself standing before the tribunal of
history, with a great responsibility resting
upon him. He had fought in the name of
progress, order, and liberty, first the Juarist,
and then the Lerdist administration. He had
promised the regeneration of the country,
and his promise must be fulfilled. He must
do something great — so great that it would
justify his former position. First of all, it
was necessary to dominate the situation com-
128

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
pletely; to remove whatever obstacles were
placed in his way; to crush all illegitimate
ambitions; to fuse into one all antagonistic
elements, and to electrify a society which as
yet had neither ideals nor political faith. Un
less he succeeded in doing all this ; unless he
could carry out his programme completely,
he would remain in the category of a common
revolutionist, actuated by criminal ambition.
If every man is responsible to himself for
the wise choice of a business or profession,
it is certainly still more true that he is re
sponsible to his country for the position he
assumes in politics.
General Diaz came into power under the
most unfavorable auspices, for although he
was supported by a strong party, it was
nothing more than a party of opposition,
and not homogeneous. As is the case with
all revolutionary groups, it was possessed
of considerable force, but included a horde
of undisciplined followers, because, during
the time of actual struggle, it was neces-
129

POEFIEIO DIAZ
sary to welcome all sorts and conditions
of men.
He found the treasury empty, credit gone,
lack of confidence everywhere, international
relations broken or suspended, and grave
complications with the United States im
pending. To meet so many dangers, and to
save the nation's honor, demanded excellent
judgment, faultless tact, calmness, firmness,
and patriotism.
Lerdism had been conquered, but not an
nihilated. Some of Lerdo's commanders and
officers remained loyal to his party and re
fused to recognize the new order of things.
Some retired to their homes and took up their
work. Others plotted, but always unsuccess
fully, either from lack of skill or because the
" Cause of Eestoration " no longer carried
any prestige, or, perhaps, merely because so
ciety was heartily tired of internal disorders.
Nevertheless, the Lerdists continued to be a
source of anxiety, and to hamper the free
action of the Government. 130

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
One of the most solemn promises of the
" Plan de Tuxtepec " was to abolish the im
mediate reelection of the President of the
Eepublic and the governors of the States.
In order to carry this provision into effect an
amendment to the Constitution was adopted
and ratified. This, we must remember, re
stricted to four years the time at General
Diaz's disposal, and made the favorable out
come of his enormous undertaking extremely
doubtful; for nothing great can be accom
plished in a short time.
Fortunately, General Diaz had developed
his powers on the field of battle. He was ac
customed to creating resources, organizing
armies, and collecting war material. This
military education was all the statesman had
to fall back upon; but, under the circum
stances, it was the most appropriate and suit
able education he could have had — indis
pensable, one might even call it, considering
the exceptional conditions under which the
country was laboring at that time. Every-
131

POEFIEIO DIAZ
one knows that the science of war demands a
wider range of knowledge than any other, and
demands in addition a forceful genius, rich in
resources. Emerson, the great American philosopher,
has declared that man has the power to de
termine his own value. It is worthy of uni
versal acceptation, this maxim, that man can
achieve the character which he attributes to
himself. Let him grasp the situation, place
himself in an irrefutable position, and all
men will accept his pretensions. The world
is bound to be just, though it is always pro
foundly indifferent to the choice of role which
each one makes for himself. Let him be a
hero, or a fool; it is all one to the people.
They will surely accept the standards which
he has raised for his own acts, the limits
which he has set for his own personality,
whether he trails his coward spirit in the
dust or links it with the stars as they revolve
in the dome of heaven.
General Diaz had faith in himself, and
132

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
therefore inspired confidence in others. He
believed himself capable of dominating the
situation, and he dominated it.
Porfirio Diaz had just completed his thir
ty-seventh year, and was in the full vigor of
his physical and mental powers, when the
people enthusiastically placed him in the
presidential chair.
He came into prominence when his genius
was fully developed and when the nation was
ready for the labors which he undertook. It
will be generally granted, I think, that there
is in affairs a ripening process which one
must patiently await or his undertaking will
fail, and happy the man who arrives at the
propitious moment!
Although it is true that great men always
hold a dominating influence at any given
moment, we must not forget that this influ
ence is necessarily affected by the larger cur
rent of their times. So that the superiority
of these men really consists in their ability
133

POEFIEIO DIAZ
to perceive the trend of events and to act
accordingly. It is commonly said that arriving at the
appropriate moment is a matter of chance,
but I do not believe it. Nothing happens by
accident in an orderly universe, but of neces
sity. Historic events do not take place at
haphazard; they unfold in obedience to a
law which we have not yet fathomed.
Necessity creates the instrument and the
material to supply the thing needed. This
is the reason that in history we always see
the much needed man appear just at the
right time. Necessity brings him forth, in
spires him, and makes him arrive at the
crucial moment. Is the man himself con
scious of this compelling force? Yes; by in
tuition; therefore he does not hesitate nor
procrastinate. General Diaz knew that sooner or later he
would reach the presidency, and during the
time that he lived in the solitude of the coun
try he was forming his plans of government.
134

GENERAL PORFIRIO DIAZ IN 1867.

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
He then decided that the first step must be to
bring about peace and enforce it at any cost,
as that was the only condition under which
his work would be possible.
He well knew that he would have to meet
the baleful vices created by revolutionary
turbulence, so long continued that it had be
come a kind of second nature in our race.
But he succeeded in solving the problem, and
when he came into power, surrounded by so
many professional revolutionists, he under
stood that the only way of escape was to keep
them under his control. He perceived that if
he could muster sufficient skill and judgment
to manage them he could render them harm
less — even useful.
By his success in repressing with firm hand
the last traces of disorder, he ended this tur
bulent period in our history and inaugurated
a period of evolution — an evolution which
began with himself, by changing him from
revolutionary leader to civil ruler, from
soldier to politician, from politician to ad
io 135

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ministrator, from military hero to " Father
of Peace." He who through the necessities
of the situation had been the Destroyer, by
virtue of his new undertaking became the
Eestorer. He planned, created, and organized. He
began by experimenting, under the guidance
of his intuition; he continued by the light of
the experience, which he was gaining and
storing up daily; he concluded by scientific
verification, which is the highest achievement
of human wisdom.
He held the conviction that the greatness
of a nation consists not in its potential or la
tent energies, but in its positive and dynamic
activities ; that is, those which manifest them
selves in action scientifically directed, and
reveal themselves in deeds which contribute
to the purposes of society.
But these potential energies cannot be con
verted into dynamic energies by the will of
any man, no matter how skillful, for the con
currence of other factors is necessary; such
136

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
factors, for example, as suitable material to
work with, the right opportunity, aid from
the general attitude of society, and time,
always a most important factor in the devel
opment and strengthening process which any
great and complicated system must undergo.
As I have already said, Diaz began by
establishing peace, as the first condition of
prosperity. It is true enough that peace is a
result, but as is the case with all effects, it
becomes in its turn a cause.
Much has been said both for and against
peace, this most precious acquisition of our
times in Mexico, each one stating his judg
ment as he has formed it from his own point
of view. And, after all, peace alone means
little. Peace, as a political term, is merely
relative, and means public tranquillity; that
is, a state in which there is no enemy to fight,
either within or without. So far it is a
merely negative condition. Peace is the ab
sence of war. But the word is capable of
sustaining a further meaning. Peace is order
137

POEFIEIO DIAZ
balanced by law. In this definition we find
already the positive element. But even in
this acceptation there is something lacking;
there is a distinction between a mere passive
state of peace and the live, active condition
which we might call dynamic peace. Unques
tionably, under either of these two aspects,
peace results in benefit to mankind, when
compared with war; but there is, neverthe
less, a great difference between the two. The
former brings with it in the long run enerva
tion and paralysis of initiative. It has the
same effect that disuse has upon steel ; though
the metal escapes the wearing process of use,
still it is slowly destroyed by oxidation.
Thus it is with the mechanical peace which is
useful only in a period of transition, for if
it is too long contmued it becomes dangerous,
unlawful tyranny, and order is maintained
at the expense of liberty; order of this kind
is really nothing more than discipline bor
dering on complete subjection.
Peace of the second kind is active, positive,
138

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
dynamic. It enters into the social organism
as an integral part; it quickens dormant en
ergies, promotes activity, brings out the un
formed, strengthens the weak, unites the
divided, heals the sick, lifts the fallen, and
reclaims those who have gone astray ; it leads
all, though by different paths, to a common
end, the betterment of society, both morally
and materially. As the whole movement is
based upon respect for law, respect on the
part of the governed, making them careful
not to misprize the law; respect on the part
of the administration not to misuse their
power; each side does its duty with perfect
respect for the rights of the other.
General Diaz was obliged to resort to
both systems. It was absolutely necessary
to begin by repressing lawlessness, other
wise the development of a peaceable and
harmonious social order would have been
impossible. Octavian peace, that of toto orbe in pace
composito, which prepared the ground for
139

POEFIEIO DIAZ
Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, and
opened the road to Eome for the so-called
Barbarians of the North, was not the work
of Augustus, but the logical result of the con
dition of the Eoman Empire. It had reached
the stage of mortal decadence. As Eome had
her time of aggrandizement, she had of neces
sity a process of decay, which ended in ex
tinction, as happened in the case of Egypt
and Greece. Prostration and lethargy marked
the beginning of the last agony. This hap
pens with nations just as it does with indi
viduals, for they also are subject to physi
ological laws.
I am firmly convinced of the sincerity of
General Diaz's intentions when he came into
power. He was a true democrat. He had
proved it on many occasions. He considered
it dangerous in a democracy to continue a
chief magistrate in power indefinitely; he
believed that the best guarantee of public
liberty is the periodic renewal of the men
140

DfAZ AS PEESIDENT
who wield the power. For failure to carry
out this principle General Diaz condemned
both Juarez and Lerdo.
In the beginning of Diaz's administration,
the revolutionary spirit threatened to over
throw the new order of things. Some Lerdist
leaders, among them those who had defended
their chief with so little courage, whether
from remorse or some other cause, instituted
what they called the " Eestoration." For this
cause they plotted with little skill and less
success. It was said that Lerdo was always
opposed to these conspiracies, and looked
with equal scorn upon his " posthumous x par
tisans " and his enemies. The Government
at first showed a certain leniency toward
the conspirators, but there came a time when
it was thought necessary to chastise and ter
rorize these enemies of the Government.
•The poignancy of this phrase will be missed by the
American reader, unless he happens to remember that
Lerdo's friends postponed vigorous action till after their
leader was politically dead beyond the possibility of resur
rection. 141

POEFIEIO DIAZ
This was done on the frightful night of June
25, 1879.
On the night of the 23d of the same month,
the Mexican gunboats Libertad and Inde
pendencia happened to be anchored in Tla
cotalpam (State of Vera Cruz). A group of
Alvaradians, led by one Antonio Vela, took
possession of the Libertad, through the con
nivance of some of the crew. The Libertad
immediately started for Alvarado before the
Independencia could stop her. The Eevolu
tionaries disembarked in Alvarado and sur
prised a picket of the Twenty-third Battalion,
which constituted the garrison of the town,
carried them all on board, and quickly put to
sea, with the intention of reaching " Laguna
del Carmen."
This uprising in favor of the Eestoration
of Lerdo was a part of a vast conspiracy,
which had for its principal object the capture
of Vera Cruz. It had ramifications all over
the country, in the large cities, and even in
the Capital itself. Its principal leader was
142

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
General Mariano Escobedo. Cooperating
with him were several colonels of recognized
ability, such as Lorenzo Fernandez, Boni
facio Topete, Carlos Fuero, Jose B. Cuesto,
and others of no less reputation.
The news of the capture of the Libertad
was received in Ver a Cruz on the 24th, brought
by a pilot of the port named Carmona. He
was immediately arrested by General Luis
Mier y Teran, Governor of the State.
Teran was a fanatical Diaz supporter. Al
though born in Guanajuato, he had gone to
Oaxaca at a very early age, and was con
sidered an Oaxacan. He had served in the
" Three Years' War " as a subaltern, having
taken part in the defense of Vera Cruz when
it was bombarded by Miramon. He was a
big, pompous man, but very open-hearted,
and possessed of warm sympathies. His
education had been very scant, and his
courage was of the rashest kind. In Vera
Cruz he was immensely popular among the
lower classes, but the well-to-do never took
143

POEFIEIO DIAZ
him seriously as a politician, although they
liked him very much as a man.
Teran had served in the Army of the East,
had taken part in the defense of Puebla when
it was besieged by the French army, and had
been captured and deported to France.
On his return, he escaped from Vera Cruz
and again joined the ranks of General Diaz.
He was one of the heroes of April 2d.
After the triumph of the Eepublic he re
turned to Vera Cruz and became a broker
again, but still took an active part in all con
spiracies and revolutions of the Diaz party.
In fact, he was the virtual chief of that party
in his state. At the time of the " Plan del la
Noria," he was Commander in Chief of the
Eevolutionaries in Oaxaca. He was defeated
and made prisoner in San Mateo Xindihui
by the Juarist General Loaeza. At the time
of the " Plan de Tuxtepec," he was defeated
and made prisoner by the Lerdist General
Alatorre at the battle of Epatlan. Though a
good leader of a column, he was the poorest
144

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
kind of a commander in chief. His character
and his eccentricities won for him the name
of " Crazy Teran."
After General Diaz's victory in Tecoac,
Teran regained his liberty, and was sent to
Vera Cruz as military commander, and upon
the establishment of the constitutional gov
ernment was elected Governor of the State.
Teran lived in constant fear, not because he
was a coward, but because he understood
fully the supreme importance of Vera Cruz at
that moment ; it was the key to the Eepublic
and the chief source of supplies for the Gov
ernment. He was aware that plotting was
going on, but he could not discover the source
nor obtain sufficient evidence to convict the
conspirators. Some days before the occurrence of the
events which I have just described, he or
dered several suspects to be arrested. Among
these was Don Vicente Capmany. They were
handed over to me for judgment, for at that
time I was Federal Judge of the District
145

POEFIEIO DIAZ

of Vera Cruz. As the authorities were un
able to furnish me with proofs of any kind,
I was forced at the expiration of the trial
to issue a mandate placing the accused at
liberty. This put me in bad repute with
Teran, who, though he could not question my
party loyalty, accused me of being weak. To
this accusation I replied that I was a judge,
not an executioner, and could only act ac
cording to the law.
On June 24th, the very day on which the
news of the seizure of the gunboat Libertad
came, Teran received from General Diaz de
tails of the plot which was being concocted
in Vera Cruz, and a list of the persons in
volved. Teran, overrating the danger, telegraphed
to President Diaz that there was an up
rising in the garrison. The President an
swered him in his usual laconic fashion
"Shoot them red-handed." During the
night Teran ordered the arrest of the men
whose names he had on the list. The po-
146

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
lice were slow in carrying out the order,
and the most important leaders escaped.
These were Colonel Fernandez and Colonel
Cueto. The police succeeded in arresting
Jaime Eodriguez, Dr. Eamon Albert Hernan
dez, Antonio Ituarte, Francisco Cueto, Luis
Alva, Lorenzo Portilla, Vicente Capmany,
Eicardo B. Suarez, and Luis Galinie. These
men were placed in the public prison. At
dawn, on the morning of the 25th, in the
midst of a great downpour, the prisoners
were conducted (with the exception of Su
arez, Galinie, and Carmona) to the barracks
of the Twenty-third Battalion. Manuel Eo-
sello, Antonio Loredo, J. A. Eubalcaba, and
Juan Caro-Garcia, officers of the Twenty-fifth
Battalion, were also arrested. General Teran
arrived at the barracks of the Twenty-third,
and ordered the execution of the four officers
above mentioned. Two of them, Eosello and
Loredo, succeeded in saving their lives,
thanks to the prayers and persuasive elo
quence of the Major Juvencio Eobles. Eubal-
147

