A Study of Mexico/Chapter V
Having thus briefly glanced at the physical condition and political and social experiences of Mexico, we are now prepared to discuss the economic condition of the country, its prospect for industrial development, and its possible commercial importance and future trade relations with the United States.
POPULATION.
The element of first importance, and therefore the one entitled to first consideration in endeavoring to forecast the future of Mexico, is undoubtedly its population; the object alike for improvement, and the primary instrumentality by which any great improvement in the condition of the country can be effected. Whatever may be its aggregate—ten or twelve millions—it is generally agreed that about one third of the whole number are pure Indians, the descendants of the proprietors of the soil at the time of its conquest by the Spaniards; a people yet living in a great degree by themselves, though freely mingling in the streets and public places with the other races, and speaking, it is said, about one hundred and twenty different languages or dialects. Next, one half of the whole population are of mixed blood—the mestizos—of whose origin nothing, in general, can be positively affirmed, further than that their maternal ancestors were Indian women, and their fathers descendants of the Caucasian stock. They constitute the dominant race of the Mexico of to-day—the rancheros, farmers, muleteers, servants, and soldiers—the only native foundation on which it would seem that any improved structure of humanity can be reared. Where the infusion of white blood has been large, the mestizos are often represented by men of fine ability, who take naturally to the profession of arms and the law, and distinguish themselves. But, on the other hand, no small proportion of this race—the so-called leperos—are acknowledged by the Mexicans themselves to be among the lowest and vilest specimens of humanity in existence; a class exhibiting every vice, with hardly the possession of a single virtue. The remaining sixth of the population of Mexico are Europeans by birth or their immediate descendants, the Spanish element predominating. The national language also is Spanish—a language not well fitted for the uses and progress of a commercial nation; and which will inevitably constitute a very serious obstacle in the way of indoctrinating the Mexican people with the ideas and methods of overcoming obstacles and doing things which characterize their great Anglo-Saxon neighbors. It should also be borne in mind that a language is one of the most difficult things to supplant in the life of a nation through a foreign influence. The Norman conquest of England, although it modified the Saxon language, could not substitute French; neither could the Moors make Arabic the language of Spain, although they held possession of a great part of the country for a period of more than seven centuries. It seems certain, therefore, that Spanish will continue to be the dominant language of Mexico until the present population is outnumbered by the Americans—a result which may occur before a very long time in the northern States of Mexico, where the population at present is very thin, but which is certainly a very far-off contingency in the case of Central Mexico.
Of the present population of Mexico, probably three quarters, and possibly a larger proportion—for in respect to this matter there is no certain information—can not read or write, possess little or no property, and have no intelligent ideas about civil as contradistinguished from military authority, of political liberty, or of constitutional government.
The mass of all those engaged in the prosecution of agriculture and the performance of other manual labor are also divided into classes, as separate and distinct from each other as it is possible to imagine a people to be who occupy a common country and acknowledge the same government, and in this respect they greatly resemble the natives of British India.
It is difficult, in fact, to express in words, to those who have not had an opportunity of judging for themselves, the degraded condition of the mass of the laboring-classes of Mexico. The veil of the picturesque, which often suffices to soften the hard lines of human existence, can not here hide the ugliness and even hideousness of the picture which humanity exhibits in its material coarseness, and intellectual, or spiritual poverty. The late consul-general Strother, who, as a citizen of one of our former slave-holding States, is well qualified to judge, expresses the opinion, in a late official report (1885), that the scale of living of the laboring-classes of Mexico "is decidedly inferior in comfort and neatness to that of the negroes of the Southern (United) States when in a state of slavery. Their dwellings in the cities are generally wanting in all the requirements of health and comfort—mostly rooms on the ground-floor, without proper light or ventilation; often with but a single opening (that for entrance), dirt floors, and no drainage. In the suburbs and in the country, the dwellings in the cold regions are adobe, and in the temperate or warm regions mere huts of cane, or of stakes wattled with twigs, and roofed with corn-stalks, plantain-leaves, or brush." In such houses of the common people there is rarely anything answering to the civilized idea of a bed, the occupants sleeping on a mat, skin, or blanket on the dirt floor. There are no chairs, tables, fireplace, or chimney; few or no changes of raiment; no washing apparatus or soap, and in fact no furniture whatever, except a flat stone with a stone roller to grind their corn, and a variety of earthen vessels to hold their food and drink, and for cooking (which last is generally performed over a small fire, within a circle of stones outside, and in front, of the main entrance to the