Plutarco Elías Calles addressed the nation by radio to discuss his presidential candidacy. Photo courtesy Fideicomiso Archivos Plutarco Elías Calles y Fernando Torreblanca
Being accustomed to living in contact with the sentiments and the wrongs of the Mexican people, no consideration of a purely political nature would have caused me to aspire to the Presidency of my country had I not been convinced that the historical moment and the preparatory work accomplished through the Mexican Revolution, and very especially the generous policy followed by President Obregon in dealing with social questions, would permit the executive who suceeded him, provided he was animated by desires for the betterment of the various classes, to carry on in Mexico the task of just redemption imposed upon him, to the end that some benefit in the way of happiness might be gained, not alone for those who are privileged by fortune, but also for the humble.
I also believe that a similar programme of social action, of justice and a more human coordination of rights and duties will bring about in our country a greater consolidation of all the legitimate interests of the people, which will have the result of quelling the waves of protest which, among peoples in process of development, are frequently translated into movements of revolutionary convulsion, and that, within an ambient of concord, which will bring contentment to all, it will be possible to develop amply the public riches.
Those of us in Mexico who desire to bring about social reforms are not seeking to ruin property and wealth or to upset values. But it is our opinion that if the conquests which the workers in other civilized countries have gained can definitely be brought about in Mexico, millions of Mexicans who are now social outcasts can be freed from their shackles, through education, moral and economical stimulus and proper protection under advanced laws.
I firmly believe that the Constitution of 1917, in its fundamental articles, is adapted to public necessities in Mexico, and that its honest application, without employing it as an arm of destruction, but as a medium for collective improvement, will aid in a powerful manner to solve our weighty social problems.
The handling of the agrarian problem, understood and dealt with, as I conceive it should be, as an integral and a constructive problem, which includes the distribution of lands, the creation and encouragement of small land holdings, the providing of water for irrigation purposes and the foundation of an agricultural credit which will give impetus to the national development of agriculture, far from comprehending a suicidal programme is a work which is designed to be eminently constructive, in its effect upon the well-being and the prosperity of the country. So far as this programme touches the advantages of a social character which are sought by the laboring masses, its implantation in Mexico, together with methods and systems of providing legal protection for labor, which among the most advanced peoples have brought prosperity and fortified all industries, can be resisted only by reactionaries who are fossilized and blinded by class hatred.
If the people concede me their confidence and I become President of Mexico I shall endeavor, above all, to establish a robust nationalistic spirit, with the firm and energetic proposition of transforming Mexico into a real country, and to stimulate every generous and honorable effort toward reconstruction. I cherish the hope that I shall be supported by all men of good will, who not alone possess the courage to demand their rights, but who comprehend the high duties that devolve upon us as leaders of the nation, in order that some day we shall not feel, as we do now, dispirited and ashamed as we see on one side the happiness and the prosperity of the few and on the other the interminable hosts of the sad and the disinherited, those who have poured out their blood to win us our freedom in the crises of our history, without gaining for themselves more than eternal neglect and, at the same time, perpetual glory.
The original image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, as seen in El General
For these reasons, and without these measures implying any persecution of any church and without sentiments of antagonism to any foreigner, a government intent upon complying with its Constitutional obligations could do nothing else than require those who were constantly violating the law to leave the country. In contrast with the attitude of the priests who have been expelled, there have been ministers of other faiths who, in obedience to the law, have ceased to exercise their religious functions and who have devoted themselves to other legal activities, such as teaching in the secondary educational institutions or adjusting the services of their churches in accordance with the law, without officiating as priests, and leaving the proper confessional work of their church to Mexican priests. These ministers have not been nor shall they be molested.
As always happens, when matters relating to Mexican affairs are in question, it has been sought to distort to the people of the United States the actual facts, which merely involve the simple question of obedience to the Constitution and to the laws of our country, and which do not constitute a campaign of religious persecution of a nature which naturally would be repugnant and even inexplicable to the public of a country wherein, fortunately, it is seldom necessary to regulate by legislation matters of a religious or an ecclesiastical nature, for the reason that in the United States religion keeps peacefully within the limit of its moral activities, without seeking to mingle spiritual with temporal matters and does not depart from its legitimate sphere for the purpose of meddling in political affairs.
Another distortion of the facts consists in the statement that the government has closed numerous schools in Mexico when, in reality, what has happened has been that in closing various convents, the existence of which is not permitted under the law, schools have been found operating in connection with these convents, in opposition to Article 3 of the Constitution. These schools have not been closed, but those who conduct them have been compelled to adjust them to legal requirements.
Even had the recent public manifestation of disobedience and opposition to the laws of Mexico, given by the heads of the Catholic Church in this country not taken place, the government, in pursuance of its duty to sustain the Constitution, would have proceeded as it has done, upon ascertaining that there were concrete cases of violation of the law.
But it is easily understood, when one considers the history of our country and the painful experiences which have resulted from the interference of the Catholic clergy with the pacific development of national institutions, to which the Catholic Church has traditionally been antagonistic, that the exclusion from the country of all foreign priests who are not permitted to function here was necessary, especially in view of the possibility of a fresh intrusion of the Catholic clergy in temporal and political matters. The fact that they were foreigners provided the situation with even a more serious and difficult aspect.
So far as concerns the future attitude of the Mexican government toward Catholic priests or ministers of any other denomination, American citizens must be treated the same as citizens of any other country. But it must be said that the infractions of the law committed by American citizens are less numerous than those of which citizens of other countries have been guilty, for almost without exception American ministers of the Protestant denominations while in Mexico conform to the laws and consequently are not molested. They develop the prosperity of their churches through the work of Mexican clergymen and live among us tranquilly and respected, so long as they do not preach.