POEFIEIO DIAZ
caba, Caro, and the other civilians already
mentioned were executed in a summary
manner. The immediate effect of this Bacchanalian
orgy of blood was to strike terror to the
hearts of all conspirators. That the feeling
was deep and lasting is proved by that fact
that it is still felt to-day, thirty years after
wards. It was clearly understood that revo
lutionists need not expect any leniency from
the Government. In consequence, all ac
knowledged themselves conquered. After this
" pacifism " ** began.
At the close of President Diaz's first term,
the Diaz party understood that they had
gone too far in prohibiting immediate reelec-
1 As there seems to be no word to convey the idea of peace
imposed from without as distinguished from a condition due
to inner harmony, Senor de Zayas has used the coined word
"pacifismo," and asked to have it transposed bodily into
English. " Pacifism " he defines as peace imposed by forcible
means and with a tendency to absolutism. Pacification
would not express the meaning, as Senor de Zayas wishes to
describe a permanent, as opposed to a merely transient, con
dition. In another passage, he has made a further distinction
by using the phrase " mechanical peace" as contrasted with
" organic peace."
148

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
tion. General Diaz himself saw with dismay
the approach of the termination of his power,
for he had hardly more than begun to estab
lish the reforms he had planned.
At this juncture, an idea occurred to him
which would modify the effect of the law,
without altering the letter.
It was certainly legal to transfer the Gov
ernment to other hands as a sacred trust, to
be returned after four years to President
Diaz. The question then was, " Who would
be a fittmg man for this trust? " The name
of Don Justo Benitez at once occurred to
Diaz. Benitez was an Oaxacan, a man of
profound judicial knowledge, great energy,
and sterling character. For many years he
had been General Diaz's only counsellor, his
private secretary, his general secretary, and
the actual director of administration of the
Eastern States while they were under the
control of General Diaz. Benitez had been,
one might almost say, the mind of the young
commander. On assuming power, President
149

POEFIEIO DIAZ
Diaz had made Benitez his highest cabinet
officer. Benitez was a man of unquestionable
honor and absolute loyalty. There could be
no one better than he to carry out the re
gency, as the period between 1880 and 1884
might well be called.
After Benitez had been designated as can
didate, he sailed for Europe, with the inten
tion of making a political tour in order to
facilitate the reopening of diplomatic rela
tions which had been broken off on account
of the war with France. This absence was
fatal to his interests, for when he returned
the opinion of those in control had turned
against him.
It is said that Benitez made the mistake of
acting as if he actually had in his hands the
reins of power. He allowed his own person
ality to assert itself. This alarmed General
Diaz and made him suspicious, with the result
that Benitez fell from grace, never to rise
again. He was one of the many factors elim
inated by our inexorable mathematician.
150

DIAZ AS PEESIDENT
It was now necessary to think of some one
else ; he must be a soldier, accustomed to dis
cipline, and ready to obey orders absolutely.
General Teran, who had really been thought
of by General Diaz before Benitez, had al
ready been cast aside because of the over-
zealousness which he had shown on June
25th. Then Diaz thought of General Don
Manuel Gonzalez, the real hero of Tecoac.
Gonzalez was a rough man, without educa
tion, without training of any kind, much less
administrative knowledge. As a commander
of guerrillas, he was brave to rashness. He
had served in the ranks of the Eeactionaries,
and afterwards gone over to the Eepub-
licans at the time of the war against the
French. He had done excellent service in his
country's cause under the orders of General
Diaz. Manly, forceful, and loyal, he was al
ways true to his word, even if he had given it
lightly ; and in addition he was one of General
Diaz's most fanatical partisans.
The appointment of Gonzalez created a
n 151

POEFIEIO DIAZ
scandal in the Diaz party, for many of its
members had already made formal agree
ments with Benitez. The incident even
caused a ministerial crisis. However, the
command of General Diaz was complied with,
and Gonzalez was elected president. He came
into office December 1, 1880.
There are those who assert that when Gen
eral Diaz stepped down from the presidency,
he vowed that if he ever became president
again he would hold the office for life. I
doubt the authenticity of this story, for Gen
eral Diaz does not make confidences of this
kind.

CHAPTEE VII
THE BE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
THE administration of General Gon
zalez was for the first two years a
veritable blessing to the country.
The former officials and commanders of the
old army, who had served under President
Lerdo de Tejada, and who, through pride or
military feeling, had refused to enter the
service during the administration of General
Diaz, now submitted to the Government, and
were reinstated in their grades and activ
ities. This did much to promote general good
feeling in the country. Under his adminis
tration the great railroad lines were begun,
and work was commenced on the improve
ment of the port of Vera Cruz. Commerce in
creased to a marked degree, and the breath of
returning civil life was inhaled all over the
country. But the last two years of his ad-
153

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ministration were extremely disastrous. In
all branches of the Government there was
fearful wastefulness and much scandal over
peculations, and but for the fact that the time
set for General Diaz's return to power was
near at hand, we should certainly have again
entered upon an epoch of revolution. The
principal cause of trouble was the forced
circulation of nickel coins and the arrange
ment of the English debt upon a basis which
was at that time considered a national dis
grace. Many people thought that General Gon
zalez would limit his action to that of deputy
of his predecessor and successor, but such
was not the case. Once in power, Gonzalez
acted entirely upon his own initiative. Gen
eral Diaz did not even try to exercise any in
fluence over him; so that Gonzalez and his
circle were responsible for all the good and
evil of that administration. The Gonzalez
party wanted to work for the continuance of
their chief in power, but he flatly refused.
154

EE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
His word had been given, and he was deter
mined to live up to it.
The elections were held, and much enthu
siasm was shown for General Diaz, who was
elected almost unanimously, for everyone
believed that only through him could their
legitimate hopes for better conditions be
realized. When General Diaz again took up the reins
of government, on December 1, 1884, he
found himself compromised by the action of
his predecessor, principally because the
public had been aroused on account of
the state of the treasury, the issue of
nickel coin, and the projected rearrange
ment of the English debt. The storm
of indignation had reached the breaking
point. It was absolutely necessary, therefore, to
continue enforcing, at all costs, mechanical
peace, or, as I have already called it, the
policy of " pacifism." Fortunately, the peo-
155

POEFIEIO DIAZ
pie responded, for they saw that it was their
only hope of salvation.
At this juncture General Diaz began the
great work which has given him a world-wide
reputation. General Diaz's first period was
one of initiation and experiment; his second
was devoted to the development of a perfectly
conceived plan, now worked out in all its
details. The people understood that four years was
not sufficient time to complete such a work of
reorganization. They trembled before the
prospect of another and a different adminis
tration, and, impelled by public opinion, Con
gress repealed the Constitutional amend
ment which prohibited reelection. At first,
only a second term was permitted ; but after
wards the very men who had originally set
the limit of a single term reestablished the
old regime, which gave to the public the
power to reelect its chief magistrate indefi
nitely. Thus was the work of the revolution
of Tuxtepec brought to naught.
156

EE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
By enforcing discipline with an iron hand,
General Diaz succeeded in converting the
army from an instrument of revolution into
a bulwark of the law, from a howling mob of
barrack-room disturbers into guardians of the
peace, from terrorizers of the people into
protectors of life and property.
Law and order was now established upon
so firm a basis that it gave security to the
people, not only in the populous centers, but
in the remote districts, and brought protec
tion to the dwellers in huts as well as to
the rich in palaces. Under the vivifying in
fluence of peace our arid deserts were trans
formed into agricultural regions, and the
great stretches of our extensive territory
settled; the capital of the country was be
coming convinced that there was a better
field for its investment at home than abroad,
and foreign capital was shown that from
Mexico a greater return could be obtained,
and actually was being obtained, than from
any other country; our wretched bays were
157

POEFIE

.U-i-V^ -i_**JLJ~i-*J

being converted into safe harbors; an iron
network of railroads was spread over the
country, joining the interior with the fron
tier, most of the towns with the capitals of
the provinces, and all the provincial capitals
with the metropolis and the outside world.
The impetuous current of our rivers was be
ing dominated by bridges, the deep abysses
of our canons spanned by viaducts, and
even the mountain barriers conquered by
tunnels. Peace made it possible to mine the iron and
coal, to utilize the rivers with the turbine;
under the influence of progress and civiliza
tion manufacturing plants were built, boilers
started, smelters lighted, and great factory
chimneys reared with their plumes of smoke,
standing out against the sky; levers were
opened to give passage to the restless steam
that it might drive pistons, and thus commu
nicate its throbbing life to the dead machin
ery. One might almost say that the mechan
ism had been endowed with life and could
158

EE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
actually reason, for it seems to swell with
pride at being made the depositary of man's
will and intelligence, and thus inspired, it
forges, it grinds, it hammers, it weaves, it
spins, combines and separates, selects and
classifies, presses and molds, polishes and
puts the finishing touches upon all kinds of
work. The machinery itself seems to be
alive and to infuse its life into the workmen.
The same is true of capital; it infuses
life into enterprise, and by improving trans
portation carries the impulse to distant set
tlements, even reaching foreign countries in
its beneficent work. The factory whistle re
places the church bell, calling men from sleep
to their life of activity, telling the laborer
that it is time for breakfast, giving him the
signal to quit work and seek his grateful and
well-earned rest, and again calling him the
next morning.
The plow furrows the earth, the sower sows
the grain, the irrigating ditch waters it, the
sun warms it into life, the seed germinates,
159

POEFIEIO DIAZ
and the plant spreads its leaves and blos
soms, the smiling promise of the autumn
crop. The reaper cuts the grain and fills the
barn with the remunerative harvest. On the
other hand the flocks and herds graze upon
the mountain sides and chew their cud in
tranquillity under the shade of protecting
trees, growing the tender flesh which is to
serve us as food, the wool from which we
make our clothes, and the hide which later
industry will work over and turn into articles
to satisfy a thousand needs of our complex
civilization. Farther away in the mountains
the mining industry is continually making
more scientific its processes, more perfect its
organization, and more economical its busi
ness methods; it makes the depths of the
earth pay an equal or even greater tribute
than the soil to the private individual and
to the public at large.
Under the influence of peace, the postal
facilities have been properly organized, and
the wires of the telephone and the telegraph
160

EE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
stretched to the borders of the Eepublic ; all
the cities and towns, and even the smallest
villages, are linked together by rapid, cheap,
and convenient service, which greatly con
tributes to national unification. This facili
tates trade, it brings us together, and makes
us of one mind. We suffer with all in a com
mon grief, we rejoice with a general thanks
giving. The cry for help is heard, no matter
how remote the spot, where desperation
raises it, and relief is sent to any part of the
country by the national spirit of charity.
Public instruction follows in its wake, the
trained teacher taking the place of the priest,
converting the school into a center for the
growth and expansion of the mind ; replacing
the brutal system of former times and the
out-of-date methods; substituting for the
idea that to spare the rod spoils the child the
belief that more can be accomplished by per
suasion and kindness than by force.
The social position of woman has been
raised without undervaluing her womanliness
161

POEFIEIO DIAZ
or overlooking the fact that she was destined
by nature first of all and above all to play the
noble part of wife and the sublime and sacred
role of mother.
The administration of justice has been im
proved, because there has been time to study
problems and try experiments in order to
correct and complete the law, to make a bet
ter distribution of the duties of administra
tion, and to pay the officers more liberally,
to increase the number of courts and the num
ber of judges for each court.
Charity has increased in sincerity and in
scope it has grown into philanthropy as far
as the public administration is concerned, and
even in the action of individuals. I do not
mean to imply by this, however, that the well
of individual charity has run dry, for com
passion is instinctive in our race, and charity
is fostered by our religion. We should never
forsake it, no matter what some people say,
because there are griefs which can only
be consoled by the individual, and miseries
162

EE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
for the alleviation of which it is right that
personal aid should be sought.
A country without well-organized finances
is a building without a foundation. The un
derlying basis of the bettered social condi
tions which we now enjoy is the public
treasury. The great problem which General Diaz had
to solve was this: Was the administration
bad because of the lack of resources, or were
resources lacking because of bad administra
tion? Diaz's answer was definite and clear.
These evils are intimately connected, so in
timately that one cannot exist without the
other, and, being interdependent, they must be
remedied simultaneously. But after solving
the problem in principle it was necessary to
solve it in practice, and General Diaz began
the process of national evolution by first es
tablishing order, method, and a wise economy
in the public administration.
The conditions which necessitated econ
omy had already been made and imposed
163

POEFIEIO DIAZ
upon the country in such a manner that it
was impossible to avoid the issue. It was
imperative to create resources to relieve the
situation. Up to that time, owing to the ex
ceptional circumstances through which our
country had been passing, the fiscal system
consisted in collecting the little which was
available and in avoiding payment of the
large amounts which the country owed; or
in seeking loans to tide over the necessities
of the moment, and paying when it could with
exorbitant interest. But General Diaz in
augurated new methods. He established a
reasonable system of taxation, which was in
creased little by little; he recognized and
consolidated all debts ; arranged for the pay
ment of interest, and established a sinking
fund. He succeeded in raising large loans,
under extraordinarily favorable conditions,
considering the circumstances. The purpose
of these loans was to develop the resources
of the country, to unlock its riches, and
thereby increase the Government's revenue.
164

EE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
The best possible proof of the President's
wisdom is that, although the Government's
expenses have increased from year to year,
there has always been a surplus, and that, in
spite of this yearly increase in the cost of
administration, the Government has been
supported without detriment to the pro
ductive and consumptive capacity of the pop
ulation, and has not reduced the people to
poverty. On the contrary, both public and
private wealth has increased, and along with
it the general well-being.
These beneficial results have surprised
everyone familiar with Mexican history;
not even the most optimistic would have
dared to predict that in such a short time
the leaks through which public wealth
flowed out could have been stopped, and new
sources of prosperity discovered, much less
that credit could have been established upon
a basis of equality with that of the first-
class powers.
In an honest administration the money
165

POEFIEIO DIAZ
flows from the people into the public coffers
and back again to the people, through differ
ent channels. By this ebb and flow of wealth
both the administration and the people are
enriched; in a word, upon this depends the
national wealth, in the broadest acceptation
of the phrase ; for the Government can thus
bring about all the blessings which have been
enumerated in the preceding paragraphs, and
they are all factors in the prolongation of
life; for they cut down distance, multiply
time, lessen illness, furnish better arms for
the struggle of existence, open new fields for
the mind and new employments for the
hands ; in short, furnish means for the devel
opment of every man's personality ; and upon
this depends the development of the country,
which is nothing more than the sum of its in
dividuals. In numbers it is the sum of these
individuals, in quality it is the average capac
ity of these individuals.
Having solved the problem of existence
through the solution of the economic prob-
166

