Page:Historia Verdadera del Mexico profundo.djvu/206

them act inadequately, that amounted making them defenseless, as we will see.

It is that the Spaniards —as brilliantly analyzed by Soustelle— made an "all-out" war: for them there was but one State —the Carlos V monarchy— and a single possible religion. The mexicans were defeated because their thought, governed by a pluralist tradition in political and religious order, was not adapted to the conflict with the dogmatism of the unitarian State and Religion." (Jose Luis Guerrero. 1990)

Indeed, while for the mexicas the arrival of the spaniards meant the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, which would mean their ideological—religious collapse, in which there could still be some negotiation; for the spanish implied an extraordinary military and religious conquest that would bring them personal wealth and political power.

While for the aztecs the religious warfare represented the opportunity to take live enemies, for Huitzilopochtli sacrifice in the Templo Mayor. An enemy killed in combat field was a blunder and a loss to their gods; for the spanish on the other hand, war meant the extermination of the infidel on the battlefield, with the help of Santiago Apostle in favor of Christianity and the Crown.

Moctezuma and the Tlatócan, were dealing with magical and divine beings, Quetzalcoatl messengers and ambassadors. They were not cowards but diplomats. They were looking for a negotiation. They never stopped believing in the Huitzilopochtli validity and force against Quetzalcoatl. The mexicas believed to be in a religious and magical fight; the spaniards were committed to a warrior trade campaign. One side spoke of Quetzalcoatl—Christ—king of Spain; the others spoke of Huitzilopochtli

Tezcatlipoca—Tlacaelel. The aztecs sought an honorable religious—ideological negotiation; the spaniards sought destruction—domination—wealth. One side had noble and educated people; the others were ignorant, unscrupulous people, eager for wealth at any cost.