President Calles and President Calvin Coolidge in the White House gardens after a meeting. Photo courtesy Fideicomiso Archivos Plutarco Elías Calles y Fernando Torreblanca
I am now quite used to being called a Bolshevik by those who are opposed to my political views. But then, here in Mexico, every one whose politics are progressive is termed a Bolshevik. The mere fact that I have placed myself at the head of that powerful section of my countrymen which seeks to remove all that is antiquated and out of date from our present system of government does not in the slightest degree justify my opponents in designating me as an extremist. It simply amounts to this: My enemies do not realize what is actually taking place in the world of today! The social changes going on before our very eyes are radical in the extreme; they are to be noted in every corner of the globe. And herein lies my duty as I conceive it to do what is within my power to direct and hold this turbulent current of shifting opinion in check, so that instead of bringing destruction in its train it will bring prosperity.
In any case, it is still too early to pronounce judgment on the Russian Soviet system. We in Mexico must govern in accordance with the Constitution of 1917. That is why the Soviet as a system of government interests us only in so far as it represents a new philosophy and a new social standpoint in other words, we are interested in its theory, not in its practice.
THE TREND TOWARD INDIVIDUALISM
I have adopted this attitude of moderation not only because my personal inclinations lie that way but because I am convinced that any revolutionary movement here in Mexico which threatens the authority of capital is bound to fail, for the simple reason that such a radical change would be contrary to the Mexican viewpoint. There is in Mexico a pronounced trend in favor of individualism, and this can only be satisfied within the limits set up by the present so-called capitalist system. For this reason the Government will do everything in its power to safeguard the interests of foreign capitalists who invest money in Mexico.
Above and below the surface of the Mexican soil there lie untold treasures. These enormous sources of wealth, however, are of no use to us unless we are in a position to exploit them. Every enterprise bringing capital to exploit these hitherto untapped sources will enjoy the full protection of our laws. On the other hand, capitalists must abide by these laws, too. They must not treat them with contempt or expect to be granted special privileges which would set them above the law. And least of all must they expect to be allowed to make slaves of the Mexicans, rewarding the latter for their toil with nothing more than a miserly wage. If they derive profit from the land, they are expected to benefit the country in return.
WANTS ALL ALIENS NATURALIZED
Every capitalist who comes here should feel himself a Mexican; he should take root here and build up an estate with the idea of remaining here and becoming naturalized. We do not want persons to come over with the idea of making a fortune in the shortest possible time and then leave the country and spend that fortune elsewhere. We must put a stop to that sort of thing without, however, committing the grave error of striking at the liberty of the subject for we pride ourselves on the freedom which the individual citizen enjoys.
We should make it our object to see that every foreigner who comes here takes out his naturalization papers. Thus we shall be following the example set by the United States. For in the States they are expert in assembling those forces necessary to build up the economic structure of the country; these forces are concentrated; they are not allowed to disperse. Hence the rapid progress made by the United States in the last decade. The tendency today is for the States to widen the sphere of their political influence; this is a result of their productive capacity. It arises from surplus energy, and their object is to extend their influence over the whole continent.
But the United States is not composed of a people of robbers, but of producers; they need markets for their manufactured goods and raw material for their industries. Their imperialism, of which the other States of America are afraid, is kept within bounds if it were not, then the hostility of the Latin States would be immediately aroused. If the United States intervenes in the affairs of Latin America, for any reason whatsoever, the consequence will be that the whole of Spanish-speaking America will be alienated.
VALUE OF TRADES UNIONS
Nothing is further from my mind than to interrupt the peaceful economic development of Mexico or to interfere with the present economic system. But I must emphasize the fact that I consider the trade unions to be absolutely indispensable to this capitalist system. For the trade unions serve a two-fold purpose: They keep the growing might of capitalism in check on the one hand; and in the event of an attack being launched on the capitalist ranks the unions serve as a barricade. The trade unions stand or fall by capitalism. But they should never intervene in political matters. Their sphere is purely economic, and once they meddle in politics they lose their character and their significance.
But that does not mean that the individuals of which the trade unions are composed should not take part in politics if they so wish that is their right of citizenship, nay, more than their right, it is their duty. And in any case they will be doing no harm; for the leaders of the Mexican Labor Party have repeatedly shown that they are possessed of a strong sense of responsibility and that they attach more importance to what is likely to benefit the State than to the furtherance of their own ambitions.
I have expressly added the clause "here in Mexico" to my remarks, for I cannot overemphasize the fact that our internal political conditions are in no ways to be compared with those obtaining in the States of Western Europe. And I am absolutely convinced that in carrying out my political plans I can count on the firm support of the middle classes. I have done everything I could to arouse them from their former apathy toward political and social questions, so that now they are ready to take a prominent part in the renaissance which is just beginning. They will in time accept with alacrity the civic responsibilities which they will be asked to assume and for which they are already well fitted.
ATTITUDE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS
The middle classes have answered my call with enthusiasm, and I am certain they will take a decisive part in the further development of the Mexican democracy and in the eventual solution of our social problems.
My friendly feeling for the middle class can in part be ascribed to the fact that I am doing everything in my power to create a class of small peasant proprietors. It is my ambition to see the peasants own the land on which they work. For to make every peasant a proprietor is the best way of avoiding revolution and political unrest. Thus is created a substantial personal, and perhaps in a measure selfish, interest in supporting the existing order of things. Capital can play its part too in the founding of land banks, insurance companies, and so forth. In this way the bonds between capital and labor are strengthened.
But it is not the intention of the Government to split up large estates for this purpose. The voluntary cooperation of the present landed proprietors is sought, so that the acquisition by the peasants of small portions of land will be rendered possible. Under these circumstances, too, common land that is to say land held in common by villages will also be divided up into small holdings. But special laws will have to be formulated in order to prevent big stretches of this common land being controlled by one person.
It is my firm conviction that land held in common and worked in common offers no advantages to the peasants; it only gives rise to unnecessary disputes between neighbors. And when this system of small holdings has become an accomplished fact the means of production will be considerably increased. New railways will be built in districts which have not hitherto been opened up. Great tracts of country, as for instance the States of Coahuila and Durango, will come under the plough and cultivation will be carried out in accordance with the most modern methods. Our plateaus can be reforested in the manner of the Argentine pampas, with the result that our climatic conditions will be bettered.