EE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
lem, it became less difficult for Diaz to state
and solve the higher problem of the kind of
existence we should lead under all its differ
ent aspects, political, administrative, and so
cial, so full of details, complexities, and diffi
culties. These in turn were arranged slowly
but surely, effectively and decisively. If, as
the great captain of the last century has
said, money constitutes the sinews of war,
it may be said with equal truth that money is
the life of peace and the basis of progress.
General Diaz used his political position
as the fulcrum and his will as the lever with
which to elevate the country. He knew that
power can exist only when it is recognized
and respected. Armed with the law backed
by force, he obtained the necessary recogni
tion and respect. He had studied at short
range the characteristics of our previous
revolutions, and knew that all originated
from the same source; namely, the antago
nism between authority and liberty, two prin-
12 167

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ciples which in a proper political system not
only harmonize but supplement each other, and
really ought to be inseparable. He also knew
that our parties in their excitement and ex
travagance had carried both to such extremes
as to divorce them entirely from one another.
Chateaubriand says, in his " Memoires
d'outre Tombe," that in France the Eepub-
licans made the mistake of exceeding the lim
its of true democracy on the one hand as far
as the Legitimist party exceeded the reason
able limits of monarchy on the other. The
former thought violence the sole road to suc
cess, while the latter considered a return to
the past the only way of salvation. The same
might well be said of our own country. The
Eepublican party aspired to absolute liberty
and ended in Jacobinism; the Eeactionary
party set up a standard of absolute authority
and became a tyranny. Neither the one nor
the other understood that liberty without jus
tice becomes license, and that justice, unless
enforced with a strong hand, becomes im-
168

EE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
potence ; that power without justice results in
tyranny. But it is equally true that there
can be no authority without justice nor jus
tice without liberty ; for all these are related
as causes and effects, each one being at the
same time both cause and effect. General
Diaz earnestly set himself to the task of har
monizing authority and liberty, and the re
sult was peace, with its natural accompani
ment — order.
His plans were laid with such foresight,
and his ideas carried out with so much skill,
that the most extreme Eadicals came to see
that respect for law does not imply servility,
and that obedience to law does not mean
slavery. The Eeactionaries, on the other
hand, were convinced that liberty does not
necessarily mean anarchy, and that estab
lished justice is only the carrying out of duty
because duty precedes law, both in time and
in importance.
The country, saved from ruin, and on the
threshold of prosperity, very properly real-
169

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ized that it was only right to concede to the
man who had brought about this change not
only sufficient time to carry out his plan of
regeneration, but also all the lawful power
necessary to clear the way of all unnecessary
obstacles and hindrances, such as the dilatory
processes of law.
The systematic opposition, which had be
come a settled habit in Mexico and had re
mained in operation to a certain extent as a
legacy from former practical politicians, now
fell into disrepute. Its voice was stifled
by the enthusiastic plaudits of the entire na
tion. The people preferred the eloquence of
deeds to that of flattering promises, and
ceased to discuss either the character or the
actions of the man who had succeeded in plac
ing his country in such an advantageous po
sition. From that time on the public assumed
toward him the attitude of " Let him do what
he wishes," which exactly fitted in with the
motto which Diaz had adopted, " Give me a
free hand." 170

EE-ELECTION OF GENEEAL DIAZ
Mexico, after the administration of Gen
eral Gonzalez, was evidently in the same
plight as France after the Directory; that
is, the people found themselves in the posi
tion of stockholders who have no president.
It was fortunate for them that in place of a
General Bonaparte a General Diaz presented
himself, for instead of war they got peace;
instead of international hatred they received
the respect of the entire world, and instead of
ruin, prosperity. France could, without in
consistency, repudiate her leader, and this
she did by separating her cause from that
of the tyrant. But Mexico thought it wiser
to retain the man of her choice, because his
ambition was entirely compatible with the
nation's interests.

CHAPTEE VIII
WHY GENEEAL DIAZ HAS EEMAINED IN POWEE
1AM about to approach the most difficult
and important subject of this book,
namely, the reasons why General Diaz
has been continually reelected, or, if you pre
fer, the reasons why he has been indefinitely
retained in power — a fact which by some has
been considered proof of his tyranny, and by
others an equally palpable proof of the de
generation of the Mexican people.
In the consideration of this point, I am go
ing to reproduce the substance of the series of
unsigned articles, which I published some
time ago in one of the New York papers, re
garding the presidential elections in Mexico.
I then expressed my conviction that the re
election of" General Diaz was necessary, be
cause the most fundamental interests of the
country unquestionably demanded it; and I
172

WHY DIAZ EEMAINED IN POWEE
founded my opinion upon three principal
arguments, which may be categorically stated
under the following heads :
1. Instinct of Self -Preservation.
2. The Unanimous Wish of the Country.
3. The Absolute Necessity that General
Diaz Should Finish his Work.
I expanded each one of the above headings
separately as follows :
" 1. The Instinct of Self -Preservation.
" Mexican society was formed in the midst
of a long and fearful struggle against the
mother country, Spain. When the country
came to its own politically, thanks to the
achievement of its independence, it tried all
kinds of governments without being able to
establish any one of them, because the bases
upon which each was founded were ill-as
sorted, if not antagonistic.
" During this long period, which lasted
from 1821 to 1876, the instinct of self-pres
ervation was not, properly speaking, gen
eral, but partisan; for each party thought
173

POEFIEIO DIAZ
that it alone possessed a true system, in fact
the only system by which order could be
established, peace assured, and the welfare
of the people gained. Every honest politi
cal system must be founded upon this idea.
" The truth is that all of these parties were
in error, either because they started upon
false principles, or because they exaggerated
true ones ; for it is well known that nothing
is so often responsible for mistakes as the
exaggeration of the truth.
"According to the Conservative or Eeac
tionary party (in Mexico the terms are
synonymous) power emanates from the rul
ers; according to the Liberal party, power
emanates from the people. Both parties ig
nore or appear to ignore the fact that power
comes neither from the rulers nor the ruled,
but that necessity creates it. Power is tran
sitory, if it arises only from the exigencies
of the moment ; lasting, if it is born of stable
and legitimate aspirations. Although it may
be true that audacity and force are sufficient
174

WHY DIAZ EEMAINED IN POWEE
to win the victory, genius, virtue, and, most
of all, a sense of responsibility are neces
sary to make its effects permanent.
" But the instinct of self-preservation un
derwent evolution, as does everything else
that is human ; and having been dominant for
long years, in spite of the efforts of those
who held more rational views, it nevertheless
gradually succumbed to these ideas, but only
after they had been embodied in a man of un
usual force and insight. From that time on
intelligence began to enlighten the under
standing of the parties, took possession of
their wills, united society, and finally evolved
a rational instinct, precursor of a rational in
telligence — a phenomenon which seems anom
alous, but is in reality perfectly logical and
wholly in accord with psychological laws.
This new-born instinct makes for peace, rea
sonable and rational peace; it accustoms us
to habits of calmness and order, and finally
through repetition, generation after genera
tion, forms these habits into race instincts.
175

POEFIEIO DIAZ
" Thus rationalization, forcibly impressed
at first, in time became free, thanks to the
intelligence and perseverance which finally
molded our wills and made us understand
that we were responsible before humanity
for the condition of our country, since its
greatness or decadence depended upon our
acts, and its future was in our hands.
" As soon as we understood the magnitude
of this responsibility, instead of frightening
us and making us turn back, it made us reso
lutely go forward, resolved unalterably to
help on the work of order and progress in
augurated by General Diaz, whom we obey,
not because we are forced to, but in order to
establish the principle of solidarity.
" Since then, each time that the elections
come around, a tremor runs through the Ee
public, a grave doubt arises, not upon the
question of a successor to General Diaz, but
upon the question whether General Diaz will
be willing to remain in power, in view of the
long years of fatigue which have been heaped
176

WHY DIAZ EEMAINED IN POWEE
upon him. We appeal to his patriotism; we
invoke him by every means which is likely to
influence him; all classes are united by a
common desire; they beg him, as a sacred
duty, to continue in the presidency, and to
finish his great work, or at least to carry it
forward as far as possible.
" General Diaz has said repeatedly that it
is now time for him to retire, and the nation
has answered that this time will never come
as long as he lives and follows the path
which he himself has laid out. He tells us
that we ought to choose a successor, but after
taking the measure of our contemporaries,
we reply that there is no one sufficiently great
to replace him. He asks us what we will do
when he dies, and we answer that when that
day comes we will put in his place the one
who most nearly approaches him in great
ness ; but that until that catastrophe overtakes
us, and we are forced by necessity to take
that step, it is our right and duty to insist
upon the service of the best man we know
177

POEFIEIO DIAZ
rather than to try experiments with those
we know not of.
" What is it that inspires our people with
such judicious doubts and such prudent
scruples? It must be the instinct of self-
preservation, deeper rooted now than ever,
because we see for the first time that our
national life is sound. To this fundamental
instinct the spirit of useful activities unites
itself, because it perceives that the work of
the nation is good and remunerative; that it
increases home comforts and public con
veniences; that it improves our educational
system; that it has become a power which
sweeps us on toward the unknown with irre
sistible force, obliging us to remember the
past, to appreciate the present, and to pre
pare for the future.
"2. The Unanimous Wish of the Coun
try. " As the end of each presidential term ap
proaches these doubts arise, and after the
election has been held, enthusiasm breaks
178

WHY DIAZ EEMAINED IN POWEE
forth, not as a local occurrence, but as the
spontaneous expression of the gratification
of the whole country, nay, even the whole
world; for there is no country to-day upon
which the attention of the world is more
fixed than it is upon Mexico, which a short
time ago was so humiliated, so unfortunate,
so misunderstood, but to-day is envied by
some, pointed out as a model by many, and
respected by all.
" This universal sympathy comes in great
part from the admiration which foreigners
feel toward our distinguished President, and
it is due also to the Mexican people, who have
been wise enough to appreciate him in all
his greatness while he yet lives, and have
identified themselves with him and have
placed the nation's destiny unreservedly in
his hands.
" If some people maintain that the judg
ment of foreigners in this matter is of little
importance, and that it should not have any
influence upon our national politics, I reply
179

POEFIEIO DIAZ
that there can be no greater nor more dan
gerous error than this. It is equally true of
society and of the individual that public
opinion increases or lessens power accord
ing as it is favorable or the reverse; and
certainly in international relations the ques
tion of the good or bad reputation of a nation
is a most important factor in the cultivation
of friendship, commerce, and credit. I might
almost say that these things constitute in
dispensable elements in the life and pros
perity of a nation. It is perfectly right,
therefore, that those nations which have in
terests in Mexico, whether because their sub
jects have settled and taken up their occupa
tions in Mexico, or because they have capital
in private industrial enterprises or public
works or any other vested interest in our
country, should be greatly concerned in our
peace and prosperity, and in the maintenance
at the head of the Government of a man who
gives them the most reliable guarantee of
order and activity in the country and of hon-
180

WHY DIAZ EEMAINED IN POWEE
est government and the fulfillment of con
tracts. " That this general opinion is most favor
able to General Diaz is shown by the praises
of the press, the distinctions and honors
which have been conferred upon him, and
even upon his chief assistants.
"3. The Absolute Necessity that General
Diaz Should Finish his Work.
" There are people, I know, who contend
that this argument is false, but their position
is based, I think, upon the understanding that
we mean that Mexico will reach her highest
development under Diaz. Nothing is farther
from our thoughts, for as readers of history
we know very well that nations do not de
velop as rapidly as individuals, and that those
which quickly reach their highest develop
ment are short-lived.
" A work of the kind which General Diaz
has undertaken is by its very nature slow,
and all that he expects and all that we have
a right to expect of him and of the present
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POEFIEIO DIAZ
generation is that we may succeed in estab
lishing in our country her habit of life, elim
inating all disturbing elements, strengthen
ing the principles which she already has,
and creating new ones which will increase
her vitality, thus laying substantial, firm,
and immovable foundations upon which
shall rest the superb edifice of the future."
" Some people tell us that if so much has
been accomplished (assuredly no one can
doubt this assertion) his work must now be
completed. But this is not so. One thing is
still lacking.
" As yet there has not been time for the
root so favorably planted to grow. We must
accustom ourselves to contemplate what has
already been achieved without astonishment,
though not without gratitude, in order that
we may become habituated to peace, order,
and progress. We must incorporate these
elements so firmly in our national organ
ization that they will remain there for-
182

WHY DIAZ EEMAINED IN POWEE
ever, so that we Mexicans may justly believe
that all this progress and well-being is the
collective work of the nation, the result of
our own will, intelligence, and work, even
though it has been inaugurated by a great
man. It will take time, I repeat, for the ef
fect which has been made upon other coun
tries and the respect, referred to above, to
be attributed to the country as well as to
its noted President. But I am sure that
to bring this to pass is to-day the great
est aspiration of General Diaz, for to him
the glory of his country is the supreme
aim. " Finally, our system lacks that clearness,
perfection of administrative detail, complete
ness, and simplicity which is necessary in
order that when General Diaz relinquishes
his control the system bequeathed by him to
the nation will not offer difficulties, or leave
room for strife, still less end in disaster; in
order that his successor may carry on the
good work without stumbling and without
ia 183

POEFIEIO DIAZ
vacillation; in short, that there may be no
break in the continuity of our development,
and that his successor may find all important
political, economic, and social problems so
well solved that there will be no further ne
cessity of creation, but simply the need of
normal growth; that there may be no strug
gles to undertake, only the fruits of victory
to gather. Thus, even if the new president
should not prove to be a man of excep
tional ability, he might, nevertheless, carry
on the administration successfully and per
petuate the advantages which we now
enjoy. " For the above reasons, I agree with all
classes in Mexico, all political parties, and all
foreign powers who have relations with Mex
ico, that the reelection of President Diaz is a
necessity." " I have written this article, not to sustain
the prestige of a candidate, whose superiority
no one questions, and whose tenure of office
184

WHY DIAZ EEMAINED IN POWEE
necessity imposes, but to collect and bring
to a focus the ideas and opinions of the pub-
lie at large — to make a composite photo
graph of them, as it were — and also to
correct certain errors, current among for
eigners, which at first sight seem to be favor
able to General Diaz, but which in reality
belittle his greatness and make the public of
Mexico appear timid and servile."
" General Diaz has plainly shown, during
the long years of his presidency, that he is
not actuated by motives of ambition, per
sonal profit, or party aggrandizement, but
that he has been actuated by the legitimate
ambition of a patriot, and has exercised his
power for the attainment of the noblest and
highest ends for which a patriot can work —
the welfare of the country as a whole. The
public, which from the first almost by intui
tion rested its most cherished hopes upon its
leader, has come to hold as an inner convic
tion, founded on reason and experience, the
most ardent faith in the Government. Just
185

POEFIEIO DIAZ
as General Diaz thinks that his greatest glory
is the good of the people whose destinies
he controls, so we, the people, think on
our part that our greatest glory is to work
with him, each one according to his ability,
to further the interests and aid in the ag
grandizement of our country; we do this
with the inner conviction that to work with
determination for the accomplishment of a
noble purpose is the highest aim in life, the
truest form of happiness, because a life of
activity radiating from the country as a cen
ter and coming back to it, is the realization of
the highest ideal which the spirit of man can

When I wrote the above I was not laboring
under any misconception as to the danger of
placing in the hands of a single man all the
power of Government, nor was I ignorant of
the fact that in so doing we were transferring
our liberties to the hands of another. But at
that time it seemed to me a less dangerous
186

WHY DIAZ EEMAINED IN POWEE
risk to take than that of placing a new man
at the head of the Government.
Three ways were open to us : that of elect
ing a new man, that of electing a president
designated by General Diaz, and that of re
electing the President himself.
The first I considered the most dangerous
and most difficult of the three courses, be
cause during the long administration of Gen
eral Diaz no new man had arisen, properly
speaking. That is to say, no man had arisen
by his own efforts and shown any especial
ability for administration. If any men have
become distinguished, it has been only under
the protection and sufferance of the pres
ident, raised from obscurity by Diaz himself,
and without more value than he has thought
it advisable to credit them. The proof of this
assertion lies in the fact that each one of
them has come to nothing as soon as Diaz has
pushed him aside. Although it may well be
that under the regime of cowardly flattery
which obtains among us, only the individuals
187

POEFIEIO DIAZ
whom General Diaz has raised up are consid
ered great and those whom he has thrust
down are belittled.
In following the second course, the same
objection would present itself: namely, our
lack of faith in the personality of the man
who might be designated as his successor by
General Diaz. Furthermore, if the incum
bent should take it into his head to act upon
his own account, he would become by that
move a new man of untried ability. If he
were to follow General Diaz's orders strictly,
it would be better to keep on with General
Diaz himself in power, appropriating all the
glory and assuming all the responsibility, as
he now does. The experiment made with
General Gonzalez was too disastrous an un
dertaking to repeat.
The third course being the safest and the
most satisfactory, we have always decided
upon it and reelected President Diaz.
Then, too, we have always cherished the
hope that General Diaz would enter upon a
188

WHY DIAZ EEMAINED IN POWEE
new phase, and extend our liberties by giving
the people a more direct participation in pub
lic affairs. This would bring out our latent
administrative abilities and allow some man
to develop the desired qualities of leadership.
This was our expectation, and this is still
our hope.