dwelling). The principal, food of all these people is Indian corn, in the form of the so-called tortilla, which is prepared by placing a quantity of corn in a jar of hot water and lime (when it can be got) to soak overnight; the use of the lime being to soften the corn. When it is desired to use it, the grain is taken out and ground by hand on the stone and by the roller before mentioned, into a kind of paste, and then slightly dried or baked on an earthen tray or pan over a small fire. Everybody in Mexico is said to eat tortillas and their preparation, which is always assigned to the women, seems to employ their whole time, "to the exclusion of any care of the dwelling, their children, or themselves." Foreigners, especially Americans, find them detestable. Another standard article of Mexican diet is boiled beans (frijoles). Meat is rarely used by the laborers, but, when it is obtainable, every part of the animal is eaten. Peppers, both green and red, mixed with the corn-meal or beans, are regarded as almost indispensable for every meal, and, when condensed by cooking, are described by one, who obviously speaks from experience, as forming "a red-hot mixture whose savage intensity is almost inconceivable to an American.… A child of six or seven years old will eat more of this at a meal than most adult Americans could in a week—eating it, too, without meat or grease of any kind; merely folding up the tortilla of wheat or corn-meal, dipping up a spoonful of the terrible compound with it, and hastily biting off the end, for fear some of the precious stuff should escape. Should one be fortunate enough to have anything else to eat, these tortillas serve as plates, after which service the plates are eaten."
With all this, the agricultural laborers of Mexico, both Indians and mixed bloods, are almost universally spoken of as an industrious, easily managed, and contented people. By reason of the general mildness of the climate, the necessary requirements for living are fewer than among people inhabiting the temperate and more northern latitudes, and consequently poverty with them does not imply extreme suffering from either cold or starvation. When their simple wants are satisfied, money with them has little value, and quickly finds its way into the pockets of the almost omnipresent pulque or "lottery-ticket" sellers, or the priest. "If they are too ready to take a hand against the Government at the call of some discontented leader, it is not because they are Indian or Mexican, but because they are poor and ignorant."
Considering the great achievements of Juarez, and the precedent which his success in administration established, it is curious to note how rarely one sees faces of the Indian type in any important or public positions. The rank and file of the army seem to be unmistakably Indian, or of evident Indian descent, while the officers, almost without an exception, are white. The bands have white leaders, though the sweetest players are understood to be pure Indians; and so also in the case if the police—the force is mainly Indian, while the superintendent and his staff are likely to be white. One also, it is said, rarely sees faces tinged with Indian blood among members of the Mexican Congress, the clergy, the teachers, the superintendents of the haciendas or the students of the universities. At the same time it is understood that Indian blood is no bar to entrance into good society, or to office, if the person is otherwise qualified; and the Indian is not anywhere abused in Mexico, or ejected from the lands which his ancestors have tilled from time immemorial, as has often been the case in the United States. The majority of the Mexican Indians have lost all traces of their once wild life, and have recognized that their living must now be gained by work, even if it be but rude and imperfect; and, except in the case of the Apaches and Yaquis and of some of the tribes of Southern Mexico, have long since exchanged the blanket for the serape, the bow for the ox-goad, and scalp-lifting for the monte-table, the cock-pit, or the bull-ring. Another interesting feature of the life of the independent or free Indians in Mexico—that is, Indians not attached to any of the great estates—is, that it is eminently communistic; and more characteristic of the type of the agricultural village communities of the early ages, on the Eastern Continent, than is exhibited by the more northern tribes of North America, Thus, the inhabitants of each village—living in adobe- or cane-built huts—own and cultivate all the lands under their control, in common with all the other members of the tribe or community, "divide the proceeds according to laws which antedate the Spanish conquest, and use the same primitive tools and methods of irrigation that were used by their ancestors in the days of the Montezumas."
One noticeable peculiarity of the Mexican laborer is the strength of his local attachments, and it is in rare instances only that he voluntarily emigrates from the place of his nativity. This circumstance found a curious illustration in the experience of the recent railroad constructions in Mexico, where the builders found that they could rely only upon the labor in the immediate neighborhood of their line of construction; and that, generally, neither money nor persuasion would induce any great numbers of these people to follow their work at a distance from their native fields and villages. In those instances where temporary emigration was effected, the laborers insisted on carrying their families with them. The Government also recognizes to a certain extent this peculiarity in their army movements; and, whenever a company or regiment moves, the number of women—wives of the soldiers—accompanying seems almost absurdly numerous. They, however, represent, and to some extent supply, the place of the army commissariat.
EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS AND AWAKENING IN MEXICO.
It is, however, gratifying to be able to state, that at last the leading men of Mexico have come to recognize the importance of popular education; and it is safe to say that more good, practical work has been done in this direction within the last ten years than in all of the preceding three hundred and fifty. At all of the important centers of population, free schools, under the auspices of the national Government, and free from all Church supervision, are reported as established; while the Catholic Church itself, stimulated, as it were, by its misfortunes, and apparently unwilling to longer rest under the imputation of having neglected education, is also giving much attention to the subject; and is said to be acting upon the principle of immediately establishing two schools wherever, in a given locality, the Government, or any of the Protestant denominations, establish one. In several of the national free schools visited by the author, the scholars, mainly girls, appeared bright and intelligent, the teachers (females) competent, and the text-books modern. The language of instruction was, of course, Spanish, but a greater desire than ever before to learn English is reported, and it is now (contrary to former custom) generally taught in preference to French. Industrial schools, to which boys are appointed from different sections of the country, analogous to the system of appointments in the United States for West Point and Annapolis, have also been established by the Government. One of the most interesting of these, and for the promotion of which the "Mexican Central Railroad" corporation have co-operated, exists at Guadalupe, about five miles from the city of Zacatecas. Here, in a large and well-preserved convent structure, confiscated by the Government and appropriated for school purposes, some two or three hundred Mexican boys are gathered, and practically taught the arts of spinning and weaving, printing, carpentering, instrumental music, leather-work, and various other handicrafts; while, in close contiguity, and in striking contrast with the poverty of the surrounding country, the ecclesiastical authorities are expending a large amount of money—the proceeds of a legacy of a rich Mexican mine-proprietor—in reconstructing and decorating in a most elaborate manner the church, which was formerly a part of the convent, and which has been left in their possession.
The Federal Government maintains a well-organized National School of Agriculture, and has purchased and distributed during recent years large quantities of grape-cuttings of the finest varieties, and also graftings and seeds of the finest fruit-trees and plants obtainable in Mexico and in foreign countries. There are also national schools, at the capital, of medicine, law, and engineering; a Conservatory of Music, an Academy of Fine Arts, a National Museum, and a National Library; together with institutions for the blind, deaf and dumb, the insane, for the reformation of young criminals, and such other systematic charities as are common in enlightened communities. Most of these institutions are located in old and spacious ecclesiastical edifices which have been "nationalized"; and the means for their support seem to be always provided, although the Mexican treasury is rarely or never in a flourishing condition. At the same time it is almost certain that all these laudable efforts on the part of the Government to promote education and culture, have thus far worked down and affected to a very slight extent the great mass of the people. But it is, nevertheless, a beginning.
As the stability, however, of any form of government and the maintenance of domestic tranquillity with such a population as exists in Mexico are obviously contingent on the maintenance of a strong, well-organized, and disciplined army, the first care of the central Government is naturally to promote military rather than secular education; and, accordingly, the National Military School, located at Chapultepec, and modeled after the best military schools of Europe, is in the highest state of efficiency. The system of instruction and the text-books used are French; and the personnel of the school, both officers and cadets, will compare favorably with anything that can be seen at West Point. The army maintained by Mexico on a peace basis is forty-five thousand three hundred and twenty-three, or nearly double that of the United States; and, on a war-footing, was officially reported in 1883 as embracing an effective fighting force of one hundred and sixty thousand nine hundred and sixty-three. That the Mexican people possess all the physical qualities essential for the making of good soldiers can not also be questioned. At the, same time, it is manifest that, upon the patriotism and intelligence of the officers in command of the army, the immediate future and prosperity of Mexico are dependent. The single fact, however, that the present Government and the most intelligent and influential people of Mexico have recognized the necessity of educating the masses of the people, and that probably the best that can be done under existing circumstances is being done, certainly constitutes the most hopeful and encouraging augury for the future of the republic.
THE GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL FORCES OF MEXICO.
As might be expected from the existing conditions, the Government of Mexico—both Federal and State—although nominally constitutional and democratic, is not, and from the very nature of things can not be, other than personal, and is often in the highest degree arbitrary and despotic; in short, a military despotism under the form of a republic. For example, under date of February 15, 1886, the telegraph reports that the people of Coahuila are rejoicing over the fact that, after a term of a year and a half of military rule, the civil authorities are to resume control of the local government; but to this is added the following significant statement: "The policy of the civil government, however, will probably be identical with that pursued by the military, as the Governor-elect is a strong supporter of the Administration, and will accede to all the demands of the Federal Government."
