Porfirio Díaz

“ The Voice was of the mob. On an afternoon in late May of 1911 Mexico City was rising against its master. Out of the kennels of mean streets, whose meanness marble palaces and flowering gardens screen, the canaille of the capital had come pouring, had whirled into mob coalescence, and now were baying and coursing the streets to seek the life of that master. Don Porfirio, the once beloved—Don Porfirio Diaz, dictator and builder of Mexico for more than thirty years—was the master.
All rules of psychology fall before the manifestations of the Latin-American temperament ”

“ If I were a poet, I would write poetry; if I were a musician, I would compose triumphal marches; if I were a Mexican, I should feel that the steadfast loyalty of a lifetime could not be too much in return for the blessings that he had brought to my country. As I am neither poet, musician, nor Mexican, but only an American who loves justice and liberty and hopes to [Pg 168] see their reign among mankind progress and strengthen and become perpetual, I look to Porfirio Díaz, the President of Mexico, as one of the great men to be held up for the hero worship of mankind. ”

“ General Porfirio Diaz, the foremost man in Mexico to-day, and one whose public career will fill pages in the history of that Republic, is the representative of mixed Aztec and Spanish ancestry, like all of the famous native leaders of the last half century. He is tall and dark, his muscular figure impressing one as the very incarnation of health and endurance. ”

“ The tragedy that lurks behind all Mexican comedy might break at any moment. In its uniform, that ragged soldiery set forth the history of three revolutions. The silver and gray of Porfirio Diaz’s famed rurales, the blue and red stripes or fatigue linen of the Federal Army, even the charro suits of Orozco’s Colorados, were all represented. But in spite of their motley the men were all fighters, tried by years of guerrilla warfare. ”

“ A sudden choking blotted Diaz's speech, and his eyes showed tears. "And now, my soldiers—last of the army of Porfirio Diaz—I say farewell. You have guarded me to the ultimate moment—you have been loyal. My soldiers, blessing—take the blessing of your old commander! More—more I cannot—say!" ”

“ To the foreigner, the one bright spot in Mexican history is the reign of the Dictator, Porfirio Diaz. He pacified a disorderly country. He built fifteen thousand miles of railway, established telegraphic communication throughout the republic, placed Mexico upon a firm financial basis, and raised it to a foremost rank among nations. He gave the Indian prosperity, but failed to educate him; he kept him in subjection as stern as that of the Spaniard. And rival politicians, whispering to the Indian that Diaz had sold his country to the foreign promoter, found him ready for more revolution. ”

“ DIAZ, PORFIRIO (1830–⁠) , president of the republic of Mexico (q.v.) , was born in the southern state of Oaxaca, on the 15th of September 1830. His father was an innkeeper in the little capital of that province, and died three years after the birth of Porfirio, leaving a family of seven children. The boy, who had Indian blood in his veins, was educated for the Catholic Church, a body having immense influence in the country at that time and ordering and controlling revolutions by the strength of their filled coffers. ”

“ I have one prominent thought in meeting you today; it is, while you continue to be good, loyal American citizens, you should be good and loyal Mexican residents. I can no better voice the sentiment of all of my countrymen here I know, and I can no better represent the feelings of our friends who remain at home, than by asking you to rise and join me in drinking to the long continuance of life, strength, and usefulness for the man who, more than any other, or all others, has given you the opportunities that you now enjoy, President Porfirio Díaz. ”

“ David Starr Jordan of Stanford University, in recent speeches, has echoed Creelman's assertion that Diaz is the greatest man in the western hemisphere. And hundreds of our most distinguished citizens have expressed themselves in a similar vein. On the part of prominent Americans traveling in Mexico, it has become a custom, a sort of formality of the trip, to banquet at Chapultepec castle—the lesser lights at Chapultepec cafe—and to raise the after-dinner voice in most extravagant praise, loudly to attribute to Porfirio Diaz the virtues of a superman, even of a demi-god. ”

“ The Porfiristas, kept underfoot by these two factions, which united against the common enemy, were secretly preparing for revolution. Porfirio Diaz, though restored to his military rank [27] had kept aloof from politics, and had been apparently inactive. But all the time he had been laying his plans; and having made his preparations for revolt in Oajaca, he left Mexico at the beginning of December 1875, and proceeded to the United States, selecting Brownsville, Texas, opposite to Matamoros, as his place of residence. Manuel Gonzalez also left on the same steamer with him. ”

“ Here were the two great impulses of the Hispanic world, the fragile, gentle, trusting dreamer of great new horizons and at his side the broad-backed practical man of earth who threw his strength into the effort of implementing the dreams and making them the new realities. Here was the visionary Juarez and the young soldier Porfirio Diaz, when the warrior was still a man untainted by his own betrayal of a people's dream. ”

“ Today there are known to be Portuguese revolutionist headquarters in the United States. Porfirio Diaz himself—what historic irony!—when he turned revolutionist found safety on American soil and, though his cause was an extremely questionable one, no one arrested him. What is more. Diaz committed the identical crime which, through the legal machinery of the United States, he is now urging against many of the refugees, that of setting on foot a military expedition against a foreign power. ”

“ But long before congress had made this declaration, the supporters of Lerdo and Diaz were aware that their efforts were of no avail. The friends of the latter accused the government of having tampered with the polls, effecting its purpose through the official element. [57] The supporters of Porfirio Diaz, popularly called Porfiristas, refused to recognize Juarez as lawfully elected, resolving to gain by force of arms the victory they claimed to have been robbed of by the government's influence and money. Revolutionary movements followed one another in quick succession ”