T

CHAPTEE IX
IS GENEEAL DIAZ A TYBANT OB A DESPOT?
HOW HE HAS BEEN GOVERNING
HE manner in which President Diaz
has been governing and his repeated
reelections have gained for him
various titles according to the point of view
of different critics. For some years past the
North American press, which in general has
shown itself as distinctly pro-Diaz as the
Mexicans themselves, has been in the habit
of calling President Diaz "an intelligent
tyrant " or " a good tyrant." The first phrase
is admissible, for a tyrant may be intelligent,
but the second is not, for goodness and tyr
anny are incompatible terms. According to
the precise definition of the Spanish Acad
emy, a tyrant is " one who unlawfully seizes
the Government of a state, especially if he
rules arbitrarily and without due processes
190

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
of law." This definition embodies both the
ancient and the modern significance of
the word. The Greeks called anyone who
usurped the sovereign power a " tyrant," and
that is the original meaning of the word. It
is equivalent to " usurper," because the
significance of the word is derived from the
means used in the acquisition of power, and
does not refer to the manner in which the
power was exercised. The case of Pisistratus
might be cited as proof, for he was called
" tyrant," although he was neither unjust nor
violent in his methods of government ; while,
on the other hand, this title was not used in
speaking of Persian kings, notwithstanding
the fact that they were truly tyrannical in the
modern sense. But as usurpation gener
ally leads to -violence, the Greek themselves
later on used the word in the sense of a re
proach, and this meaning has persisted down
to our own times. So that in all modern lan
guages the epithet is applied to those who
govern with cruelty and injustice, without
191

POEFIEIO DIAZ
respect for laws, either human or divine, even
though they may not have usurped the power.
Henry VIII of England is an example. Thus
it appears that there cannot be any such
thing as a " good tyrant," because the words
are mutually exclusive. But the term is not
applicable to General Diaz in either accepta
tion, because he did not obtain power by
usurpation, but through a legally sanctioned
election, and he has not governed with cru
elty, injustice, or disregard of law. He is,
therefore, not a tyrant either in his manner
of coming into power or in his practice as a
ruler. Let us see whether the epithet of "good
despot," which has been applied to him by
some writers, will fit him better! In its
original sense " despot " meant " master " or
"lord" ( Seo-n-dr^s in Greek). This title was
given in ancient times to persons who exer
cised the supreme control in certain coun
tries, and to-day signifies a sovereign who
governs in his own right, without subjection
192

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
to any law or constitution — an absolute mon
arch, as we would call him.
From the legal point of view this is not the
case with General Diaz, for he governs in the
name of the Constitution. Though as a mat
ter of fact he governs by virtue of the extra
ordinary confidence which he inspires, and
under a sort of tacit understanding between
the governed and the governor. At the end
of each presidential term there has been
something more than an expression of tolera
tion of his manner of governing; there has
been most enthusiastic approbation, unmis
takable and reiterated after each reelection.
More than this, there have been frequently
conferred upon him, under different forms,
unusual powers, to be applied in all branches
of public administration. These powers were
bestowed by Congress, in its character of
legitimate public representative and in the
form of a sovereignty, for the use of which
the Executive was to render account in due
time. Congress itself was to decide whether
193

POEFIEIO DIAZ
it should bestow or withhold its approval. A
study of the situation and of the vicissitudes
through which the country was passing will
reveal the fact that it was necessary to do
this. The instinct of the people, the experience
acquired by its rulers, the desire for peace,
for progress, and for prosperity, obliged the
two opposing groups, the Liberal and the
Eeactionary parties, to lay aside their hostile
attitude, give up their bickerings over ab
stract principles, and confine their efforts
to the field of the actual and the practical.
No one any longer dared to shout, " Let the
colonies perish, but save our principles " ;
everyone was ready to accept the dictum that
we must first provide for existence and af
terwards consider what sort of an existence
it should be.
It was then seen, as I have already ex
plained, that the principle of a single term
without reelection had its serious objections,
and the clause in the Constitution forbidding
194

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
this was changed to meet the necessities of
the situation. All were ready to see their
declaration of principles and even some of
their rights disregarded, in order to bring
about the one end which all agreed was of
paramount importance, namely, peace.
This fervent desire for peace began in the
time of Juarez, when the Empire had been
destroyed, and with it the Eeactionary party.
Juarez himself would have courted peace,
if we Porfirists had not hindered him with
our systematic and unbridled opposition and
our disorderly outbreaks. But it is note
worthy that, in spite of all our efforts, we did
not succeed in overthrowing the " Grand Old
Indian of Gueletao " ; this was due in large
measure to the fact that the public was tired
of strife and longed for peace.
During the administration of Lerdo the
situation was not far different. The Porfirist
Eevolution was not really popular, and, as I
have already said, Lerdo fell more on account
of his own apathy and skepticism than be-
195

POEFIEIO DIAZ
cause of any popular sympathy with the
Eevolution. The public wanted peace.
Porfirio Diaz arrived at the propitious
moment and satisfied this general desire.
The public knew that all the disorderly ele
ments of the population were at the command
of this man, and that as long as he remained
in power there would be nothing to fear from
them. Furthermore, they understood that it
was for the public interest to retain General
Diaz in the presidency, that the seeds of
revolution might not be again scattered
broadcast. After the death-dealing day of
June 25, 1879, of which I have already
spoken, even the Porfirists themselves were
cowed, and have ever since remained in com
plete subjection to their leader. There have
been no further serious conspiracies. Gen
eral Garcia de la Cadena was the last to ven
ture a return to the old practices, and his
foolish attempt came to naught; for at the
very outset he fell into a skillfully laid trap
and lost his life. He was the " Last of the
196

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
Mohicans." Since then terror on the one side
and a sincere desire for peace and prosperity
on the other have prevented further upris
ings. The choice lay between Eevolution and
Dictatorship, and the people unanimously
chose to lay aside the musket and submit to
the yoke.
But President Diaz did not at once insti
tute a system of sic volo, sic jubeo absolut
ism. He based his power upon the Consti
tution of 1857, and from the first has been
gradually modifying it, until he has adjusted
it to suit his purpose. His government was
actually and undeniably personal, but he
knew very well how to cover up appearances
and make the public believe that all were
taking part more or less directly in public
affairs. His tactics were very simple. When
he conceived a plan, he talked it over with the
secretary of the branch it affected, and, if
the matter were important, he called together
his whole Cabinet, and each member ex
pressed his opinion with entire freedom. On
197

POEFIEIO DIAZ
questions of transcendent importance he in
directly consulted public opinion through the
medium of the press, or named special
commissioners, who reported their conclu
sions to him. On such occasions, the Presi-
ident listened attentively to all that was said,
and quietly and dispassionately discussed
each point, without undervaluing any sensi
ble argument, no matter from what quarter
it came. As soon as his mind had been made
up, he sent to Congress a draft of the pro
posed law, and at the request of the legis
lative committee of Congress he granted them
a hearing, and the whole matter was dis
cussed from all points of view. As all were
animated by the desire to arrive at the best
possible solution of the matter, the draft was
modified, altered, or left intact, according to
their best judgment. The President not only
discussed the projected law with the mem
bers of the legislative committee, but also
with any senators or congressmen who re
quested an audience. The result of this
198

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT!
method of procedure was that when a de
cision had once been reached, the projected
law had been examined, discussed, and re
vised, not only by the Executive, but by a
large part of the members of both houses,
and it therefore passed without wrangling,
and usually with little or no amendment.
This method simplified the work of Con
gress and obviated the conflicts between the
two legislative bodies and between the legis
lative and executive departments and, best
of all, suppressed parliamentary discussions,
which were considered dangerous by the
President, on account of the fieriness of the
national character and its susceptibility to
eloquence and passion, which makes it unable
to confine itself to safe limits for a system of
the kind which was being established. This
method also had the effect of preventing the
development of important individual figures
in Congress and about them such groups as
those which gave President Juarez so much
trouble. 14 199

POEFIEIO DIAZ
This system is impractical, unless the leg
islative body is perfectly under control.
In all quarters of the world, even in those
countries which have the greatest electoral
freedom, such as England and the United
States, the Government endeavors, either
directly or through the medium of its
party leaders, to control primaries and con
ventions, in order that the result of the
elections may be favorable to such candi
dates as it can count upon for support.
Because no system of administration can
work successfully agamst the opposition
of a hostile Parliament. In those countries
which have a strictly parliamentary rule, this
difficulty is obviated by a change of ministry
to suit the majority party; thus serious situ
ations are avoided. But in countries like our
own and the United States a different sys
tem is followed. There is no such recourse
to fall back upon, or at least it is very sel
dom used. As a matter of fact, in the United
States there is no such thing as a change of
200

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
Cabinet on account of congressional opposi
tion, because the theory is that the president
constitutes the executive branch and not the
ministers. While in restricted monarchies
and in France the ministers constitute the
real governing power. In Mexico, whenever
we have interpreted the Constitution differ
ently from the American practice (our Con
stitution is an exact copy of that of the
United States), there have been frequent
changes of the Cabinet, but no beneficial re
sults. General Diaz's plan would have been
impossible in the form in which many people
said it ought to have been carried out. His
government has been successful precisely
because he has changed it from a centrifugal
to a centripetal system.
In this way it has come about that the
Legislative power has been little by little
delegated to the President, and the Judicial
power has been going the same way, as all
matters connected with politics or the inter
ests of the administration have been referred
201

POEFIEIO DIAZ
to him, so that in the Judiciary, as well as in
all the other parts of the complicated machin
ery, to which I have already referred, the
president constitutes the main pivot upon
which they all turn.
This places the administration of justice,
as well as all other departments, under cen
tral control. In order to better accomplish
this object the Constitution was amended,
and the President of the Supreme Court
was divested of his office of Vice-Presi
dent of the Eepublic, a doubling up of offices
which caused such serious difficulties and
political catastrophes in the time of Juarez,
of Lerdo, and even of President Diaz's first
term. The Judiciary has been, and is still, called
a "Power," just as the Legislature is, but
both of these bodies have been disarmed and
are therefore impotent. In reality, they are
to-day nothing more than branches of the
Executive. The case of the public itself is not far
202

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
different. For it has been gradually hand
ing over its electoral power to the President,
first by asking his advice as to whom they
should elect; later by receiving his orders
and thus losing their interest in going to the
polls; finally by forcing the Government to
hold elections on its own account in order
to prevent the country from falling into the
dilemma of becoming a nation without a
head. Let us now pass to the consideration of the
government of the states. When a governor
is to be elected or reelected, delegations rep
resenting all classes go to the Capital to ask
of the President his moral support for their
candidate, or at least to inquire whether their
nominee is persona grata. These very in
dividuals are the ones who afterwards
guide the elections, and, as they are the
leaders of the localities in which they live,
they achieve a complete triumph; there be
ing no chance for disagreement after they
have all, tacitly or by arrangement, fixed
203

POEFIEIO DIAZ
upon a candidate or decided not to enter the
struggle. Following this method, not at the solicita
tion of General Diaz, but fostered by him,
there has been established through contin
ued practice a custom which has invalidated
the sovereignty of the individual states. In
truth, one must acknowledge that this sov
ereignty is an absurdity. Pomeroy says,
with abundant reason, in his " Constitutional
Law " : " It is impossible to maintain that a
state of the Union is an independent and
separate political entity; it has no intrinsic
Legislative power; its functions of govern
ment are limited, not only by its own Con
stitution, but by that of the Union. It can
neither amend nor amplify its own funda
mental law, because it is limited by the su
preme law of the nation, which it cannot
override. Instead of enjoying the power of
sovereignty as an independent political so
ciety, each state finds itself in a position of
permanent subordination." We must not
204

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
overlook the significant fact that it is a North
American who writes thus and that he is re
ferring to the United States, the freest coun
try in the world, and the one from which we
have derived our Constitution.
The individual states certainly cannot have
either sovereignty or independence, properly
speaking; but they do have liberty, because
they are federal entities, free to move within
the sphere of action which the Constitution
has laid down for them. I sincerely believe
that a confederation of sovereign states can
not constitute a nation in the true sense, be
cause the first condition, that of national
entity, is violated. Where the sovereignty
is divided there can be neither power, respon
sibility, nor harmonious action. When I am
in Vera Cruz or Jalisco, I have never thought
of myself as living under the flag of Vera
Cruz or Jalisco, but under the Mexican flag
and under the protection of the laws of my
country. The conception of a group of sov
ereign states is revolutionary and destruc-
205

POEFIEIO DIAZ
tive of patriotism the moment it tends to
divide allegiance instead of unifying it; and
in so far as it does this, it weakens rather
than strengthens the country.
One of General Diaz's greatest claims to
gratitude, one of the highest services he has
rendered the country, is that of having modi
fied this erroneous conception; it is due to
him that we no longer have Sonorans, Oax-
acans, Yucatanians, and Michoacans, but
Mexicans, from one end of the Eepublic to
the other. In order to bring about this
change, it has not been necessary to violate
the Constitution or any law of the land. All
that had to be done to give to our institutions
their true character was to correct abuses
and to reduce everything to reasonable pro
portions. It is incontrovertible that all
measures necessary for the preservation of
order may properly be considered to fall
within the legislative rights of a nation.
But legislators are in a sound position
only when they see to it that the laws are
206

