Jump to content

Page:Mexico's dilemma.djvu/19

From Wikisource
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
INTRODUCTION
ix

tertained by General Barragan, the Governor of the state, and his staff. At the banquet I sat beside Señor Montezuma, a direct descendant of the famous Indian chief. From San Luis Potosi to Mexico City we passed through a beautiful stretch of country under armed escort.

In Mexico City I met members of the cabinet, Mexican Generals, members of the Chamber of Deputies, American and English business men, bankers, newspapermen and others. I employed a young Mexican student from the University of Texas as an interpreter, journeyed about the city and the suburbs, and studied, in every way possible for me, the social and political conditions in the capital of the Republic.

Before I left the United States I had encountered two classes of citizens, those who had faith in the possibilities for good of the Carranza Government and those who violently opposed this government. In Mexico I found quite the same situation. Not only were the foreigners divided in opinion but the Mexicans themselves, though here those opposing the government were not as pronounced in the expression of their judgment for fear of Article 33 in the Mexican Constitution. This article reads:

"Foreigners are those who do not possess the qualifications prescribed in Article 30. They shall be entitled to the rights granted by Chapter I, Title I of the present constitution; but the ex-