Once this system has been established we shall be able to encourage the immigration to Mexico of farm laborers from Europe. But if this is to be on the same scale as the immigration to the United States and the Argentine, then the farm laborers in Mexico must be better paid than they are at present.
Up to now industry, agriculture and mining here have been carried on at the expense of the underpaid worker, so that laborers from Europe could never compete with Mexican labor unless wages were raised. But if we make it our business to better the conditions of the people in general, immigration from Europe will be a sources of great wealth, so that in a few decades our population will have doubled.
Introduction
Candidate and President
In April 1924 President Calles outlined the political platform for his candidacy to the presidency in a radio address to the nation.
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The Church Question
Calles responds to the New York Herald-Tribune's critiques of the skirmishes that had broken out between Mexican government authorities and the Roman Catholic Church, and particularly towards the expulsion of American clergy. Calles referred to an article of the Mexican Constitution that prohibited foreign ministers from leading worship in Mexico, insisting that the state was simply enforcing its laws.
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What we are doing in Mexico and for whom we are doing it
President Calles was commissioned by Foreign Business to explain the political philosophy of the Revolution:
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New Year Message to the Mexican People, January 1, 1927
In his second annual address to his constituents, President Calles discussed the state of the union, highlighting the government's objectives.
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Extracts from President Calles' Message to the Mexican Congress
In 1927, President Calles delivered this address to the 32nd Mexican Congress outlining the progress and political platforms supported by the Executive branch during his presidency.
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Mexico and Bolshevism
During Calles' term as president, relations between Mexico and the United States cooled significantly. One of the reasons was a suspicion among Americans that Mexico was harboring communist tendencies.
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Candidate and President
Candidate and President
Address by radio, defining his political principles and programme (From El Democrata, Mexico City, April 12, 1924.)
Plutarco Elías Calles addressed the nation by radio to discuss his presidential candidacy. Photo courtesy Fideicomiso Archivos Plutarco Elías Calles y Fernando Torreblanca
Being accustomed to living in contact with the sentiments and the wrongs of the Mexican people, no consideration of a purely political nature would have caused me to aspire to the Presidency of my country had I not been convinced that the historical moment and the preparatory work accomplished through the Mexican Revolution, and very especially the generous policy followed by President Obregon in dealing with social questions, would permit the executive who suceeded him, provided he was animated by desires for the betterment of the various classes, to carry on in Mexico the task of just redemption imposed upon him, to the end that some benefit in the way of happiness might be gained, not alone for those who are privileged by fortune, but also for the humble.
I also believe that a similar programme of social action, of justice and a more human coordination of rights and duties will bring about in our country a greater consolidation of all the legitimate interests of the people, which will have the result of quelling the waves of protest which, among peoples in process of development, are frequently translated into movements of revolutionary convulsion, and that, within an ambient of concord, which will bring contentment to all, it will be possible to develop amply the public riches.
Those of us in Mexico who desire to bring about social reforms are not seeking to ruin property and wealth or to upset values. But it is our opinion that if the conquests which the workers in other civilized countries have gained can definitely be brought about in Mexico, millions of Mexicans who are now social outcasts can be freed from their shackles, through education, moral and economical stimulus and proper protection under advanced laws.
I firmly believe that the Constitution of 1917, in its fundamental articles, is adapted to public necessities in Mexico, and that its honest application, without employing it as an arm of destruction, but as a medium for collective improvement, will aid in a powerful manner to solve our weighty social problems.
The handling of the agrarian problem, understood and dealt with, as I conceive it should be, as an integral and a constructive problem, which includes the distribution of lands, the creation and encouragement of small land holdings, the providing of water for irrigation purposes and the foundation of an agricultural credit which will give impetus to the national development of agriculture, far from comprehending a suicidal programme is a work which is designed to be eminently constructive, in its effect upon the well-being and the prosperity of the country. So far as this programme touches the advantages of a social character which are sought by the laboring masses, its implantation in Mexico, together with methods and systems of providing legal protection for labor, which among the most advanced peoples have brought prosperity and fortified all industries, can be resisted only by reactionaries who are fossilized and blinded by class hatred.
If the people concede me their confidence and I become President of Mexico I shall endeavor, above all, to establish a robust nationalistic spirit, with the firm and energetic proposition of transforming Mexico into a real country, and to stimulate every generous and honorable effort toward reconstruction. I cherish the hope that I shall be supported by all men of good will, who not alone possess the courage to demand their rights, but who comprehend the high duties that devolve upon us as leaders of the nation, in order that some day we shall not feel, as we do now, dispirited and ashamed as we see on one side the happiness and the prosperity of the few and on the other the interminable hosts of the sad and the disinherited, those who have poured out their blood to win us our freedom in the crises of our history, without gaining for themselves more than eternal neglect and, at the same time, perpetual glory.
Excerpt from:
Calles, Plutarco E. Mexico Before the World. Trans. Robert H. Murray. New York: The Academy Press, 1927. 29-31 Download the PDF (160 kb)
The Church Question
The Church Question
(Statement to the New York Herald-Tribune, February 2, 1926.)
The eighth paragraph of Article 130 of the Mexican Constitution says textually:
"In order to exercise in the United States of Mexico the functions of a minister of any form of worship, the minister must be a Mexican citizen by birth."
Priests of foreign nationality whose presence in Mexico may no longer be tolerated have, with a full consciousness of the fact, been evading this Constitutional provision. They have been repeatedly warned by the government to cease these infractions of the fundamental law of the country, abandon the ministry and take up other occupations if they desired to remain in the country. Without paying attention to these notices the priests to whom I refer have continued to exercise their ministerial functions in violation of the Constitution. With a few exceptions they also have violated Article 3, the second paragraph of which provides: "No religious organization or minister of any denomination may establish or direct schools of primary education."