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
restricted to those which are necessary to
insure order.
The rectification of our conception of the
sovereignty and independence of states has
been brought about without disturbing the
principle of liberty to govern their own in
ternal affairs within the limits prescribed by
the Constitution. But at the same time the
governors have actually given up some of
their powers, and in their desire to cooperate
more effectively in the work of nationaliza
tion, they have ended by turning themselves
into federal officials, dependent upon the
central government, by which they are in
reality designated.
The governors, in their turn, have followed
the same practice within their respective
states, nominating the members of the Legis
lative and Judicial bodies, and even the
Municipal officials, thus completing the sys
tem, and creating a single political and
administrative machine of colossal size,
extending over the whole Eepublic and
207

POEFIEIO DIAZ
manipulated by the power of the individual
at the center.
I doubt whether General Diaz, when he
was elected for his second term, had con
ceived this vast plan, but I think affairs were
gradually tending in this direction on account
of the anxiety for peace and the eagerness
for material progress which had taken pos
session of the nation; and the movement
toward centralization, already begun, was
favored by the President and skillfully pro
moted as the best means of accomplishing
his far-reaching plan.
The people were quick to see that the more
power they conceded to the President, the
greater became the material prosperity of the
country and the more broad and comfortable
their own lives. Under these influences they
were induced to lay aside their liberties, one
might almost say to abjure them altogether,
in order to give themselves up to the enjoy
ment of their happy lot.
Some writers have said to the Mexicans,
208

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
who boast so much of their Democracy:
" Monarchy is not merely the existence of a
king, but a centralization of power." The
people have replied that what they cared
about was the name, not the thing itself ; and
that peace and bread meant more to them than
all else. In vain they have been told, " Peace
not only implies order, but liberty as well."
The people have answered : " Without peace
there is no bread, and without bread no lib
erty." In vain has it been pointed out that
" repeated reelection is the method, ' pacif
ism ' the lure by means of which the way is
paved for the preconceived end, the one
completes the other." The people reply that
they are tired of experiments and that they
put up with things as they exist because, if it
is not good, it is at least the best that they
have had, and it assures them bread. In vain
has it been explained that " although the mul
titude of railroads, tunnels, gigantic bridges,
good highways, palaces, and countless other
evidences of material progress, rising as if
209

POEFIEIO DIAZ
by magic from the bosom of the earth, bear
striking witness to the advantages of ' pacif
ism'; it is nevertheless true that all this is
only for the purpose of astonishing the en
slaved multitude into believing that all these
portents, almost miracles, are the natural and
predestined fruit of peace — of sacred peace,
which has had to traverse a long via crucis
of bitterness and tears." The public replies
that it has always traversed this via crucis
without having the consolation of material
progress and comfortable life; that this sys
tem has given them and will continue to give
them bread. Always and forever the same
reply with this irrefutable logic of bread.
" One can live without liberty, but not with
out bread ! "
President Diaz, realizing the situation, has
taken good care that there should be no lack
of bread, even for his enemies. Should one
ask the rich banker whether he prefers the
past to the present, he will, in spite of the
natural tendency of human nature to think
210

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
that the past is always better than the pres
ent, answer, "No," because his business is
better now than ever. The same reply will
be received from merchants, landowners,
artists, artisans, men of the city, men of the
country, and even from the humblest peas
ant whose hut the revolutionaries burned,
whose family were outraged, and whose
" burro " was stolen, and he himself tricked
into becoming a soldier in order that he
might serve as food for cannon.
If one says in Mexico that every Octavius
becomes an Augustus, and after every Augus
tus comes a Tiberius, a Caligula, a Claudius,
a Nero, there are plenty to reply that every
Cromwell becomes a Lord Protector and pre
pares the way for a Charles II, and that
every Eevolution is followed by a Eeign of
Terror, and every Terrorism by a Napoleon.
It is the normal condition of people to
think more about the present, which they can
understand and which means everything to
them, than of the future, which is a matter
211

POEFIEIO DIAZ
of conjecture, and affects them less than it
does those who come after. But there is
one thing which no Mexican can fail to see :
that to-day we are respected by all the
nations who yesterday looked down upon us ;
to-day we are given a place of honor in all
international conclaves, in all scientific con
gresses ; we are mentioned wherever nation
al honor, science, order, progress, civiliza
tion, peace, concord, or any great and noble
sentiment or interest of humanity is dis
cussed; we are always represented and well
received, and frequently our Capital is
chosen as the place in which to hold inter
national congresses.
Is there any room for shadows in this pic
ture? Yes ; but that is true of every picture.
There is always the question, however,
whether all this material and moral progress
has not cost too much? Of course we all
know that nothing is gained without some
outlay. But really the question is not " How
much has it cost? " but " Is the return worth
212

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
the outlay?" In all this advance, has not
much been lost and trampled underfoot? I
think so. For in the triumphal procession
of the car of progress, every one who tries
to stop, or even change, its course, is run
over and crushed, whether he be brave or
stupid or ignorant.
But can all this advance be the work of
one man? No such movement can ever be
singular in its character. A commander in
chief, even if he measures to the exceptional
height of a Napoleon, cannot triumph in a
campaign alone. General Diaz understood
this well. His long military career had
taught him its truth and he knew how to
apply the lesson in his civil capacity. He
chose his captains, so to speak, and began
by organizing and disciplining an army of
peace. When he had accomplished its or
ganization, he began his campaign, relying,
not upon his good fortune, nor his hopes,
but upon his insight, his perspicuity, and
his forceful and indomitable will.
213

POEFIEIO DIAZ
He transferred the struggle to another field
of operations. In the former, those who were
ready in action rose and succeeded best. In
this, different aptitudes are required, an
other sort of knowledge, and different weap
ons. Boldness alone is not sufficient; one
must also have knowledge and patience.
Force alone is not enough; one must also
possess ability. Those who doubt, those who
vacillate, those who slip, those who fall,
drop to the rear or perish. Whose fault
is it? That of the system? No! The will
of the individual is at fault on one side,
and the universal and eternal law on the
other side.
It is said that a reign of plutocracy has
been inaugurated in Mexico. This is true,
but the phenomenon is not local, it is gen
eral. In all countries of the civilized world,
plutocracy has taken the place of aristocracy,
and the former rules. It is no less true of
the American Federal Eepublic than it is
of the centralized Eepublic of France or
214

IS DIAZ A TYEANT OE A DESPOT?
of the constitutional monarchy of Great
Britain; and every plutocracy is conserv
ative. It is said that fortunes have been made5 in
a day — colossal fortunes of tainted wealth —
and it is certainly true ; it is equally true that
this has happened everywhere. But all these
are secondary considerations. The important
thing is to know whether the benefits it has
bequeathed to us are worth, in a material
sense, the wealth they have cost ; whether, in
short, they have actually brought us that
which is more useful. But, you will object,
that the issue I raise is not a moral one. I
am well aware of that; quite the contrary,
it is eminently practical, and, above all, it
is an unalterable fact.
As a general thing, the people do not com
plain so much of the millions of dollars which
are stolen from them as they do when their
liberties are juggled with. They are more
than right in this. The loss of many millions
is insignificant compared with the loss of a
is 215

POEFIEIO DIAZ
single one of our public liberties. Our lib
erties are so closely connected and inter
twined with one another that the destruction
of "one must necessarily mean the ruin of all.
In truth, there are no such things as liberties,
there is only LIBEETY.

CHAPTEE X
PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
AS we have seen, there has been going
J-\ on in Mexico a process of concen-
¦******¦**¦ *********** tration, with one man as its center.
This man was the product of the warlike con
ditions which were the necessary consequence
of more than sixty years of internal revolu
tion. The situation was exactly the same
with Julius Caesar in Eome. It would have
been impossible to bring about this concen
tration through violent means, for a legal
dictatorship could not have been built up
through violence. It could only be, as it was
in this case, the result of continuous and
skillful manipulation; restrictions each time
drawn closer, but in a manner which would
flatter the Eeactionary party without alarm
ing the Jacobins.
Diaz severed the various states from their
217

POEFIEIO DIAZ
respective local governments and bound them
to the central Government. He made the
national palace a " Capitol." Beginning with
a military oligarchy, he ended with an au
tocracy. He had the wisdom not to disavow
the Constitution of 1857, but to set it up as
a sacred standard, which he constantly in
voked and as constantly modified, not in order
to keep within constitutional limits, but in
order to mould the Constitution to suit his
own purposes.
I do not believe that he deceived anybody
or even attempted deception. His action was
open, and his intention sufficiently clear.
Everybody understood what he was aiming
at; many denounced and protested, but no
body dared to take the responsibility of stop
ping him. On the contrary, concession after
concession was made with undeniable good
will. I have already shown the reason for
this ; there was hunger for bread and thirst
for peace, and everything was sacrificed to
these two irrepressible demands. These acts
218

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
were justified on the ground that it was
our first duty to reestablish the physical
strength of the nation.
It has been asserted that this attitude
destroyed public spirit. Even the Govern
ment became alarmed, as was shown in 1906,
when difficulties arose with the United States
regarding the position assumed by the North
American press hostile to Mexico, on the
ground that a general uprising had been
planned for the purpose of reenacting the
Sicilian Vespers and slaughtering all the
Americans in the country.
A cabinet meeting was held to discuss the
question whether such apathy might not
prove disastrous in case of war with our
neighbor at the north. The prevailing opin
ion was that public spirit in Mexico was not
dead, but sleeping.
I take a still more optimistic view; I be
lieve it is beginning to awake. Now that
"the hunger for bread and the thirst for
peace " have been satiated, I think that the
219

POEFIEIO DIAZ
public is beginning to feel a hunger for jus
tice and a thirst for freedom. When a coun
try forswears its liberties and foregoes its
right to self-government, and has not learned
to adapt itself to the more liberal doctrine
that the interest of the whole country must
be the interest of each individual ; when citi
zens of the middle class return to their fire
sides, imagining that to profess a lack of
interest in politics is to show practical wis
dom, it is because they fail to appreciate that
politics involve our life blood, our money,
our honor. When a country does not know
how to defend her liberties, and places her
self under the protection of a " Man of Des
tiny," the outcome is sure to be that which
we have just seen : " Disintegration and de
moralization." Who makes this assertion,
you will say, a demagogue? No; an advo
cate of civil order; a nobleman, the Duke of
Audiffret-Pasquier. A country ought to know better than to
give itself over body and soul to a single
220

SENORA DONA CAEMEN ROMERO RUBIO DE DfAZ, WIFE
OF PRESIDENT POEFIEIO DIAZ.

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
individual, no matter who the man or what
the circumstances. Again you will ask,
" Who makes such assertions . " A pretend
er, a man of the opposition party, a can
didate? No; M. Thiers, President of the
Eepublic of France.
The words which I repeat we once knew
well; in fact, they were engraved upon our
memory before Diaz became president. They
were a part of the creed of the Liberal party,
and especially of the Porfirist faction; they
were written upon the revolutionary banner
raised at the time of the " Plan de la Noria "
and the uprising against Juarez, and at the
time of the " Plan de Tuxtepec " and the
uprising against Lerdo.
When we gave up our rights we were not
acting in ignorance, but in the full knowledge
of what we were doing ; we were actuated by
the confidence which we had then and which
many of us still have, that our renunciation
was not a permanent abdication of our civic
rights, but a transfer of them in good faith
221

POEFIEIO DIAZ
to the keeping of a man of irreproachable
honor; one who would know how to re
turn them as he had received them, little by
little, until complete restitution had been
made. We were confident that we would
never have to say, "Diaz, return to us our
liberties," as the Eomans exclaimed, " Vare,
legiones redde " ; that General Diaz, a patriot
and a man of honor, could never bring him
self to repeat the phrase of the insolent
Napoleon III, who, in order to palliate the
failure of the French intervention in Mexico,
said : " It is the secret of Providence that she
does not always respect her own combina
tions." In my opinion, public spirit is beginning
to rise in Mexico, and, what is still more sig
nificant, this impulse is showing itself in the
form of disorder. Since last year (1906)
there have been set on foot socialistic move
ments which are in reality, if I am not
mistaken, political movements. I have had oc-
222

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
casion to study this movement, because Gen
eral Diaz entrusted me with a confidential
mission for this purpose. I served him with
my accustomed loyalty, and thought it my
duty to speak with frankness. In a report
addressed to him, dated July 17, 1906, 1 have
presented the results of my investigations in
the State of Vera Cruz, in part in the follow
ing words :
" As to the question of subverting law and
order, it is certain that the idea did not orig
inate in Orizaba, but that it emanated from
the Capital. It is equally certain that the
labor question has been seized upon merely
as a pretext; the situation is one of which
it is easy to take advantage : 12,000 workmen,
their ignorance, their character, and their
just cause for discontent."
" I believe with Giuciardini that in politics,
as in medicine, good remedies are common
enough ; the skill consists in knowing how to
administer them with timeliness and judg
ment." 223

POEFIEIO DIAZ
This I was bold enough to say to the Pres
ident, and I also sent him, on August 3, 1906,
some confidential notes, which I believe it
will not be out of place to repeat here,
" Confidential Notes Eegarding the Polit
ical and Social Situation Which Has
Been Beought About in the Countby;
Its Causes and the Way to Waed Off
the Dangee:
" Me. Peesident :
" I am neither a pessimist nor an op
timist. I look upon all events with calmness,
study them without passion or preconceived
ideas. This seems to me the only way to
form a just judgment, or rather, one which
is as nearly just as possible, considering the
fallibility of the spirit of man, and more
especially my own intellectual shortcomings.
Following this method, which is strictly sci
entific, I have studied the actual conditions
in the country, the situation in which the
224

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
Government finds itself, and the significance
of the socialistic movement which has been
inaugurated and grows daily in importance,
for it is evidently on the increase both in ex
tent and in intensity. After making an anal
ysis, I have busied myself in seeking the
remedy for the evils complained of by our
people. Finally, I have undertaken to pre
dict, by the use of the deductive method,
what, it seems to me, must ensue. In the
brief notes which follow, I have the honor,
and also the boldness, to present to you the
results of this study.
"When you were good enough to entrust
to me the task of speaking for the Govern
ment through the press, empowering me to
investigate this subject freely and without
special instructions, I felt it a great honor,
and was deeply gratified with this proof
of your confidence. I believe that it would
not comport well with the confidence which
you have placed in me, if I limited myself
to the composition of more or less high-
225

POEFIEIO DIAZ
sounding editorials, contradicting the asser
tions of the opposition press, propounding
sound doctrines, and defending the Govern
ment from the accusations and calumnies of
its enemies. All of which, even supposing
that I were capable of doing it with distin
guished ability, would not satisfy the public,
nor ward off the dangers ; to accomplish this
neither the exposition of theories, the most
eloquent writings, nor the soundest argu
ments would suffice. These might be helpful
elements, but could not be the principal nor
the decisive factors.
"I consider it my duty, therefore, to ad
dress you with the frankness of an old and
tried member of your party, who has never
served directly or indirectly any government
but yours ; I speak with the loyalty of a per
sonal friend, and the disinterestedness of an
ardent patriot. I make no pretense of show
ing you anything new, much less of giving
you advice; it would, indeed, be presummg on
my part to think that I had more talent and
226

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
more experience than the man who has the
reputation of being one of the greatest states
men of our century. All that I shall attempt
to do is to express my own opinion, to make
clear my point of view, which is the result of
an intimate knowledge of the Mexican people,
gained through contact with all classes. This
may be of much value, because conditions
have kept me entirely free from the strife of
politics, and have placed me in a position to
observe at close range that which it would
be impossible to see from the heights, and
also to hear that which does not reach you,
even as a faint echo, on your distant pinnacle
of power.
" In so doing, I am fulfilling a duty of con
science, which you will rate at its true value,
and make of my opinions whatever use you
see fit — surely the best possible use.
" The Situation
" It would be a great mistake to suppose
that the present movement is confined to the
227