No such thing as a popular assemblage, to discuss public questions of any kind, ever takes place in Mexico; and when, in the fall of 1884, a young member of the national Congress from Vera Cruz—Diaz Miron—ventured to oppose a scandalous proposition of the then President, Gonzales, for the readjustment of the claims of the English holders of the national bonds, he felt it necessary to preface his speech on the floor of the House of Representatives with words to the effect that he fully recognized that, in opposing the Administration, he probably forfeited all chance for future political preferment, even if he did not at once endanger his personal freedom. And such, probably, would have been to him the result, had not the students of the city of Mexico made the cause of Miron their own, and, by organizing and assuming the aggressive, forced the Government to quietly abandon its position.
The yielding of the Government was, however, but temporary; for, in the elections for a new Congress during the present year (1886), it has so ordered matters as to effectually prevent all antagonism to its measures—the Opposition of the last Congress, led by Miron and his associates, and which was regarded by many as so promising for a larger measure of independence and intelligence in Mexican legislation and politics, not having been able, it is understood, to elect a single member.
The present Constitution of Mexico dates back to 1857, with modifications down to 1883. The Mexican States are Independent, in the same manner as are those of the United States, but seem to be less under the control of the central Federal Government, and the Federal Supreme Court, than in the latter country. There is little interest among the people of the Mexican States in national affairs, and consequently little of national spirit; a result naturally to be expected when one recalls that a large proportion of the population are Indians, who are wholly uneducated, have no conception of what their government is apart from military rule, and do not in the least concern themselves about its details. The leaders in the States are also largely military men, and experience in the past has shown that they are rarely restrained by sentiments of pride or patriotism from using their influence for their own personal advantage, and with little regard for the public welfare. The Mexican Federal Government, like that of the United States also, is composed of three departments—the legislative, executive, and judicial. Congress consists of a Senate and House of Representatives. There are about two hundred and thirty members of the latter body, elected for two years, and apportioned at the rate of one member for forty thousand inhabitants. The Senate comprises fifty-six members, two from each State. Congressmen and senators are paid three thousand dollars a year. A president of the Senate is elected each month; and that officer, in case of a vacancy in the presidency, succeeds temporarily to the executive office. The law-making body meets annually from April 1st to May 30th, and from September 16th to December 16th. In addition to this there is a permanent legislative committee of both branches, having power to act in all emergencies, and to sit during the recess of Congress. The President is not chosen directly by the people, but by electors; holds office for four years, and can not remain in power for two successive terms; and this last provision is said to be almost the only one of the Mexican Constitution that is rigidly observed.
Public opinion in Mexico has been defined to be, "the opinion entertained by the President"; and from the most favorable point of view can not mean anything more than the opinions of the large landed proprietors, the professions, the teachers, the students, and the army officers, comprising in all not more than from twenty-five to thirty thousand of the whole population. And it is understood that less than this number of votes were cast at the last presidential election, although the Constitution of Mexico gives to every adult male citizen of the republic the right to vote at elections and to hold office. Popular election in Mexico is, therefore, little more than a farce; and the situation affords another striking illustration of a fact which is recognized everywhere by the student of politics, that an uneducated people will not avail themselves of the right to vote as a matter of course, or recognize any sense of duty or responsibility as incumbent upon them as citizens. Such a condition of affairs obviously constitutes in itself a perpetual menace of domestic tranquillity: for, with no census or registration of voters, no scrutiny of the ballot box except by the party in power; no public meetings or public political discussions; and no circulation of newspapers among the masses, no peacefully organized political opposition has a chance to exist. Such opposition as does manifest itself is, therefore, personal and never a matter of principles. The central Government for the time being nominates and counts in what candidates it pleases; and, if any one feels dissatisfied or oppressed, there is absolutely no redress to be obtained except through rebellion. Such has been the political experience of the Republic of Mexico heretofore; and although the recent construction of railways, by facilitating the transportation of troops, has strengthened the central Government, there is no reason to suppose that what has happened in the past will not continue to happen until the first essential of a free government—namely, free and intelligent suffrage on the part of the masses—is established in the country; and the day for the consummation of such a result is very far distant.