The original image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, as seen in El General
For these reasons, and without these measures implying any persecution of any church and without sentiments of antagonism to any foreigner, a government intent upon complying with its Constitutional obligations could do nothing else than require those who were constantly violating the law to leave the country. In contrast with the attitude of the priests who have been expelled, there have been ministers of other faiths who, in obedience to the law, have ceased to exercise their religious functions and who have devoted themselves to other legal activities, such as teaching in the secondary educational institutions or adjusting the services of their churches in accordance with the law, without officiating as priests, and leaving the proper confessional work of their church to Mexican priests. These ministers have not been nor shall they be molested.
As always happens, when matters relating to Mexican affairs are in question, it has been sought to distort to the people of the United States the actual facts, which merely involve the simple question of obedience to the Constitution and to the laws of our country, and which do not constitute a campaign of religious persecution of a nature which naturally would be repugnant and even inexplicable to the public of a country wherein, fortunately, it is seldom necessary to regulate by legislation matters of a religious or an ecclesiastical nature, for the reason that in the United States religion keeps peacefully within the limit of its moral activities, without seeking to mingle spiritual with temporal matters and does not depart from its legitimate sphere for the purpose of meddling in political affairs.
Another distortion of the facts consists in the statement that the government has closed numerous schools in Mexico when, in reality, what has happened has been that in closing various convents, the existence of which is not permitted under the law, schools have been found operating in connection with these convents, in opposition to Article 3 of the Constitution. These schools have not been closed, but those who conduct them have been compelled to adjust them to legal requirements.
Even had the recent public manifestation of disobedience and opposition to the laws of Mexico, given by the heads of the Catholic Church in this country not taken place, the government, in pursuance of its duty to sustain the Constitution, would have proceeded as it has done, upon ascertaining that there were concrete cases of violation of the law.
But it is easily understood, when one considers the history of our country and the painful experiences which have resulted from the interference of the Catholic clergy with the pacific development of national institutions, to which the Catholic Church has traditionally been antagonistic, that the exclusion from the country of all foreign priests who are not permitted to function here was necessary, especially in view of the possibility of a fresh intrusion of the Catholic clergy in temporal and political matters. The fact that they were foreigners provided the situation with even a more serious and difficult aspect.
So far as concerns the future attitude of the Mexican government toward Catholic priests or ministers of any other denomination, American citizens must be treated the same as citizens of any other country. But it must be said that the infractions of the law committed by American citizens are less numerous than those of which citizens of other countries have been guilty, for almost without exception American ministers of the Protestant denominations while in Mexico conform to the laws and consequently are not molested. They develop the prosperity of their churches through the work of Mexican clergymen and live among us tranquilly and respected, so long as they do not preach.
Calles, Plutarco E. Mexico Before the World. Trans. Robert H. Murray. New York: The Academy Press, 1927. 103-06. Download the PDF (190 mb)
What Are We Doing in Mexico
What we are doing in Mexico and for whom we are doing it
by President Plutarco Elías Calles
(From Foreign Business, New York City)
Upon commencing this article solicited by your publication, concerning the programme which we are carrying out in Mexico and the domestic and international problems with which my government is compelled to cope, I desire to quote a paragraph from a proclamation made in March last by Lord Reading, Viceroy of India, to the legislature of that country, in which he says:
"The essential basic principle of British institutions rests upon a fundamental unity of sentiment and a general desire to bring about results of capital importance, rejecting for the benefit of the common welfare the petitions for individuals or sectional advantages."
This is nothing more or less than we are trying to do in Mexico, to "Reject the petitions for individual or sectional advantages, for the benefit of the common welfare."
Naturally, it is not easy nor agreeable to develop with energy and success a policy of this nature in a country wherein the privileges belonging to every class, which have been regarded as rights, although frequently consisting of immoral or unjust concessions, have always been in the hands of an insignificant minority, native or foreign. At the bottom of each and every one of the problems which the revolutionary government in Mexico has in recent years sought to solve, has always been found a conflict between the common interests, the true necessities of the Mexicans as a whole, and individual interests, small in origin, utility and purpose but great when measured by the standard of dollars.
So, for example, we find the agrarian problem in Mexico, the petroleum problem, the educational problem and, finally, referring to the present, that which is today regarded as the religious problem, although this, as we shall indicate later on, is merely a conflict between the heads of the Catholic Church and the Constitutional laws of Mexico which the former are trying to ignore.
If one considers that the Mexicans possess less than a third of the total riches of the country, and that of this third, which amounts to approximately $1,500,000,000 U.S., not less than sixty percent has been and continues to be in the hands of the Catholic clergy, one may easily comprehend why, in the resolution of the problems of Mexico, which always possess a marked economic aspect, we have had difficulties and frictions with some foreign governments who have defended the interests of their nationals, which they consider attacked by our Constitutional laws; or, on the contrary, with the large landholders of Mexico.: One may also understand why we are constantly opposed by the Catholic clergy, who fear lest that at any moment they may lose their principal asset, the millions accumulated by the Church in face of the express prohibition of the fundamental law of our country.
But in spite of all this the executive power is continuing its task of solving satisfactorily the difficulties and complications of all descriptions which are faced by the government, of protecting for all time our national possessions in order that the country, now and in the future, may enjoy a firm and solid prosperity. Despite the fact that we appreciate that the present administrative labor of the government might be simplified and its complete success assured by contenting ourselves by solving merely the problems of the moment, relative to advancing our interior economy to the financial stability enjoyed by that of some other countries and by cementing the military and political power of the administration, by which the dangers of the road upon which we are traveling might be eliminated, the executive has elected, with the cooperation of the other two branches of the government, and the approval of the great popular masses, to formulate and legally perfect, which in part he has succeeded in doing, a system of progressive social reform, but of a strong nationalistic tendency; reforms which will constitute the sources of future general organic peace, of collective progress, of public wealth, and which consist in the adoption of methods and systems of advantaging ourselves of our national resources and of defending impartially the national rights. These are the same methods and systems which the most civilized nations have adopted and are following with benefit to their political and economic independence, and to their prosperity and their complete development.