POEFIEIO DIAZ
working classes. On the contrary, it is wide
spread, including directly and indirectly all
classes of society. Among its members the
rich are in the minority, the middle class in
the majority, and the membership from the
lower classes is increasing under the leader
ship of the other two. In joining the move
ment, the rich are moved by ambition, the
middle class by necessity and by the desire to
satisfy their aspirations, the lower classes
because they are pursued by wretchedness,
and because they are always and in all parts
of the world prone to sedition.
" An aspect of socialism has been cleverly
thrown upon this movement by its promoters,
but the truth is that although it does on its
social side attack industrialism (not capital),
its real attack is on the political side against
the Government. The attitude of the opposi
tion press is sufficient proof of this assertion,
for it has prepared the way for and sup
ported this movement; it has mingled with
the complaints of the workmen the fault-
228

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
finding of all classes; it has collected and
published all kinds of news, true and false,
which could possibly be made to throw
discredit upon any or all officials of the
Government. |^' Discontent reigns in almost every state, j
caused chiefly by the fact that certain gov
ernors seem to remain in office indefinitely
and the group which surrounds them does the
same. This destroys the legitimate ambition
of all the rest of the citizens, who think, rea
sonably enough, that they have a right to a
direct participation in the management of
public affairs, either for the realization of
their own cherished ideals or for the fulfill
ment of their ambition to exercise power —
in a word, to satisfy their own self-esteem.
Those who have no such ambitions at least
desire a change, for they think that whatever
might follow, the change would be better than
that which they have to-day.
" With my accustomed frankness, I say to
you that this feeling has nothing to do with
229

POEFIEIO DIAZ
the presidency of the Eepublic. No one as
pires to that office, and no one conspires
against you. If they have any complaint at
all, it is that you retain in office men whom
they condemn as useless, and, in some cases,
even harmful. They say that Mexican soci
ety is at present divided into two castes : one
the governing class, which seems to be in
violable, and for whom power, privileges,
benefices, business opportunities, titles, and
honors are reserved ; the other the governed,
cut off from opportunity, only fitted to be
come soldiers, laborers, and slaves, without
hope, without future, a prey to wretchedness
and suffering. 1 I do not justify this opinion,
I merely point it out.
" These elements of discontent the opposi
tion press exploits with skill, making them
count by spreading them far and wide, and
using them as the means of maintaining an
effective campaign. Our opponents succeed
because there is no one to come forward and
rectify their exaggerations and contradict
230

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
their falsehoods. The Government period
icals are not strong enough, either in num
bers or influence, to counteract the work of
the opposition press.
" To return to my theme, I am forced to
admit that there is considerable discontent
over the immovability of many officials and
employees of the Government ; irritability on
account of the abuse practiced by some, per
haps by many of them; impatience on the
part of those who think that they are justly
entitled to hold high public positions, and who
place all their hopes on a change of adminis
tration, even if it be only a partial change.
Then, in addition, there is a feeling of hatred
against a certain political clique, which has
been and is still considered (whether rightly
or wrongly) to be in complete mastery of
the country and to have exclusive control of
the public business. It is even supposed to
have a monopoly of all the most remunera
tive fields for private enterprise. There are
also complaints agamst the authorities on
16 231

POEFIEIO DIAZ
the ground that officials have little or no
consideration for the public, but are con
cerned only in enriching themselves and
their friends ; it must be admitted, however,
that even in matters of greatest and most
evident public utility, the opposition party
sees nothing but private business and oppor
tunity for individual enrichment.
. ,>_" To all these causes of discontent is added
at the present moment the labor question, soon
to be followed by agrarian agitation. It is cer
tainly true that although the condition of the
laborer is bad, that of the peon is infinitely
worse, j The only reason that the rights of
the peon have not already been brought into
the field is because the industrial laborers,
being more intelligent, more turbulent, and
more easily influenced, because they live in
large groups, constitute much better material
for the purpose the Socialists have in hand;
namely, to change the existing order of
things. Furthermore, they are confident
that the agricultural laborers will join
232

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
them as soon as the occasion for their help
arises. "Many people think that the opposition
press is aiming at the profit which the in
creased sale of the papers will bring in, but
this is not true. Underlying their efforts is
sincerity, and to this fact is due their energy
and persistency. Many people believe that
newspapers of this class do not exercise any
great influence. That is a mistake. They
find a great number of readers: those who
buy out of mere curiosity, others whose
natural malevolence gives them a taste for
everything which decries those in power;
and still others who find their own desires
echoed in these publications. Many people
believe that these papers can be destroyed
by persecution, or, at least, brought under
control; but this is the greatest mistake of
all. Every persecuted editor will in that way
be raised to the rank of a Martyr to Liberty;
and the hero of the dungeon usually becomes,
sooner or later, the hero of the barricade.
233

POEFIEIO DIAZ
"My Misgivings
" The accumulated experience of history
teaches us that when no one looks out for the
public, the public looks out for itself; and
when the public looks out for itself, it ceases
to be a river running in its natural channel,
and becomes a flood, an inundation. When
the honest poor rises to vindicate its rights,
it finds itself isolated, and is, therefore, will
ing to accept aid from any quarter. The first
that offers is always that of the rascal and
the criminal, for in the overthrow of order
such men always see a free field for their mis
deeds. Experience has also taught us that
revolutions occur only when circumstances
are favorable; when the seed of martyrdom
has been sown upon a ground of conviction.
This gives moral strength to men, and en
dues them with the courage to face death in
defense of the cause which they have es
poused. " I have already sketched the outward cir-
234

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
cumstances and I have pointed out where the
seed of martyrdom can be found. From this
exposition it is apparent that we have both
the latent and the active elements of revolu
tion in our midst. It will not do to assert
that the class affected is insignificant and
that the manifestations of discontent are
harmless. Let us remember that when the
French Eevolution broke out, and Louis XVI
exclaimed ' This is merely a street broil,'
the Duke of Liancourt replied : ' No, Sire, it
is a revolution.' We all know that the event
proved the duke to be right.
" Charges are made daily against the Gov
ernment without being met with reasonable
answers, much less with proofs ; and because
it is easier to hear one who shouts than
thousands who hold their peace, the discon
tent grows and gradually spreads through
out all classes.
" Nothing is so fatal in politics as the lais-
sez faire doctrine, for it is interpreted as a
sign that the administration does not know
235

POEFIEIO DIAZ
what to do. When the Government fails to
answer its critics, the impression gets abroad
that there is no reasonable explanation to
offer. If it is true, as Mirabeau said, that
the silence of the people is the lesson of
the king, it is equally true, in my opinion,
that the silence of kings is the justification
of the charges made against them by the
people. " There is certainly something very grave
in this cock-sure attitude. Those who look
with indifference upon the present situation
are making an unpardonable mistake, and,
furthermore, are shirking their responsibil
ity before history. The slight uprisings
which have up to the present time taken place
in Cananea, Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, and
even in the Capital itself, are forerunners
of what is being worked up in other cities
under cover of the labor question; they are
trials of strength to test the extent and qual
ity of the forces which the Socialists have at
their disposal ; they are experiments to bring
236

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
out the underlying conditions and show the
leaders how far they can go.
" I perceive that there is agitation below
and alarm above. This condition can only
be made right by the energetic and patriotic
action of him who forms the apex of the
social pyramid.
" My Opinion as to the Best Way to Oveb-
come the Theeatened Dangeb
" The only way to meet and destroy the
idea of revolution is to expose the falsity
of the base upon which it rests,|as I have
already had the honor of explaining to you
upon another occasion. But later on, when
the idea has been so far developed that it has
already blossomed into aspiration and begun
to express itself in action, the only way to
overcome the revolution is to lead it. j If
Louis XVI had understood this truth, and
had known how to put it into execution, the
** Great French Eevolution ' would have been
known in history as the ' Great Evolution.'
237

POEFIEIO DIAZ
"You have been good enough to entrust
to me the first part of this undertaking, and
I have endeavored to carry it out in the best
manner possible. The results, to another
more vain and more optimistic than I, might
well have been considered highly satisfac
tory. These results may be summed up as
follows :
" 1. We have succeeded in making the op
position press, almost to the last periodical,
understand the danger to which they are
exposing the country with their revolutionary
propaganda, and they have moderated their
attacks against the Government and turned
their attention to the study of the social ques
tions involved, looking at these questions
from the point of view of moral and eco
nomic evolution, and following the course of
reasoning which I pointed out at the begin
ning of my campaign.
" 2. The laborers who were ** on strike '
have thus far followed my advice, which has
been amplified and strengthened by what
238

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
other papers have written, even the opposi
tion papers themselves.
" But all this, sir, does not constitute a
decisive victory; it is only a success of the
advance guard; it is not peace, but merely a
truce. As soon as the first feeling of appre
hension is over, and the moment of expec
tancy has passed, they will return to the
struggle with more zeal than ever, if not
with cruelty and bloodshed. What has been
accomplished so far is due not to my ability,
but to yours. The sole cause is the change
of front which you ordered El Imparcial to
make : that is, to quit its irritating, dogmatic
position and its redundant and insulting tone
of superiority, its uncompromising attitude,
and its intemperate expressions of ill will.
This action has been taken as evidence of
your separation from the Scientific party,1
and the public has breathed a sigh of relief ;

"•The party headed by Cabinet Minister Limantour was
called the " Scientific party " by its founders on the assump
tion that they alone possessed the truth. Their idea was to
239

POEFIEIO DIAZ
therefore, on reading the declarations and
promises which I made in the name of the
Government, the people have begun to hope
for better things. But they are not to be
deceived with promises, nor can their de-
sistance be long counted upon after they
have once made up their minds to act; nor
am I capable of resorting to double dealing
in order to restrain them.
" For the complete realization of the first
part of the undertaking which you have been
good enough to entrust to me, resources are
lacking. El Imparcial is by no means equal
to the task single handed. It is already dis
credited in the eyes of the people ; everything
it publishes is looked upon with suspicion.
As soon as the first moment of surprise is
over, the salutary effect will vanish, unless
reenforced by the utterance of other papers
and supported by convincing, practical action.
reduce it all to precise formulas. They look with the most
profound contempt upon the masses, and in fact upon all
those who do not offer themselves as passive instruments foi
the accomplishment of this party's ambitions.
240

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
" As to the suggestion in the second part
of my report that you yourself should head
the movement, I am not in a position even to
express an opinion, much less to point out the
proper course of action. You are so far su
perior to me in knowledge and experience
that I could not think of such presumption,
but I do consider it my duty, sir, to beg you
not to look upon the affair of Cananea with
indifference, but to accede to the public de
mand, to break your silence, to investigate,
and to demonstrate that the Government was
fully justified in its action, thus dissipating
doubts, calming fears, and satisfying public
opinion. In addition, I am sure it would be
well to effectually countenance the laborers
in so far as their demands are just; to ap
point a commission composed of five com
petent men to study the labor question and
to make such suggestions as they deem ad
visable. This would suffice to calm agitation
for the moment, to inspire confidence in the
Government, and hope that the precarious
241

POEFIEIO DIAZ
situation of the laboring classes would be
improved. " We are in the midst of a period of agita
tion, and it would be a great mistake to ignore
the fact. Such periods are fertile in systems,
projects, and plans of all kinds, especially
harmful kinds.
" I do not believe that public opinion is
always right, but I think that it should always
be taken into account and satisfied, especially
at present, because there exists a decided
tendency to disregard a decree, unless its
justice be fully demonstrated, or force be
used to compel obedience. The latter method
is the more efficacious for the time being,
but it always carries with it a reaction,
more or less violent in proportion to the
amount of repressive force which has been
exerted. " I trust you will pardon the liberty I have
taken in speaking so plainly and at such
length upon matters which are beyond my
competence. For thus trespassing upon your
242

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
overburdened time, I beg you to forgive me,
and I feel sure that your kindness and good
judgment recognize my loyalty as a member
of your party, my sincerity as a friend, and
my love for our common country.
" (Signed) E. de Zayas Enbiquez.
" Mexico, August 3, 1906."
It is undeniable that the country is passing
through a period of agitation and uncertain
ty. Almost every one in Mexico who has
any power uses it and abuses it, and the
cowed public submits. From the car con
ductor up, everyone is permitted to de
spise the public and treat it tyrannically.
The manager of a manufacturing estab
lishment is a feudal lord and his agents
treat the working classes as if they were
slaves. In May of the present year (1907) a Mex
ican paper published a long letter addressed
to the President by a workingman named
Jose Neira. It was written concerning a
243

POEFIEIO DIAZ
strike. In it occurred the following re
marks :
" At the present time, although the labor
ers and their employers are intimately con
nected by ties of interest, they are very
far apart. The capitalists are very high up ;
we are very low down ; and between them and
us there exist as the only intermediaries a
multitude of ' go-betweens,' who exploit those
above to as great an extent as those below,
deceiving both. These ' go-betweens ' form
a regular stairway, from the man who sweeps
out the office to the manager-in-chief. They
transform all that passes through their
hands, either up or down, to suit their own
ends. In the factory, everything is for sale.
For five dollars the ' boss ' will give three
looms to the man who has two, four to the
man who has three. For one or two dollars,
the ' correitero ' will credit you with good
marks; for twenty-five cents the inspector
will fail to report; for the same amount, he
244

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
will allow smoking and the floor sweeper will
change all the broken reels, bobbins, and
spools. " We laborers are obliged by the ' bosses,'
under penalty of losing our job, to take one
number at least in each of their raffles, and
they have one every week ; to apply for funds
which they loan at the rate of twenty-five
per cent a week, whether we need the
money or not; and to pretend that we are
deaf when they make love to our sisters,
our daughters, our nieces, and even our
wives. These 'bosses,' who in turn are
'bossed' by other employees higher up,
are among us sort of sultans, who hold our
money and even our honor at their beck and
call. Woe to him who repels or tries to
thwart the amorous caprices of one of these
gentlemen! They will fine him and punish
him for several weeks, and finally the ' cor-
reitero ' will come, full of pompous majesty,
to whisper in his ear : ' Don't be a fool.
Don't carry on so with the " boss " ! What's
245

POEFIEIO DIAZ
the use of getting fined and punished? Don't
you know that he can consign you to the
army?' It is true; the will of these man
darins is law. All they have to do is to in
form the management that the person in
question is a terrible Socialist who stirs up
strikes, and it's all up with that particular
laborer." This description is a true picture of the
condition of affairs in almost all the states of
the Federation, and the bitter feeling of the
laboring classes is apparent in nearly every
town in Mexico.
I remember that in 1875, when we were
making preparations for the Eevolution of
Tuxtepec, which was to place General Diaz
in the presidential chair, I published a book
entitled " The Helots of the Nineteenth Cen
tury." On page 117 and following pages I
said : " Those who know the inner history of
the France of 1847 and of the Mexico of 1875
must be surprised to see how many points
246

