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CINCO
DE MAYO
The
United States Owes More to those Mexican defenders at Puebla
than Most History Books Will Claim
By Rubi Mendoza
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Forty
years after Mexico gained its independence from Spain,
Louis Napoleon III, perhaps as powerful a monarch as
his uncle, lost his "Waterloo" on May 5, 1862, otherwise
known as Cinco de Mayo. The Mexican victory at Puebla
on Cinco de Mayo marked the beginning of the end of
European occupation in the Americas. Today this holiday
has come to symbolize a struggle for freedom and independence;
a victory in the face of great odds and the patriotism
it generated. Still, few realize the connection between
the battle of that day and the preservation of American,
not just Mexican, independence.
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In
the 1850's Mexico entered a period of national crisis
and financial struggle. In a sense, the U.S. had helped
to create this situation, by acquiring half of Mexico's
territory in the Mexican-American War that ended in
1848. Benito Juárez, a former minister of Justice, became
the country's new president. In an effort to rebuild
the country's economy, Juárez declared a two-year moratorium
on the repayment of foreign debt to the English, French,
and Spanish. Still the Mexican-American War had caused
the Mexican treasury to pretty much sink, culminating
in the suspension of foreign debt payments that opened
the door for French occupation - an intervention that
could have had an impact on the United States' Civil
War.
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The
three European governments reacted aggressively, deciding
that getting their money was worth the price of invading
Mexico. Eventually, the representatives of Spain and
Great Britain came to an agreement with Juarez in Veracruz
and went home. Some historians claim that Napoleon III's
desire to occupy Mexico was fueled by his intense dislike
for the United States and the Monroe Doctrine which
states that the United States would oppose any European
invasion into the Americas. So Napoleon III stayed;
in fact, he landed 4500 troops and set off for Puebla,
then eventually Mexico City. Napoleon III shrewdly banked
on the fact that the United States, in the midst of
its own civil war, would not interfere in
the events in Mexico.
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On
May 5, 1862 General Ignacio Zaragosa and his troops
prevailed over Napoleon III and his army. Thanks to
the moral conviction of 5,000 plus soldiers and the
citizenry of Puebla, the Mexican government was made
stronger. Zaragosa's loyalist's had managed to keep
the French at bay long enough to prevent them from supporting
the Confederate states in the U.S. Civil War. The victory
filled the Mexicans with pride and paved the way for
Juarez's reform. While the initial victory at Puebla
was eventually overturned a few years later, it had
gained the America's time to re-group and eventually
defeat the French. In early 1867, Napoleon made the
decision to withdraw his troops.
With
the North and South reunited, Lincoln had ordered the
French out of Mexico and sent a military force to the
Texas/Mexican border. Napoleon potentially faced 2 million
battle hardened U.S. veterans if he persisted in the
occupation of Mexico. Later that year Puebla was reclaimed,
bringing an end to Mexico's era of occupation. The sovereignty
of Mexico was returned to the Mexicans, the U.S. finally
forced the South back into the union it previously had
- and Canada was never the wiser about its own possible
change.
Rubi
Mendoza is a freelance writer and on the staff of Xispas
Magazine.
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