All that I have said before demonstrates clearly that in its nationalistic labor, the government has not been inspired by selfish motives, by chauvinism or dislike to foreigners. The government has never refused to accept, for the better development of the country, the benefits of international collaboration. Neither does one care to say that the plans of action stipulated by the Constitutional law for the free, but prudent, exercise of its sovereignty should not reckon with foreign collaboration, restrained only in the sense of obliging it to respect our laws and to prevent this collaboration from being converted into absorption, to the great damage or ruination of our national interests.
Happily, in all of the frictions which I have mentioned, and which have been provoked by Mexico's national policy, the chancelleries of foreign governments have conscientiously studied our laws, comprehend our ideas and our true line of conduct, with the result that they have arrived at the point where they agree with the reason, the truth, the justice of our position and have reached an understanding of it.
Our desire has been to organize, once [and] for all, the statutes proceeding from our Constitutional laws, to vitalize them justly and strictly, in order to render possible the development of our national riches and to prevent perpetual incomprehensions and erroneous interpretations of our legislation, in order that foreign capital may know to a scientific certainty what it may expect from Mexico. The Revolution has no belligerent intentions so far as international relations go, but its desire is to avert trouble by adopting for the benefit of foreigners in Mexico nonambiguous legislation and to compel foreign capitalists to conform to Mexican laws. The internal policy of the government may be condensed into one phrase: We believe and we shall continue to believe that worthwhile reforms in Mexico can be brought about only by exercising a tremendous effort in favor of the popular classes.
To insure the success of this it was necessary and essential, in the first place, to establish a strict, energetic and honest administration in all of the administrative departments, in order that the initial problem might be solved: the balancing of the budget. This was also necessary to enable us to take care of our foreign and domestic debt. It was necessary to provide a proper impetus to education, to agriculture and to industry and to resolve the difficult question of monetary circulation in Mexico, which latter has been accomplished by the founding of the national bank of issue, on a gold basis. The success of our administrative reorganization and of our financial rehabilitation has been so surprising that at the end of the first year of the Presidential term the government had saved 70,000,000 pesos, with which capital it established the Bank of Mexico and later the Agricultural Credit Bank. In step with the financial reorganization the government proceeded to establish the bases of a wise, just and secure agricultural prosperity for the country, with especial attention to the question of irrigation and the construction of a system of automobile and cart roads, by this means facilitating the intensification of agricultural production. At the same time it was necessary to consolidate the situation created by the restitution of lands, in the form of commons, and by the division of the great, and hitherto comparatively unproductive, estates. To the end that the production of these lands under their new owners might be encouraged and to develop in the latter a sense of responsibility, the Mexican Congress approved the proposal of the executive to divide these commons among the individuals to whom they belonged, and to make the responsibility for cultivating these lands individual instead of collective.
Agricultural enterprise can only lead to disastrous results when it is carried on in an irregular and a disorganized manner and without a scientific basis, without the benefits of irrigation, when it is needed, and adequate means of communication with markets or shipping points. It frequently occurs that when a certain region produces abundant crops there are not means to realize on them profitably, through lack of transportation, capital or credit. In other regions, where the crops have failed, it is necessary to import foodstuffs from the interior, all communities and an exaggerated disorder of the country's economic planes. In the future in Mexico the Bank of Mexico and the Agricultural Credit Bank, through their numerous branches, will contribute to the definite betterment of these conditions.
In the matter of public education, Mexico is proceeding according to the recommendation of the United States Bureau of Education and intensifying education among the farming classes, thereby notably improving the rural problem. Eventually, we are assured, not less than eighty percent of what the country produces will remain in Mexico and be used by the people.
In conclusion I would say that in reality Mexico has no religious problem. It is not true that the government is persecuting any religious body, or that it is opposed to the dogmas or practices of any religion. What is happening is that the Constitution of Mexico contains articles which the Catholic hierarchy considers to be incompatible with their constant and illegal intervention in politics and questions of state and in the economic powers of the state, exerted through their spiritual influence, which is the prime and most important factor of their domination in temporal matters. Until the clergy, by legal and Constitutional methods, obtains from the Congress and succeeds in having ratified by the state legislatures, a law repealing or amending the laws which are designed to break the political power of the clergy by transferring their huge properties to the nation, the government will comply with its elemental duty of preventing the church from imposing itself upon the immense liberal majority of the people of my country. The Church cannot succeed in its aspirations so long as it forgets its high functions and continues to utilize the methods which it systematically has employed to the present to obtain advantages of a material and political nature, which are incompatible with its purely religious functions. I firmly believe, however, that the articles of the Constitution to which the clergy objects will not be abolished or amended in many years.
Calles, Plutarco E. Mexico Before the World. Trans. Robert H. Murray. New York: The Academy Press, 1927. 142-148. Download the PDF (401 kb)
New Year Message to the Mexican People, 1927
New Year Message to the Mexican People, January 1, 1927
In pursuance with the practice established a year ago, I take advantage of the New Year to send a cordial greeting to the people of Mexico and to inform them directly concerning the general situation of the country, the work of the government and the objects which have been sought by the executive.
In following the example of the most highly civilized countries of the world in seeking successfully their economic and political independence and their prosperity and full development, by the adoption of methods and systems for the utilization of our natural resources and the defense of our just national rights, the government has encountered the lack of confidence and the resistance which the [implementation] of all innovations naturally provokes, and been compelled to cope with internal and external difficulties. The policy of strict compliance with the application of our laws has also necessarily invited the opposition of strong antagonistic forces. But fortunately the points of controversy with other governments has been dealt with by methods and according to procedures appropriate to a serene technical discussion. Foreign objections and opposition have not fundamentally altered the peaceful relations of Mexico with her neighbors, and the government has been able to comply strictly with all of its domestic and foreign obligations without interference with the reconstructive activities which have been carried on by me since I took charge of the government. Hence, despite serious economic obstacles created by complementary and intricate causes, all of a social and political nature, it is possible for me to affirm that during the past year financial stability has been brought about by drastic economical and administrative measures. The extensive educational programme mapped out for 1926 has been carried on. The central agricultural schools have been constructed as they were projected. Some of the irrigation works have been completed and placed in operation and plans have been laid for constructing others during the present year. The reorganization and reequipment of the army has been continued and the work of reorganizing the administrative departments of the government has not been halted. All these, working together, have enabled the executive to accomplish important progress toward the economic betterment of the community and the moral and social uplifting of the people, which constitutes the object most vehemently striven for by the present government.