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
of similarity there are between the two coun
tries during these two epochs.
" In the France of that day as in our coun
try to-day, peace apparently reigned, and the
ministers, satellites of M. Guizot, could say,
as the cabinet members of Senor Lerdo de
Tejada might have, that the public security
was in no wise disturbed, that the budget of
state was covered with perfect regularity,
that the eighty-seven prefects of His Majesty
exercised the functions of their offices with as
much independence (?) as could the twenty-
seven governors of the constitutional states
of our Federation.
" There was a veritable plethora of riches
and well-being; railroads were built in all
directions ; the Minister of War in France, as
the Minister of War here, ordered the con
struction of battleships, not only in the na
tional shipyards, but also in England. The
cry of the memorable administration of
Guizot was ' Get rich ! '
"At first sight, the man who cannot see
17 247

POEFIEIO DIAZ
farther than the outside of a question would
believe that the material condition of France
at that time was the best possible. In that
country, as in our pseudo-republic, scan
dalous fortunes were made in a day, the
origin of which no one could explain. Usury
and shameful speculation was the order of
the day ; the health of the country was threat
ened by the growth of a terrible cancer;
the condition of affairs can best be de
scribed by the biblical expression, 'whited
sepulcher.' " In the France of 1847 there was a priv
ileged class which formed what was called
' the legal country.' For the members of this
class were reserved the public offices, the rich
sinecures, the flattery of the ' powers that be,'
the attentions of the ministers, honorable
decorations, invitations to the Tuileries,
handshakes of the ' Bourgeois king ' ; in a
word, it was the reign of the grocers, as the
people have called it; only members of the
ring took part in public affairs; they alone
248

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
were called, and consequently they alone
were chosen.
" But while they were talking of the dances
and royal entertainments which ' Philippe
Egalite' was lavishing upon his proteges,
the great majority of the law-abiding citizens
who had honest ambitions and were willing
to work murmured against this bureaucratic
and self -centered government, which took no
thought for the future (of France), but only
for their own present advantage and that of
their hangers-on ; and whatever business they
undertook was merely for the aggrandize
ment of some speculator. But the tempest
was slowly gathering, drawing together the
scattered elements of discontent from all
sides. " The very thing which happened there
is taking place among us here to-day. At
first, only suppressed murmurings from be
low, then open protest that the revenues of
state should be squandered in sumptuous
banquets while the public goes hungry; that
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POEFIEIO DIAZ
money should be squandered on perfectly use
less, if not perfectly ridiculous scientific
expeditions, while the masses clamor for
schools; gold braid and gorgeous trimmings
to set off a gallant army, while the wretched
people with difficulty find rags to cover their
nakedness. " In the France of 1847, as in the Mexico
of 1875, public indignation burned against
the adventurers who had succeeded in put
ting themselves in control of the situation;
the people hurled their scorn against an im
moral government, which was hiding under
a mantle of virtue, and had brought every
thing down to a purely material basis.
" What was the result of this brewing op
position? Toward the end of 1847 the storm
began to darken the horizon of ' Philippe
Egalite,' and during the following year burst
with fury as menacing as that which in 1793
overthrew the worm-eaten throne of Louis
XVI. At that time, Louis Philippe recog
nized the rottenness of the situation and had
250

PEESENT CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
the sense to abdicate and retire to England.
** In Mexico they never abdicate. Our rulers,
like the "Old Guard," may die, but never
surrender.' "
This is what I said in 1875, and I notice
that others are repeating the same thing to
day in a somewhat different form; taking
another epoch in France to point the par
allel, that of the last days of the Third
Empire and the final catastrophe at Sedan.

CHAPTEE XI
THE LAST PHASE OF THE EVOLUTION OF PEES
IDENT DiAZ
1HAVE described, though in a sketchy
manner, the whole public life of Pres
ident Diaz, and the evolution of his char
acter, an evolution which has not traveled
in straight lines. Nature has no straight
lines, and no evolution ever follows the direct
course, but moves in a constantly ascending
spiral. The query naturally arises in one's mind:
Has President Diaz stopped growmg? Does
he actually present to us to-day the last
stage of his development, the final form in
which he will pass into history?
It may seem that prudence should counsel
me to propound this question fairly and
therewith end my labor. But that would be
to destroy the fruit of all my work. For I
consider my task positive, and if I should
252

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
end it by simply raising this question, the
results of my investigation would be shroud
ed with doubt, and, therefore, largely neg
ative. I am well aware that every man is a tend
ency, a suggestion, never a complete ex
pression. But I am equally sure that the law
of each man's being, as well on the spiritual
as on the moral plane, is to fulfill the func
tions which his own nature prescribes. Pres
ident Diaz is cast in a mold which compels
achievement of such a high order that he
cannot stop with that which he has already
accomplished, for it has affected only the
material side of Mexico.
History does not furnish us with a single
example of a man who, after gaining per
manent possession of the supreme power,
voluntarily returned to the people, either all
at once or by degrees, the liberties which he
had taken from them. Nations never shake
off the yoke except by revolution. They must
by their own courage and heroism re-conquer
253

POEFIEIO DIAZ
what they have lost through indolence, cow
ardice, or the desire to gain some immediate
advantage at the expense of their future wel
fare. But President Diaz cannot and ought
not to allow himself to be classed in this
category. Because if he did he would be a
contradiction to himself, he would destroy
his prestige, and descend to the level of an
ordinary tyrant, an ambitious upstart, who
had deceived the people and defrauded them
of their highest and most legitimate aspira
tions. In order to complete his work he does not
need the conditions that surround a mytho
logical demigod, but simply those of a man
inspired by patriotism, righteousness, honor,
and respect for his own reputation. It is
to me inconceivable that President Diaz can
be a hard, unyielding man, actuated only by
selfish ambition, cold and heartless, " a bronze
statue upon a granite pedestal." For that
would prove him to be, in the last analysisj
a man capable of raising to his memory a
254

X

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
monument of curses upon a pedestal of ig
nominy. In thinking him incapable of this,
I am not founding my belief solely upon my
aspirations for my country, nor upon my ad
miration for the hero of this biography, nor
yet upon my desire that General Diaz may
pass into history universally venerated, but
upon the belief that, deducing the unknown
from the known, General Diaz will feel him
self compelled to carry out that which duty
so imperiously commands. Although Diaz
may have made mistakes (and it is certain
enough that he has done so), I do not be
lieve him capable of committing the awful
crime of treason to his country.
For this reason I counsel him with frank
ness and with sincere loyalty to shortly be
come the head of the revolution which is be
ginning to stir in the soul of Mexico, at last
awaking from her long sleep. I adjure him
to lead the movement at once, for although it
is beginning very timidly, it has, neverthe
less, made a beginning, and if he takes the
255

POEFxEiu jjju-lZ
initiative now, he can transform the move
ment from revolution into evolution, nay,
even more, into salvation, and for himself
stamp the achievement of the statesman with
the seal of greatness.
Many people will laugh at my having sev
eral times referred to a revolution in Mexico,
for they consider this impossible, in view of
the fact that peace is, in their estimation, so
firmly established, and the people so domi
nated by the yoke that they are incapable of
even dreaming to shake it off. As long as
President Diaz holds the reins of the Gov
ernment it is practically certain that things
will remain as they are, both because of his
overwhelming prestige, and because of the
terror inspired by his practice of drowning
in blood any attempt at uprising. The last
time this happened was only a few months
ago, when the strikers of Orizaba were shot
down by General Eosilino Martinez, accord
ing to the custom established on June 25,
1879. But once the pressure of his iron
256

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
hand is removed, the presence of the inflam
mable material, now lying hidden on every
side, will be revealed, and the whole country
will be ablaze. This everyone knows but no
one dares to confess.
At the present moment the financial situa
tion is bad all over the world, but in Mexico
it is frightful. The greatest lack of con
fidence exists in the money market. Banks
are changed from credit-giving institutions
into places of hoarding. The feeling of in
stability is general. We are assured that
there is much money in the country, but that
those who have it do not allow it to get into
circulation. Why is this? Because the cap
italist is nothing if not far-sighted; he sees
the storm brewing before the professional
politician is alive to the situation, and he is
afraid that his money will be seized by some
one and hoarded if he puts it into circulation.
All classes see with disgust the immense
sums that are spent to beautify the Capital
and to furnish large profits to the ring, when
257

POEFIEIO DIAZ
this money is so badly needed for the neces
sities upon which the very future of the coun
try depends, such as the irrigation of vast
stretches of waste land and immigration mat
ters, which have been shamefully neglected
under the pretext that there were no funds
for this purpose; and this, too, when it is
evident that there is enough and to spare for
the construction of palaces, theaters, prom
enades, and for sumptuous entertainments
which no one approves.
Physical law controls actions, but moral
law imposes duties, and he who fails to ful
fill his duties, whether from ignorance, in
difference, or lack of ability, must be
considered a failure, even though he may
have accomplished much and rendered great
service in other directions.
To-day more than ever the life of Mexico
is bound up in the life of President Diaz. For
he alone possesses the key to the situation;
he and he only can convert into " organic
258 "

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
peace " the " mechanical peace " which he has
imposed with such skill and power. And I
must insist, in the face of all that interested
flattery can say to the contrary, or con
victed error assert with sophistry, our peace
is " mechanical." The mere fact that every
thing in Mexico depends upon the will of a
single individual is sufficient proof of my
assertion — a single individual who controls
public affairs in their entirety, down to the
minutest detail; a single individual who can
make or mar reputations, lives, and fortunes,
because all are forced to consult him, obey
him, and believe, or appear to believe, what
ever he says on his mere word, without ask
ing for proofs or explanations.
If President Diaz should happen to dis
appear suddenly, paying the tribute which
all must pay to death, it would throw Mexico
into the worst state of confusion that our
country has ever experienced.
In a few words, I will try to explain my
meaning. We are all at sea politically, be-
259

POEFIEIO DIAZ
cause for many years in Mexico it has been
looked upon as a virtue, or perhaps as a ne
cessity, to avoid taking an interest in politics.
We are, therefore, without any strong, recog
nized successor, anyone with an established
reputation, because for many years there has
been nothing in Mexico worthy the name of
popular elections. It is true that Senor Don
Eamon Corral figures as vice-president, but
it is equally true, as all the world knows,
that he does not owe his position to popular
election, but to the direct appointment of
President Diaz. Sefior Corral is unknown
in politics. He may be an exceptional man,
but no one is sure of it, because he has not
demonstrated his ability ; in fact, he has had
no chance to show his qualities.
In June, 1904, at a National Convention,
called ostensibly for the purpose of nominat
ing candidates for president and vice-pres
ident, the Hon. Ignacio Mariscal, Secretary
of Foreign Eelations, was put up by some
delegates for the second place. But one of tho
260

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
members of the convention announced from
the speakers' desk that he had been "in
structed to present as official candidate " for
the vice-presidency Sefior Don Eamon Cor
ral, Secretary of the Interior. Sefior Corral
was nominated by the convention.
In this connection, Sefior Mariscal wrote,
in reply to a letter from his supporters, a
statement (on July 20th) which was pub
lished by all the papers. In it he expressed
himself with his usual frankness, saying that
if he had foreseen that his name was going
to be proposed he would have made every ef
fort to prevent it. He added :
" I never have aspired to the vice-pres
idency, for reasons which I will explain fur
ther on, nor would it have been possible for
my candidacy to succeed against that of
Senor Corral, which had already been cut and
dried before the convention.
" Already it is evident that the candidacy
of the Secretary of the Interior has much
more support and probability of success at
261

POEFIEIO DIAZ
the national elections than it had at the time
of the convention, although the evidences
were many and great at that time. For to
day he has the declared approval of the Pres
ident to count upon, as was shown in the
speech Diaz made at the National Conven
tion, in reference to his own candidacy and
that of Serior Corral. PEESIDENT DIAZ'S
OPINION, THAT OPINION WHICH HAS
ON SO MANY OCCASIONS PEOVED ITS
EFFECTIVENESS, UNSUPPOETED BY
COMPULSION, MEEELY BECAUSE OF
THE ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE WHICH
HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO INSPIEE,
CONSTITUTES THE MOST CEETAIN
GUAEANTEE THAT THE CITIZEN IN
WHOSE FAVOE HE HAS DECLARED
WILL BE ELECTED VICE-PEESIDENT.
It would have been foolish of me, therefore,
with my experience of years, to expect any
votes to speak of in the election for the vice-
presidency, a position which I repeat I have
no desire to fill." 262

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
Eead as you will the words of this honor
able and sincere man, you will always come
to the same conclusion, the conclusion that I
have pronounced at the beginning.
Not long ago (in fact, in this very year,
1907) the United States press took up the
question of a successor to President Diaz.
Some papers predicted that Sefior Liman
tour, the Secretary of the Treasury, would
succeed him ; others mentioned Sefior Corral ;
and still others mentioned an unknown as
his probable successor. These articles caused
great alarm in Mexico, and among the papers
at the Capital which took up the affair with
fervor there was one hardy enough to assert
that the successor to President Diaz would
be the " LAW."
I can say with all sincerity that I have not
the slightest idea what the author of this
riddle was driving at. Who is the " law "
and what is the "law"? This amounts to
a justification of what I have said above,
because if El Diario, the paper to which I
is 263

POEFIEIO DIAZ
refer, thinks that Senor Corral is the legit
imate successor of the President, as things
stand to-day, it should have made its
statement categorical, considering that the
" LAW," even when it is written in capitals,
is a thing, and that things cannot succeed
persons, for there cannot be any Govern
ment except through the instrumentality of
individuals. Moreover, in the last analysis,
the " Law " in Mexico is General Diaz, and
will continue to be as long as he lives ; but will
cease to be when he dies.
At the present time, the Liberal party is
disorganized, or perhaps one might better
say that it has disappeared ; for it no longer
exists as a Liberal party, properly speaking ;
while the Clerical party is better organized
than ever, and is possessed of far greater re
sources than it had at the time when it was
forced, as a measure of political necessity, to
disentail the property of the clergy. It is
true that this party has no leader of repute,
but we all know by experience that necessity
264

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION

always creates a leader. The situation is
such, then, that we may well fear that a re
action is in store, and that it will precipitate
an uprising as sanguinary, or perhaps even
more sanguinary, than the Eevolution of
1857-1860, because the Liberals, the Eadi-
cals, and the Jacobins will unite to fight the
common enemy.
But looking at the case in the most favor
able light possible, and supposing that the
President should die without completing the
evolution which we all anxiously await, and
that Corral should come into power without
opposition or mishap of any kind, and with
the tacit or expressed consent of all the peo
ple, how would he govern? To return at
once to the constitutional regime, that is, to
respect the spirit and conform to the letter
of the Constitution, would be difficult, because
it would be necessary to begin by making
radical changes in the direction of decentral
ization throughout the administrative de
partment. This would be sure to cause dis-
265

POEFIEIO DIAZ
content among all those who have become
accustomed to government according to the
present system.
To continue according to the existing plan
would be dangerous in the extreme, because
no matter how talented the new president
might be, he would lack the prestige of Pres
ident Diaz, and fail in consequence. The
present system is like the arms of Achilles,
so ponderous that no one else could support
the weight; Patroclus himself was borne
down by it.
Another and most important factor in the
problem, a factor which would stagger the
boldest, is our public debt ; or, more correct
ly speaking, our foreign debt. It amounts to
hundreds of millions of dollars and requires
an enormous sum to pay the interest ; a sum
which must be forthcoming with perfect regu
larity, not only because the reputation of the
country demands it, and because we are un
der formal contract, but also because any
lapse would imperil the credit upon which
266