“ The Spanish-American Republics have produced no man who will compare with Porfirio Diaz. Simon Bolivar for years fought the decaying power of Spain, and to him what are now the Republics of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru owe their liberation. But Diaz has been more than a soldier, and his great achievement in the redemption of modern Mexico from bankruptcy and general decay completely overshadows his successes in the field during the ceaseless struggles of his earlier years. ”

“ Diaz is not noted for avarice, which is not surprising, inasmuch as the power that he wields by reason of the army and the rest of his machine is far greater than any power that money could buy in Mexico. To Porfirio Diaz money and other cashable goods are but a pawn in the game, and he uses them to buy the support of the greedy. Yet his enemies declare that he is the richest man in Mexico. He keeps his financial affairs so well hidden that few can guess how large a fortune he has. ”

“ Then came the long, firm rule of Porfirio Diaz, who first broke up the organizations of bandits that infested the country, and then sought to raise Mexico from the state of discredit and disorganization into which it had fallen. Suspicion and jealousy of the foreigner is disappearing, and habits of industry are displacing the indolence and lawlessness that were once universally prevalent. ”

“ He found Mexico a desert of decay, a poorer and more piteous Spain. He raised her to the ostensible position of the most flourishing and important of the Spanish-American nations.
The career of Porfirio Diaz appears to point an analogy with that of a still greater figure in Mexican history—Hernan Cortés. In the two men we seem to discover the same contempt for obstacles to be overcome, the same absolute indifference to criticism; the same large, almost universal grasp of affairs and ability to discover and utilise the men required for certain definite tasks. ”

“ The present generations of Oaxaca have the reputation of being the steady, independent mountaineers of Mexico; like the Swiss, always ready to defend their rights. Among them, Porfirio Diaz has been involved in every contest for his view of the right, since he was old enough to bear arms. ”

“ Why don't we find a "maker" of these countries? The fact is that whatever modernization Mexico has had during the past thirty-four years must be attributed to evolution—that is, to the general progress of the world—instead of to Porfirio Diaz. In general, Porfirio Diaz has been a reactionary force. His claims for being progressive are all based upon one fact—upon his having "encouraged" foreign capital.
"Diaz, the peace-maker, the greatest peace-maker alive, greater than Roosevelt!" chanted an American politician in a banquet at the Mexican capital recently. ”

“ It is only since 1876 that Mexico has enjoyed anything like a stable government; and as her constitution is modeled upon our own, let us sincerely hope for the best results. General Porfirio Diaz, President of the republic, is a man whose official and private life commands the respect of the entire people. ”

“ As I said before, autocracy feeds on murder, and the rule of Porfirio Diaz has been one long story of murder. When assassination, imprisonment and countless forms of persecution had destroyed their organization in Mexico, the leaders who still retained their lives and liberty fled to the United States and established their headquarters here. ”

“ He began in Chicago, with the old Times-Herald, but the greatest part of his work was done in New York, on the Herald, the Telegraph, the World and the Evening Sun. In 1906 he went to Mexico to visit a friend—and he stayed three years.
Mexico first interested him—the people, the problems, the smouldering fire of revolution—and then absorbed him. Porfirio Diaz was President of Mexico, and approaching the end of his long reign of power. Fornaro, always a revolutionary, became interested in politics—a dangerous interest, especially for a radical opposed to the Diaz régime. ”

“ But when the facts speak for themselves, it matters not how obscure may be the individual who brings them to light. It matters not, even, how distinguished the men who disregard those facts, for facts are greater than men. Current Literature, in calling attention to the new conception of Porfirio Diaz that has of late been gaining ground in America, refers to Diaz as a man of mystery. "Is he a sublime statesman or is he a colossal criminal?" ”

“ The great Juarez died in 1872, and for the last thirty-three years, with a break of one short interval only, Porfirio Diaz has been master of Mexico, a benevolent autocrat, an emperor in all but name, governing with a wise moderation which recognises that a country situated as Mexico is, and with a population as yet far from homogeneous or civilised in the European sense, must of necessity be led patiently and diplomatically along the road of progress. To reach the goal of material and moral elevation at which Diaz aims, stability of institutions and of directors is the first need ”

“ The personal revolution of General Porfirio Diaz, made successful by force of arms only after it had failed twice, put a sudden stop to the progressive movement, and ever since that time the country has gone back politically, year by year. ”

“ The present President of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz, is undoubtedly one of the ablest men who has ever filled the office of its chief executive. He is believed to have the interest of his country supremely at heart; is free from the suspicion that has attached, and probably with justice, to so many of the Mexican Presidents, of using his power, through contracts and expenditures, to enrich himself illegitimately ”

“ The task is difficult, very difficult, but it is not impossible. It is only a few decades ago since Mexico was as turbulent a country and as noted for pronunciamentos and revolutions as Venezuela is to-day. Lawlessness was rampant, credit was gone, commerce languished and the only railroad was a short one extending from Vera Cruz to the national capital. Within a single generation this has been all changed, and through the efforts of one man—Porfirio Diaz. ”

“ After the events connected with the fall of the Empire the ambitions of Diaz found outlet in the disaffections against Lerdo's government. It was hardly to be expected that the ambitions and jealousies of the times could yet give way to consolidation for national interests and desire for peace and development; and the only hope for the country was in the advent of a strong man and a strong system, such as, under better auspices, the monarchical régime might have afforded. The strong man appeared in the very antithesis of monarchy—Porfirio Diaz ”

“ Well then, the North will go into open rebellion, and the situation will be complicated by a rising of the Indians, who will be against everybody else. Mexico in her present isolated independent condition needs a soldier ruler. Your Corrals and Limantours, your Marischals and Sierras are good enough as Cabinet Ministers, but they are not the men for the awful task which Porfirio Diaz set himself thirty years back and has brought to temporary perfection. ”