Unfortunately, these projects for the redemption and the economic and social betterment of the masses of Mexico, without detriment to the just rights and prosperity of the privileged classes, either through bad faith or the malice of selfish interests or lack of a proper understanding of the situation, have continued to be interpreted as manifestations of a destructive tendency in the government. By a rancorous press campaign it has been sought to present Mexico as emulating or sustaining exotic systems of government and as conducting both at home and abroad a propaganda in favor of political and social systems which are absolutely foreign to our methods and our tendencies.
Firm in my conviction that eventually the truth would prevail, I have continued my work serenely, without preoccupying myself with calumnies or with rumors. I have limited myself to stating, when occasion served, that our problems, which essentially are the same as those of any people who are in a state of evolution, presented phases peculiar to Mexico and that for this reason it would be illogical for us to adopt the exotic methods of which we are accused. As to the usefulness of these methods, in an ambient outside of Mexico, it is impossible for us to judge, but I am very certain that they do not meet the conditions which exist in our country nor correspond to our Constitutional political organizations or to my consistent acts as executive.
It is natural, when one considers the resistance logically to be expected from the antagonistic forces and interests to which I have previously alluded, that an unjust lack of confidence has been produced abroad, notwithstanding the fact that the policy adopted by my government has not damaged any foreign interest and despite my reiterated intention of not construing the laws of my country in a manner to harm such foreign interests as had established themselves in Mexico prior to the enaction of the laws in question and which obey the interpretation which might be placed upon these laws by the Federal Supreme Court. I have insisted that only the inspired press campaign of our enemies and the natural timidity of capital could restrain or delay the benefits proceeding from a collaboration between Mexico and other countries, the moral energy and capital of which would always be welcomed in Mexico, restricted only by the necessity of respecting our laws and limited only by proper measures to prevent collaboration from being translated into absorption, to the prejudice of our national interests.
I take this opportunity to repeat, ten months after the initiation by the Catholic hierarchy in Mexico of their defiance of the laws of Mexico, as I have expressed from the beginning and which opinion has not been modified by the sometimes rebellious or seditious attitude of the clergy, that the present government has not sought, nor will it seek, to combat the exercise or the development of any religious activity; that questions of faith or creed or dogma are absolutely without the jurisdiction and the aims of the government; that I have the same sincere respect for all manifestations of conscience or of religious creed and that it is a foolish fable, imagined by the Catholic clergy, that the government has at any time sought to combat in any manner or to destroy any religious faith.
In this matter, as in all others which have for their object, or which have originated in, resistance to the law, or the offering of difficulties to the reconstructive action of the government, I have sought, and succeeded in seeing to it, that our course of strictly applying the law to the activities of our enemies should rigidly be adhered to. I have maintained our position on a plane of perfect serenity and have not permitted the conduct of doctrine or of law, which has been followed and ordained by the government, to be obscured by passion, by a spirit of reprisal or by political rancor.
The cooperation of the other powers of the government and the valuable aid to order and respect to the law rendered by the national army have enabled and surely will continue to enable the country to emerge triumphantly from this true epoch of trial. Despite the criminal efforts which have been made to throw the country into civil turmoil and to seduce from their duty isolated members of the army, which is the support of safety and national rights, all of those who compose the army organization have to the present maintained themselves in perfect discipline and have confined themselves to their legitimate sphere of action as prescribed by the law. The government does not doubt that the army will continue by its attitude to increase its own prestige and that of the country. But should personal interests and rancors, intent upon reopening a cycle of civil war, endeavor to cause fresh treasons to blot the fame of what should be the highest and most noble institution of Mexico, the government is absolutely certain that those who are culpable of such acts will be promptly and justly punished.
In my last New Year's message, in the interest of the ample moral and material development of the country and the collective welfare of the people, I appealed in behalf of the government for the frank cooperation of all of the citizens and exhorted them to stand by the government and forget grudges and personal ambitions, with their thoughts fixed upon the well-being and prosperity of the country.
The passions and ancient hatreds, stirred up during the past year by evildoers, by men without consciences, or by those who make play in behalf of their own or foreign interests, causes it to appear Utopian, perhaps, for me to make a similar call at this time. But placing the welfare of Mexico above all else, I insist upon doing so, in order that those who can may redeem themselves from evil influences and that those who are capable, through generosity or patriotic impulse, of liberating themselves from the weight of their prejudices, of their own selfish interests or from their rancors, may unite with us and accept as legitimate our aspirations for the just uplifting of the masses of our country for whom we have fought and for whom we are disposed to continue to fight, under the conviction that only through the improvement of the Mexican masses can the basis be laid of a definite organic peace and the prosperity and development of the whole Mexican family be established.
Calles, Plutarco E. Mexico Before the World. Trans. Robert H. Murray. New York: The Academy Press, 1927. 155-159. Download the PDF (309 kb)
Address to Congress, 1927
Extracts from President Calles' Message to the Mexican Congress
OPENING OF THE SECOND PERIOD OF THE XXXII SESSION, SEPTEMBER 1, 1927
Senators and Deputies: The requirements of Article 69 of the Constitution bring me again before you for the purpose of rendering an account of the administrative work of the Federal Executive during the period from September 1, 1926, to August 31 of the current year. In the exacting labor of the executive office under my charge during the third year of my administration there have not been lacking grave difficulties and serious obstacles which have been created or sustained with the object of impeding or destroying the political programme which, when I was a candidate for President, I caused to be made a matter of general public knowledge. But I am able to state with satisfaction that in the battle which we are fighting for the realization of the national aspirations it has been possible for me to maintain firmly my obligation to serve the great and sacred interests of the country and to count with the approval of a public opinion fully imbued with the anxiety for reform which stirs the consciences of the Mexican people and which controls the actions and dispositions of a government which is inspired and elevated by the praiseworthy intention of procuring the general betterment of the country.