The present President of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz, is undoubtedly one of the ablest men who have ever filled the office of its chief executive; although his elevation to power was effected in the first instance through military support, and the arbitrary and violent overthrow of the regular constituted authorities. Thus, having distinguished himself in the army, and as general-in-chief of the forces that wrested the capital from Maximilian in 1866, he offered himself as a candidate for the presidency in 187 1. In the following election, only 12,361 votes were cast; of which Juarez received 5,837, Diaz 3,555, and Lerdo de Tejada, who was then Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, 2,874, with ninety-five votes recorded as scattering. Diaz refused to accept the result, on the ground that the re-election of a President was not constitutional, issued a manifesto, and repudiated the existing authorities. A bloody war, lasting about a year, ensued, in which Diaz and his forces were utterly routed. Diaz was, however, amnestied, kindly received at the capital, and lived peacefully until 1876, when he rebelled against the government of Lerdo, a scholarly and accomplished man, but deficient in military talent, who had succeeded to the presidency on the death of Juarez; and, after a series of hazardous adventures and bold exploits, collected a force sufficient to defeat Lerdo (who fled the country when his fortunes were by no means desperate), captured the capital, assumed the presidency, and subsequently obtained a ratification of his proceedings by a nominally popular election. Although he is understood to have come into the possession of large wealth and great estates (in Oaxaca) since his first elevation to the office of chief executive, he is now believed to have the interests of his country supremely at heart, has appreciated the necessity and favored all efforts for establishing and extending popular education, and is undoubtedly disposed to be as liberal and progressive as the difficult conditions and influences by which he is surrounded will permit.
It is not, furthermore, to be denied that many of the men associated with the present or recent Administrations of Mexico are of very high character and fine abilities. Thus the present Minister of Foreign Affairs—Ignacio Mariscal—is a man of great ability, a finished diplomat, and who, in addition to conducting his department with success under several Administrations, has also served as minister to England. Another dominant force in the government is Manuel Romerio Rubio, the father-in-law of the President, who is Minister of the Interior, and is an eminent lawyer, a polished statesman, and a patriot; while the recent representative of Mexico in the United States, Señor Zamacona, and the present minister, Señor Romero, are the peers of the representatives of any of the governments of the Old World.
Although there are plenty of newspapers in Mexico—some sixteen "dailies" in the city of Mexico alone—they have, as might be expected, but comparatively few readers, and apparently exist for some other purpose than that of reporting the "news." Only one journal in the country—"El Monitor Republicano"—a daily published in the city of Mexico, and representing the Liberal Opposition, claims a circulation as great as thirty-five hundred; and probably next to this in circulation (twenty-five hundred reported) is the Church paper "El Tiempo," which is bitter alike against the Americans and all their improvements, not excepting even their railroads. Of all the other daily papers, it is doubtful whether their average circulation ever reaches as large a figure as eight hundred. Of the weekly papers of the capital—some thirty in number—one of the most recent, enterprising, successful, and influential, is the "Mexican Financier," which is printed in parallel columns of Spanish and English; and the publisher and editor of which are graduates respectively of the Springfield (Massachusetts) "Republican" and Boston "Herald." No paper discusses the many and vexatious problems of the Mexican state and its people with greater intelligence; none has a larger measure of the confidence of the Government; and no agency in Mexico is likely to be more influential in the future in promoting the development and prosperity of the country.
The press of Mexico can hardly be said to be free; inasmuch as, when it says anything which the Government assumes to be calculated to excite sedition, the authorities summarily arrest the editor and send him to prison; taking care, however, in all such proceedings, to scrupulously observe what has been enacted to be law. Thus the editor-in-chief of "El Monitor Republicano" has recently (1885) served out a sentence of seven months in the common penitentiary, for his criticisms upon the Government.
Finally, what Mexico is to-day, socially and politically, is the natural and legitimate sequence, and exactly what might have been expected from the artificial conditions which for more than three centuries have been forced upon her; and history has never afforded such a striking, instructive, and pitiful illustration of the effect upon a country and a people, of long-continued absolutism and tyranny in respect to both government and religion. It is true that Spain, if called to plead at the bar of public opinion, might point to her own situation and decadence as in the nature of judgment confessed and punishment awarded. But what has the Church, in whose hands for so many years was exclusively vested the matter of education, and which lacked nothing in the way of power and opportunity, to say to the appalling depths of ignorance in which she has left the Mexican people; an ignorance not confined to an almost entire lack of acquaintance with the simplest elements of scholastic learning—reading, writing, and the rules of common arithmetic—but even with the commonest tools and mechanical appliances of production and civilization? But, wherever may be the responsibility for such a condition of things, the conclusion seems irresistible that, against the moral inertia of such an appalling mass of ignorance, the advancing waves of any higher civilization are likely to dash for a long time without making any serious impression.