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Cinco de Mayo (english)
The Battle of Cinco de Mayo, 1862by Andrés Neidig
In the mid 1800’s Mexico was suffering from terrible economic problems. Wars, political in-fighting between the Conservative and Liberal Parties left the country bankrupt. The foreign debt was out of control. Europe, Spain, England and France were keeping an eye on the situation. France in particular was in a period of colonial expansion and viewed this as an excellent opportunity to come in to the American continent and with the help of their conquering army, establish a foothold in Mexico.
On October 31st,1861, the European nations met in London to demand from the government of Benito Juarez, President of Mexico, the payment in full of the foreign debt, threatening with an armed invasion if their demands were not met. Thus, the stage was being set for what followed. Early in 1862, the French forces under the command of General Lorencez arrived in Veracruz, Mexico, 6000 combat veterans; the majority, members of the Foreign Legion.
General Ignacio Zaragoza, commander of the Mexican army was given the task to stop the French. He chose the city of Puebla to face the enemy. After several days of fighting, the enemy surrounded Puebla and a siege began. General Zaragoza became gravely ill. Among his generals was the young Porfirio Díaz, recently promoted to Brigadier General by General Gonzalez Ortega. Díaz, had recently spoken before the Mexican Congress where by his words, defined his destiny. “I am a soldier. I ask permission to go and fight!” When General Gonzalez Ortega promoted Díaz he warned that Díaz possessed a rebellious character in front of superior officers.
For the Battle of May 5th, 1862, General Díaz confirms those assesements of his superior officers. While General Zaragoza was lying sick in bed, Porfirio Díaz disobeyed the orders not to attack the French and mobilized the Mexican forces in order to break the “siege”. In his battle report, Zaragoza wrote about the “tenacity and valor” shown by General Díaz in fighting the French. The enemy was attacked three times until the siege was finally broken and the invading force was sent running. “Our soldiers have been covered in glory in this battle,” Zaragoza added.
Five days later, Díaz wrote his sister, Nicolasa, perhaps one of the most emotional letters of his life and I quote: “ On the 5th of May of this year the long awaited moment arrived and we started the “party” at eleven am and kept cooking until 6pm when our enemy started to run. Our losses have been considerable but we have also killed many “monsieurs”. I have a great amount of souvenirs of this battle. I have never been happier in my life than on this unforgettable “Cinco de Mayo”, a great , great and glorious day.
El Chato (his brother Felix) is fine and in great spirits because he also got the chance to fight the French. There are no soldiers like ours; we don’t care about their war stories. Their crosses cover the base of our Mexican Flag. Pray to God that I don’t go insane with happiness; give Delfina a hug. Your loving brother, Porfirio.”
This victory was more than a military triumph. It was the symbol of national unity because it was in Puebla that Mexicans after so many divisive civil wars spoke with one voice, the voice of freedom. It also was in Puebla that Mexicans thought of Mexico not as a territory but as a nation . The Battle for Puebla reinforced the national identity. The French invasion made it very clear that it is important to respect other nations and the territorial integrity. That we must not attack other countries. That we must not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations; that we must reconcile our differences through negotiation and not by force and that we coexist peacefully.
Who was Porfirio Díaz? He was a Zapotecan, descendant of Indian nobility; born in Oaxaca in 1830. His mother, Petrona Mori ran El Meson de la Soledad, where he was born. She also founded a grade school. His father, Jose Faustino Díaz was a hard working man. Farmer, blacksmith and in general an entrepreneur who died when Porfirio was 3 years old. Between 1850 and 1854 he studied law and one of his teachers was Benito Juarez who later became President of Mexico. Juarez, also from the state of Oaxaca did not hesitate when he ordered the deaths of Emperor Maximilian and his top Mexican generals, Miramon and Mejía. Their death sentences were carried out at the “Cerro de las Campanas” (the hill of the bells) in the outskirts of the city of Querétaro on June 19th, 1867. For the so called “civilized” European nations this act represented the “vengeance” of Juarez, the Indian.
Benito Juarez did not pay attention to the pressures of the European powers nor to the U.S. insistence that he spare the life of Maximilian who was sent to rule Mexico by the French Emperor, Napoleon III. President Juarez decided to have Maximilian shot in order to consolidate the republic; to give Mexico the dignity it had lacked so far.
In 1821, Mexico became totally independent of Spain but was not rid of wars. In 1829 Spain tried to take back the country. Texas was lost in 1836 to the US. The French occupied the Port of Veracruz in 1838 in order to collect their debt. From 1846 to 1848 the war with the United States resulted in the loss of half of the Mexican territory and finally between 1862 and 1867 the French invasion that tried to impose an empire in Mexico. Thus it was imperative, Mexico needed the dignity of a free and sovereign country so that other nations could see and understand that Mexicans were capable of running their own destiny and had the capacity to defend their country to the death. ”The Country of Juarez” as it became known in the world, thanks to that man: Benito Juarez!
Juarez left Mexico City on January the 12th, 1858 after spending 3 weeks under arrest by orders of President Comonfort. On the 19th day of the same month he assumed the Presidency in Guanajuato. As President of the Supreme Court, in accordance to the Constitution and with the resignation of President Comonfort he was next in line to govern the country. The evening of July 18, 1872, President Benito Juarez died of a heart attack in the National Palace. Something about being President in those days. Porfirio Díaz was exiled after almost 35 years in power. He died in Paris, France at 6:30 in the evening of July the second, 1915. Thus, two of the most prominent men of Mexico, involved in the Battle of Cinco de Mayo 1862 are still remembered . Juarez coined the words that have been heard around the world: El Respeto al Derecho Ajeno es la Paz!