the head of the Government troops in place of Gen. Villar, who had been wounded, turned traitor to Madero, caused his arrest and that of Pino Suarez in the National Palace on Feb. 19, and forced them to resign. He eliminated Diaz, who was a nullity. Congress hastily accepted the resignations, and Pedro Lascurain, as Minister of Foreign Relations, held the chief executive power for about 40 minutes, during which he made Huerta Minister of Gobernacion. Lascurain then resigned, leaving Huerta con- stitutionally at the head of the nation. Madero and Pino Suarez were assassinated on Feb. 22, on the pretext that they had been killed in the course of an attempt to rescue them, after having been promised safe-conduct on board a vessel at Vera Cruz. In Nov. 1920 their alleged assassin, ex-Gen. Francisco Cardenas, committed suicide in Guatemala after his arrest for extradition at the request of the Mexican Government. Every effort was made by Huerta to obtain recognition by the United States, but President Wilson, believing that Huerta had risen to power by political murder and did not represent the will of the Mexican people, refused recognition and soon demanded that an election be held in which all Mexican factions should participate and acquiesce, Huerta not standing for office. This attitude marked a new phase in the foreign policy of the United States. It began a period of direct intervention. The American ambassador, Henry Lane Wilson, who had congratulated Huerta upon his accession to the supreme power, was recalled and caused to resign on July 4 1913. Though several foreign Powers had recog- nized the new Government, the example of the United States was followed by Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, and in the end proved decisive.
Huerta as Dictator. The struggle of Huerta for control of the country was going against him. Harshly criticised as a murderer by members of Congress, he arrested no members, and on Oct. 10 assumed complete control of the legislative and judi- cial powers, adding these to his executive functions. This as- sumption of dictatorship brought a message of solicitude for the imprisoned Congressmen from the American Government. The revolution which had sprung up under Venustiano Carranza of Coahuila, simultaneously with Huerta's seizure of the execu- tive power, was now strongly led in the west by Gens. Buelna, Cabrera and Alvaro Obregon; in the north and centre by Fran- cisco Villa, Felipe Angeles, Pablo Gonzalez and Antonio I. Villareal; in the south by Zapata, and in Yucatan by Salvador Al- varado. Huerta was hemmed in to the central plateau. The revo- lutionary movement was conducted under the pronouncement of Carranza, and was known as the Plan de Guadalupe, which declared for the preservation of the national constitution by a Constitutionalist army, of which Carranza was declared the first chief. Numerous successes by the revolutionaries, among which was Villa's capture of Torreon in March 1914, combined with the Tampico incident, hastened the fall of Huerta. A boatload of American marines from the " Dolphin," anchored at Tampico, made a landing within proscribed area on April 10, and were arrested by a Huerta subordinate. Though they were immediately set at liberty with regrets, the American commander demanded a salute to the American flag, in which demand he was upheld by President Wilson. Huerta had been meantime especi- ally irritated by Wilson's personal emissary, John Lind, sent to Mexico in Aug. 1913, who asked that elections should be called in which Huerta should not stand. Huerta's refusal to comply with the terms of Adml. Mayo's ultimatum resulted in the Amer- ican seizure of Vera Cruz on April 21 1914. Huerta's appeal to his Mexican opponents to join in repelling the invasion was without effect, largely through the agency of Francisco Villa, who opposed Carranza in this question of policy. Harassed on all sides, urged by the foreign ministers to yield to Wilson, unable to make loans, or to effect peace with the Constitutional- ists, Huerta severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 22. The tensity of the situation was soon relieved by the proffer of their good offices for mediation by Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The United States and Huerta accepted. Carranza did so in principle, but his agents took no active part in the negotiations ; he had already been designated provisional
president by his faction. Effort was made in June, at the Niagara Falls Conference, to find a provisional president acceptable to all parties. This failed, but it was demonstrated that Huerta could not obtain recognition. Yet he attempted to hold an election, the result being a fiasco, whereupon he resigned, July 15 1914, in favour of Francisco Carbajal. The latter ruled less than a month, leaving the city on Aug. 13, and making Carranza Min- ister of Foreign Relations at the request of the American Govern- ment. On Aug. 21 Carranza entered the capital.
The Constitutionalists. Factional differences among the victors now became open. Zapata's Plan de Ayala, demanding agrarian reforms, was rejected by Carranza. Villa had become antagonistic over the leadership of the campaign against the city of Mexico, which he had captured on April 2 1915. On Sept. 12 Carranza published a call for the election of anon-mili- tary president, but the Constitutional generals called a conven- tion on Oct. i at Mexico City to choose a provisional president. Carranza declared he would not accept such a position, but would offer his candidacy at the regular election. Villa demanded that Carranza be eliminated, to which Carranza consented pro- vided Villa and Zapata should leave the country. The Convention rejected Carranza's resignation, but moved to Aguascalientes, which was under Villa's control, and there accepted it. Carranza repudiated the Convention, which chose Gen. Eulalio Gutierrez provisional president for 20 days, and placed Villa in command of forces ordered to advance on the capital. He drove Carranza out on Nov. 20. Carranza moved to Vera Cruz, entering it as the Americans, delayed in their evacuation, moved out on Nov. 23. Zapata entered Mexico City Nov. 24, Villa following him on Dec. 3, the Zapatistas returning again in March. During 1915 the executive power was claimed by four different factions. The status of foreigners at this time was most unhappy. The Spaniards suffered especially, many of them, including their minister, being expelled. In March President Wilson secured permission from the various Mexican leaders to remove foreign- ers from the capital under American protection.
During 1914 Villa had been much in the public view. He had set up a government in northern Mexico, and seemed for a time to be the man who could restore peace. Emissaries were sent to him by Wilson, but in April 1915 Gen. Obreg6n defeated him at Celaya and later at Le6n. In Sept. he drove him from Saltillo and Torreon. This gave to Carranza control of all the states save Sonora, Chihuahua and Morelos. After Villa's defeat President Wilson indicated a more vigorous policy by urging the leaders to forget their quarrels lest the United States " use means to help Mexico save herself and help her people." In Aug. 1915 Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Guatemala and Uruguay urged the Mexicans to form a provisional government and call a general election. Carranza protested against this " new policy of interference." The U.S. Department of State joined in the appeal of the Powers named above, calling for a conference and proffering help. Carranza again rejected interference, being at the time successful against Villa, who, being unsuccessful, accepted. A conference of the Powers named met in Sept. and agreed to recognize the faction which after three weeks should show greatest success in maintaining order. This decision gave Carranza the decided advantage, and he was recognized as head of the de-facto Government on Oct. 19 by nine American Powers.
The de-Facto Government. Formal diplomatic relations be- tween Mexico and the United States were resumed in Dec., after an interval of two and a half years, by the appointment of Henry P. Fletcher as ambassador, and the reception at Washing- ton of Eliseo Arredondo as representative of the new Mexican Government. The principal European Powers soon followed suit. Fletcher did not go to Mexico until some time later; his residence was short and intermittent, no doubt as a remonstrance against the attitude assumed by the Carranza Government. But the piqued Villistas were still to be reckoned with. On Jan. 10 1916 18 Americans were shot down by them at Santa Ysabel while going into Mexico to reopen mines at Carranza's solicitation. The U.S. Congress passed resolutions demanding intervention. Carranza promised punishment of the perpetrators