In the Diario Oficial of January 18 of the present year there was published the law regulating Article 130 of the Constitution, relating to acts of religious worship. This law, which was enacted by the present Congress upon the initiative of the Executive, went no further than to confirm and regulate the precepts of the said Article 130.
Strict compliance with the law has been enforced by the Minister of Gobernacion. It may be said that the religious conflict, caused by the rebellion of the clergy, has now practically ended, inasmuch as all the laws, orders and regulations of the Ministry of Gobernacion have been made effective, notwithstanding the vain resistance of the Catholic clergy, which merely served the purpose of providing a patent demonstration that the Mexican people, indifferent to the suspension of worship by the Church authorities, have pronounced their verdict in condemnation of the conduct of those who rebelled against the institutions of the Republic.
According as such applications were made by Federal, state and local officials for the use of buildings held by the clergy, various of these edifices have been utilized for public purposes, in accordance with Article 27 of the Constitution.
Permission to exercise their profession has been given to all clergymen and members of religious bodies who have subjected themselves to the laws.
In general, it may be said that the Church situation as it existed at the end of last year and the commencement of the present year has almost ceased to prevail. This does not signify that the government is not still disposed at any moment to suffocate any rebellious movement against, or public repudiation of, the laws relating to religious affairs.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
The campaign for the election of the next President has begun earlier than usual, and since last July three distinct candidates have been conducting their canvasses. Until the present the campaign has been conducted in an orderly manner without serious incidents. The federal government expects that this condition will prevail for the remainder of the campaign and provide a demonstration of the progress made by the Mexican people in the development of civic consciousness and the ability to conduct their elections peacefully. On this subject the federal government can only say that it is firmly resolved to impede any attempts which may be made to create disorders because of the election, at the same time declaring its intention of maintaining complete neutrality and impartiality in the contest and causing to be respected absolutely the popular will.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Contrary aspects in recent months have marked the international relations of Mexico. Some of them provide most flattering evidence of the fruits of our carefully cultivated friendship with various nations while others reveal the existence of menacing crises created by the jealous defense of our great national interests, consonant with the social evolution of the country.
Thus, for example, the traditional pure and noble family ties which unite us with the Latin American nations have not for an instant relaxed, because of the fact that these countries more and more comprehend the analogy which exists between their mutual problems and by experience have grown to appreciate the importance of their own necessities. United by the constant battle to reaffirm the sovereign rights which are theirs as free peoples, each day and with more firmness they realize the desirability of creating a cordial understanding which should bind us together in prosperity and in adversity. Mexico, whose international personality on this continent serves the purpose of a faithful barometer for the observation of social problems, sustains this difficult and dangerous role with steadfast firmness, and without the basis of military and financial power to supply it with material force, employing only its own spirit, encouraged by the inherent right possessed by sovereign nations and strengthened by the national demand for democracy, liberty and justice.
Fortified in its own convictions of right, Mexico has rejected, does reject and I have faith that she always will reject any attempt at employing aggressive measures for the maintenance of good relations with her neighbors. But at the same time I will not admit that, for the sake of maintaining these good relations, she will submit herself to improper standards, subversive of the national dignity, or grant privileges which are opposed to the interests of the Republic. We accept, and even desire, the cooperation of all foreigners, but this cooperation must be extended in harmony with the citizens of Mexico, who are the indisputable owners of their own country. We will deliver to friends and foreigners the hospitality of the nation, but without granting them privileges beyond those which our own nationals enjoy. We accept in good faith foreign capital and effort, but under the inflexible condition that the laws which Mexico imposes upon herself are obeyed and respected. These conceptions of justice, of law, of equity, which serve Mexico as constant standards in her relations with other countries, will be sustained by the executive office under my charge as irreproachable precepts which establish and control our international negotiations. If, as unfortunately it has in the past frequently occurred, obstacles are offered to the operation of these principles by material forces with which it is difficult for our country to contend, the national government will continue to deal with them with a serene spirit, with rectitude and with patriotic determination and in the conviction that the future of the country depends upon the outcome of this battle for national rights and that the slightest weakening will defeat the attainment of those most noble ideals which have cost the fatherland so many painful sacrifices.
Despite the above declarations, it is nevertheless not the desire of the Executive to terminate this part of his address without adding that, to speak plainly, the relations with the United States, which are fundamentally important in our national life for obvious reasons based upon proximity and the extensive commercial relations of the two countries, have unfortunately assumed an indeterminate character, which frequently has manifested itself in disagreement and even culminated in controversy. Acts have taken place which are regarded by the Mexican Government as deplorable, inasmuch as they are in opposition to the national sentiment which desires a constant and cordial friendship with that great country, work injury to our commerce and impede our peaceful development. The fundamental difficulties with the Government of the United States, as is well known, are rooted in the application of the laws derived from Article 27 of the Constitution. Although, as to the present the disagreement with the Washington authorities has to do principally with the general aspect of the laws in question, no complaints have been presented to the Mexican Government based upon concrete acts which provide evidence of any aggressions or damages to foreign capital invested in the petroleum industry, the directors of which have been engaged in acts of rebellion against, and disobedience to, the law which it would be impossible for any independent country to tolerate. With respect to the application of the agrarian laws, which also have served the United States Government as grounds of complaint, the situation has at times been difficult, for reasons similar to those mentioned above. This government has offered to consider concrete cases, if presented, equitably and justly and hopes to resolve them according to these principles, at the same time maintaining one of the most valued social conquests which the Mexican nation has attained. I am confident that at the proper time a spirit of good will and a cordial comprehension of our problems will soften the acerbities of this controversy between the two countries, which is still latent, and that this highly important matter will be finally arranged.