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
we are living, disturb our friendly relations
with other countries, and therewith our free
dom from anxiety, lest our national inde
pendence be jeopardized by a foreign inter
vention or a degrading protectorate. I, for
one, have not the least doubt that revolution
would bring upon us unavoidably these un
happy consequences. We see, then, that if
President Diaz should die, leaving affairs as
they are to-day, we should find ourselves face
to face with this terrifying dilemma: either
hopeless political slavery, or revolution, with
the danger of losing our separate nation
ality. Either horn of the dilemma would
lead to equally disastrous consequences for
Mexico. President Diaz ought not to count upon
another reelection. His present term of
office expires on December 1, 1910 ; that is to
say, when President Diaz will be more than
eighty years old, and it is natural to suppose
that at that age it would be impossible for
him to continue governing. Therefore, he
267

POEFIEIO DIAZ
must accomplish in his present term all that
he hopes to bring about. There is no time for
delay. The President has probably not felt him
self growing old, but unquestionably he must
have done so, for all men are mortal, and
although life has no fixed limits, his death
cannot be very far off, judging from the
President's age, his stupendous labors, and
the normal duration of human life, under
such conditions. General Diaz may not be
aware of his approaching end, but, like every
one living, he must be traveling inevitably
toward death.
It is impossible that our illustrious ruler
can have any idea of leaving us such a polit
ical heritage, one whose necessary outcome
would be fraudulent bankruptcy, bankruptcy
of principle, bankruptcy of private and pub
lic interest, a condition worse than chaos, for
chaos is always looked upon as a beginning,
and this would be an ending.
That a monarch so corrupt as Louis XV
268

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
should exclaim : " After me the deluge ! " can
be understood, but it is unthinkable that a
man of honor like President Diaz should
leave us in his will any such legacy! It is
unthinkable, I repeat, that President Diaz
should do this, because in that event the
world, upon seeing our disasters, would
rightly quote to us the words of the Prophet
to the effect that we were reaping our just
deserts for having embraced ideas of com
promising peace in the hour of our ex
tremity. No, it is not possible that President Diaz
intends to have us pay for the temporary ad
vantages of peace the price of national ex
tinction. General Diaz has founded a school, as
it were, for almost all the South American
presidents are trying to imitate him by cur
tailing public liberties and endeavoring to
become autocratic. From him they have
learned the methods which lead to dictator-
269

POEFIEIO DIAZ
ship. This is an undeniable fact, and because
of it America, perhaps the whole world, is
watching to see what will be the outcome of
President Diaz's administration. If his evolu
tion ends by organizing liberty as an effective
means of converting arbitrarily enforced
order into organic peace, as I have called it,
his example will be salutary, because it will
show those who are attempting to create
autocracies the only way to fulfill patriot
ically and honorably the obligation which
accompanies power. If he does not do this,
whether for lack of noble purpose or for
lack of time, his example will also be salu
tary to the people, because they will learn
at our expense never for any reason to en
trust the destinies of their country to the
hands of a single man, no matter how high-
minded he may be, nor how conspicuous the
services he may have rendered in times of
danger. In either event, I trust that the public and
their rulers will not forget the lesson.
270

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
It is related that Napoleon once visited the
Jesuit convent in Eome, and that the general
of the order acting as his guide showed him
all the different departments, explaining the
purposes and methods of each, and pointing
out the suitability of the instruction as a
preparation for the special work which each
group was destined to carry forward. All
were divided into groups, devoted to differ
ent branches of science and art. Finally,
they came to an immense hall which par
ticularly attracted the attention of the Em
peror, because the pupils in it looked so
very unintelligent. Unable to imagine for
what purpose such youths could be destined,
he asked his guide: "What on earth those
stupid boys could be trained to do ? " The
imperturbable general replied : " To satisfy
the inexhaustible demand for martyrs to the
Japanese." General Diaz certainly possesses this ad
mirable faculty for taking advantage of the
special aptitudes of each individual, and
271

POEFIEIO DIAZ
assigning to him the position which best fits
his capacity. For the very reason that I rec
ognize in him this distinguished attribute, I
do not believe that he has created such an
enormous department for " Martyrs to the
Japanese " that he intends to place in it the
whole population of Mexico. Nor do I be
lieve that he has any idea of continuing the
Government after his death, not in his own
person, for that would be impossible, but
through the medium of a man imposed upon
the nation by him to carry on the work from
the point where death interposed. I do not
believe this is possible, for President Diaz is
a strong character, and would naturally wish
to complete his own undertaking. Therefore
it is unthinkable that he should intend to give
to another the glory of perfecting his work.
Nor can I conceive that he has wished to rear
an edifice at the cost of so much sacrifice, only
to have it fall as the tomb closes over him,
overthrown by the inexperience or the in
capacity of a successor appointed by himself.
272

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
For in the first case the fortunate successor
would share in his glory, and Pf esident Diaz
would have deferred his own glorification
until after death ; in the second case, the dis
astrous work of his successor would obscure
the memory of the " Hero of Peace," a title
which is much more coveted by the Presi
dent than the one which he has already so
justly earned, " Hero of War." There is no
way for him to seal his career with golden
opinions and to assure his title to the venera
tion of the nation and to a lasting place in
history but that of converting "mechanical
peace " into " organic peace," founding it
upon Liberty, and remembering always that
"PEACE IMPLIES NOT ONLY OEDEE,
BUT FEEEDOM."
It is meet to " render unto Caesar the things
which are Caesar's," and unto the people that
which is theirs by right.
The standards of the people must be raised
and invigorated, for a sound, active public
opinion is indispensable as a basis of insti-
273

POEFIEIO DIAZ
tutions and nations. Where this element is
lacking, there is no people, in the true sig
nification of the word, but only a degraded
multitude. Liberty attaches man to the
soil more than material possessions. Con
sequently peoples deprived of liberty are
ripe for conquest; having nothing to lose,
they make no effort to defend themselves,
but allow a foreign power to enslave them.
Such is the effect of tyranny. Peoples thus
pacified, who accept order without liberty,
are like the ox, fit for service, but not for
the perpetuation of their national existence.
There are peoples, like the English, who
respect law, but repudiate authority; there
are peoples, like most of the Latins, who re
spect authority, but despise the law. We
Mexicans must be brought to understand that
the law is above all and that our first duty
is to obey it and make others obey it; that
when a government over-rides the law it be
comes an outlaw and a public enemy.
We must restore in all its fullness the
274

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
true conception of citizenship and make it
understood that there is no title of nobility
to compare with that of citizen, because class
distinctions always imply, on the one hand,
relative superiority and, on the other, abject
inferiority; while citizenship implies free
men in a free country with equal rights,
equal obligations, and absolute equality be
fore the law.
We must also make the people understand
that the political rights which the law con
cedes and guarantees to them are at the same
time sacred duties which they must fulfill
religiously, under pain of being considered
traitors to their country ; for he who does not
take his part in political affairs, fails to go
to the polls, or permits trickery and falsifi
cation of the returns, commits a crime which
injures him, and is all the more culpable be
cause it carries with it consequences fatal to
the whole of society.
It is indispensable that the people who
work and pay the taxes, whose resources
275

POEFIEIO DIAZ
constitute the national wealth, should freely
elect in the manner prescribed by the Con
stitution their representatives, and through
them have absolute power to decide how
heavy the burden of taxation should be, what
proportion should be raised from each field,
and in what manner the taxes should be col
lected and distributed.
We must blot out every principle of
oligarchy, put a stop to the system of legis
lative commissions, and eliminate every trace
of autocracy. We must put into practice the
principle that the power of government does
not reside in the Executive, but that it is
exercised jointly by the Executive, Legis
lative, and Judicial branches, not as three
distinct powers, but as three phases or man
ifestations of a single united Government.
Each branch has its field of action clearly
defined by the Constitution; to the Legis
lative department is assigned the power to
make the laws, to the Executive that of
putting them into force, and to the Judi-
276

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
cial that of seeing that the laws are complied
with. It is advisable to leave the way open for
the exercise of all aspirations and all apti
tudes, and not to direct the latter, nor to
encourage the former in an arbitrary or
capricious manner, injurious to the dignity
of the individual and prejudicial to the best
interests of the nation. It is wise to concede
the greatest liberty to the expression of
ideas. That public which cannot complain
openly will conspire in secret. To gag the
political orator is to arm the political assas
sin. In those countries in which the press
is restricted, we find demoralization due to
the fact that the privileged incendiary goes
free, while the honest man who raises the
cry of alarm is imprisoned.
Another anomaly common in countries de
void of freedom is that it is sometimes con
venient for an office-seeker to expose his
vices and always dangerous for any citizen
to show his virtues. For this reason it has
277

POEFIEIO DIAZ
always been the part of wisdom in times of
tyranny to avoid exhibiting too much intel
ligence or too high a sense of honor. For
just as nothing is so exasperating to the
millionaire as a man upon whom his millions
make no impression, so it happens that to a
despot nothmg seems so worthy of punish
ment as a character or an intelligence su
perior to his own. Any system of politics is
bad in which the term society is applied only
to the small group of people who act accord
ing to the ideas of the ruler ; the term people
to those who are sufficiently docile to allow
themselves to be managed, while to the rest
is applied such depreciative epithets as popu
lace, horde, rabble. It is necessary to accept
the people in its entirety, to try to achieve
the greatest good for the greatest number,
without entering into political distinctions or
metaphysical subtleties.
To accomplish the good results outlined
above, there are only two methods : evolution
278

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
and revolution. Eevolution can be put into
practice only by the people ; evolution can be
realized, in this case, only by President Diaz.
For hi-m there is nothing easier. His wish
alone would be sufficient. All that is needed
is to have him put the Constitution into force,
slowly but surely, in order that the people
may become accustomed to the exercise of
their rights. It would be well to begin by
permitting the people, nay, even obliging
them, if necessary, to elect their municipal
authorities, guaranteeing to them the invio
lability of their vote, and protecting them
against the vengeance of the local authori
ties. Let us do the same with each state
governorship, as the term of office expires,
in order that the citizens may freely elect
whomever they consider most worthy to
occupy this distinguished position. When
the time for election of representatives,
senators, magistrates, and public officials of
all kinds arrives, let us inaugurate the same
truly popular elections.
19 279

POEFIEIO DIAZ
Let the President return to the Legisla
ture all its prerogatives, and never ask for
nor accept extraordinary powers to be used
in any branch of the Government, unless, of
course, in case of serious danger to the main
tenance of order, or to the perpetuation of our
institutions. Greater scope should be given
to personal initiative and to individual am
bition, in order that each one may show
his abilities, develop them, and thus become
of greater value to the country. The people
should be free to express their opinions in
writing, in print, or orally, and the country
should no longer have forced upon it a sub
sidized press. Public ideals should be allowed
to grow again, and every one should be per
mitted to work for the ideals in which he
believes, without hindrance, and with the sole
condition that he shall not transgress the
law. The president should not maintain any
ring of personal favorites, but should ally
himself to the people.
This is little, but it is all that is needed.
280

LAST PHASE OF DIAZ'S EVOLUTION
The President has only to say to the catalep
tic people, " Arise and walk." In doing this,
General Diaz would seal his career with
golden opinions, and assure to his people a
future of peace, liberty, and happiness. If
his life is spared, as I hope with all my heart
that it may be, there is yet time in the three
remaining years of his presidency to bring
about the evolution which I have pointed out.
I have now reached the end of my labors.
The purpose of this book has restricted me
to a brief, sympathetic treatment of the
causes which have brought about Mexico's
present condition; but the reader will find
detailed information and an exhaustive anal
ysis in another work, which I shall shortly
give to the press.
From what I have written, it is evident that
as yet it is not possible to make up the Pres
ident's account. Whether the final balance
will be in his favor or against him will de
pend upon his future actions. President Diaz
281

POEFIEIO DIAZ
has it in his power to pass into history as
the " FATHEE OF HIS COUNTEY," a title
which up to the present time Washington
alone has deserved, or to leave the reputation
of a man who, in spite of great ability,
strayed from the way, disappointed public
confidence, and brought to naught the sac
rifices of his fellow-citizens. Even in that
event, it may be that flattery and intellectual
superficiality, seeing only the outside of
things, will still contend that President Diaz
was the creator of a nation. History will
make the inexorable reply, "He created a
nation, but he destroyed a people."
New York, June, 1907. (l)
THE END

"AN EXTRAORDINARY BOOK ... A REVELATION."
— Neto York Sun.
With Walt Whitman in Camden.
By Horace Traubel, literary executor of Walt
Whitman. Vols. I and II. Octavo. Gilt top, $3.00
a volume, net ; postage additional.
This remarkable work is really an autobiography of the
great poet. So conscientiously has Mr. Traubel done his
share of the editing of the mass of Whitman material and
fact of which he is the possessor, that the book becomes
the intimate picture of the poet himself, containing his
words and letters, as drawn from him by the speech and
letters of the scholars and men of note all over the literary
world. This great work is to consist of at least six volumes,
fully illustrated with photographs of the poet, and fac
similes of interesting letters and manuscripts. No other
such authoritative source of information as to Whitman's
character and views of life and art exists or can ever exist.
" Whitman, as here revealed, shows a much keener critical sense than
has generally been accredited to him, as well as an unexpected humor,
at once broad and kindly, which, most remarkable of all, was frequently
used at his own expense." — New York Herald.
" It is an extraordinary book that Mr. Traubel has produced. . . .
In the case of any man of distinction so close a study would be inter
esting. In the case of Whitman, reviewing, as it were, his whole life,
it is a revelation." — New York Sun.
" It is the more remarkable that so little of an inconsequential
nature should appear, and the chance conversation be so racy, keen and
forcible, and betray so richly furnished a mind and such an acute critical
sense as this book displays. If any surprise awaits even a Whitman
student from Mr. Traubel's book, it is of the breadth of Whitman's
literary knowledge and his remarkable power of criticism. . . . Few
important writers of Whitman's day on either side of the Atlantic but
were discussed by him in the course of these conversations." — New York Times.
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK.

" Destined to take rank as one of the two or three
most remarkable self-portrayals of a human life ever
committed to posterity."
— Franklin H. Giddings, LL.D., in the Independent.

An Autobiography by Herbert Spencer.
With Illustrations. Many of them from the
Author's Own Drawings. Cloth, 8vo. Gilt Top.
Two vols, in a box, $5.50 net. Postage, 40 cents
additional.
" It is rare, indeed, that a man who has so profoundly influenced the
intellectual development of his age and generation has found time to
record the history of his own life. And this Mr. Spencer has done so
simply, so frankly, and with such obvious truth, that it is not surprising
that Huxley is reported as having said, after reading it in manuscript,
that it reminded him of the ' Confessions ' of Rousseau, freed from every
objectionable taint." — New York Globe.
" As interesting as fiction ? There never was a novel so interesting
as Herbert Spencer's 'An Autobiography '." — New York Herald.
" It is rich in suggestion and observation, of wide significance and
appeal in the sincerity, the frankness, the lovableness of its human note."
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" The book, as a whole, makes Spencer's personality a reality for
us, where heretofore it has been vaguer than his philosophical abstrac
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" In all the literature of its class there is nothing like it. It bears
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" This book will always be of importance, for Herbert Spencer was
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" Planned and wrought for the purpose of tracing the events of his
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We pity his official biographerl Little can be left for him. Here we
have Spencer in habit as he was." — New York Evening Posi.
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK..

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