FINANCE AND PUBLIC CREDIT
My previous message to the Congress was considerably elaborated, in the part relating to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, and included the financial data of 1925 and the first months of 1926. In that message I explained the application which was made of the surplus of 1924 and 1925, which reflected a healthy situation which induced the government to establish a policy of immediately utilizing the excess of receipts over expenses. This policy was continued during 1926, in which heavy disbursements and the disturbed economic condition of the country during the final months of the year created a deficit in the budget. During the fiscal period, as well as the current one, large sums were devoted to the construction of highways, important irrigation works, rural schools, etc., etc., without counting the appropriations made for the establishment of the Bank of Agricultural Credit and the banks for the assistance of the tillers of common lands, or the foreign and the interior debt service. Thus we abandoned the custom of regarding the federal income as an element destined merely to cover the routine public services and adopted a system of profitably investing a part of our revenue in works of economic development, considering them as of fundamental and immediate importance for the well-being of the country.
Although we began the previous fiscal year with a balanced budget with receipts estimated at 315,700,000 pesos and expenses at 304,400,000 pesos, of which 63,200,000 pesos were devoted to the service of the public debt, nevertheless during the course of the same year, 1926, the estimates of expenses were increased by 51,400,000 pesos, not all of which was expended. The existence of a deficit is immediately apparent, therefore, which, although it was covered in part by extraordinary receipts which began to come in in July, created obligations amounting to 9,500,000 pesos. As the extraordinary revenues were less than the deficit, the treasury was obliged to delay the payment of various obligations due in order to take care of others which were provided for by the budget. These unpaid obligations accumulated until on December 31 last they amounted to 23,800,000 pesos. On the same date the treasury applied upon this sum 10,000,000 pesos which it had at its command and 2,500,000 pesos, the latter represented by securities pledged with the Bank of Mexico for a loan contracted in 1926. All of the details of this transaction may be found in the report to the Congress by the Minister of Finance.
In its budget for 1927 the Ministry of Finance estimated the probable revenues at 308,000,000 pesos with disbursements at 216,900,000 pesos, plus 70,000,000 pesos for the public debt service. As these estimates did not include sums for works connected with the government's plans for the economic development of the country and as the tentative budgets submitted by various departments were later amplified, the final figure of the budget showed estimated expenses of 326,900,000 pesos, of which 228,800,000 pesos were devoted to the administrative departments of the government, 30,000,000 pesos for irrigation works and roads and 68,100,000 for the public debt service. Under these conditions and in order theoretically to balance the budget, the Finance Minister prepared a supplementary estimate of receipts totaling 334,300,000 pesos, an increase of 26,300,000 pesos.
However, owing to the perturbed economic condition of the country during the last months of 1926 and considering that my administration was entering upon its second two-year period in which there was reason to apprehend difficulties of all natures the government calculated upon a possible reduction in the normal revenues, principally in the supplementary estimates of receipts, inasmuch as this was based upon the creation of new taxes and increases in those already existing. Fears were entertained that the budget plans might be frustrated. Consequently, as a matter of precaution, the Finance Minister placed in operation a system whereby it was rendered possible for him to know in advance the approximate situation of the treasury at the end of each month and on December 31 of this year.
As these figures indicated a probable deficit, owing to the decrease in the anticipated revenues and the necessity of liquidating obligations remaining over from 1926 and covering the heavy charges of the public debt service, the Executive summoned a meeting of the Cabinet at which it was agreed to reduce the personnel and expenses of almost all of the federal departments and postpone the payment of certain items included in the interior and floating debts, with the object of reducing the large deficit which was foreshadowed and which it was impossible to avoid altogether without serious interference with the public services. Through these economies and notwithstanding a decrease of 20,800,000 pesos in the normal receipts and of 5,000,000 pesos in the schedule of supplementary receipts during the first six months of the year, the deficit has been held down to 6,000,000 pesos, without including the unpaid obligations of 1926. Despite the seriousness of the financial situation the government has carried on the necessary military operations, has paid the army regularly and on time, has continued its programme of public improvements, has covered the foreign debt service and punctually paid the salaries of the government employees.
Aside from the above, the Finance Minister calculates that the deficit for the second half of the year will reach 19,000,000 pesos. He reckons that the decrease in the normal revenues for that period will be 10 percent less than originally estimated and that the decrease in the estimated supplementary revenues will be more than ten percent.
It will be seen that the revenues have suffered a very marked reduction, especially those proceeding from taxes and imports, exports and the exploitation of natural resources. On the other hand, it may be said that, as was predicted by the treasury officials, the income tax has become firmly implanted in our fiscal system. The falling off in imports is unquestionably due to the sluggishness of the activities connected with national production, but it also may be charged to a psychological depression in business. The decrease in the exportation and exploitation of natural resources may be attributed directly to the fact that the petroleum companies have lessened their operations, as compared with 1925. The prospect that the revenues from oil will increase are not encouraging. While in 1922 the receipts from the oil industry represent 30 percent of the federal revenues, 19 percent in 1924 and 11 percent in 1926, in the current year they will not reach 8 percent. Possibly this decrease will continue during the next year.
In view of the fact that the collection of the income tax will be better administered, in that the process of handling it will be perfected without decreasing its productivity, and also in the expectation that the business depression may be overcome in response to timely measures to be taken by the government, the Executive will prepare, with proper care, the budget for 1928, to which the administrative activities of the federal departments will be subjected. The budget figures will be set at a minimum, which is fitting in a country of sparse resources, but without abandoning the government's programme of economic development. The government believes it to be sound fiscal policy to omit from these calculations the estimated revenues from the petroleum industry, owing to the uncertainty of their character and considering that the future activities of the industry depend upon circumstances foreign to the action of the government.
It is the intention of the government to cover scrupulously the public debt service so long as the economic capacity of the country does not necessitate that another road be taken. While it is true that the critical state of the treasury has compelled a delay in the payments upon the interior debt, the agreement with the International Bankers Committee has been lived up to. At the beginning of the current year $5,346,422 U.S. was paid in interest upon the foreign debt for the second half of 1926 and $2,674,097 U.S. on the debt of the National Railways for the same period. On account of the interest upon the foreign debt from January to June, 1927, the Committee was paid $5,513,955 U.S., while the corresponding payment upon the railroad debt was postponed in the expectation that the company would be able to cover it directly. It is important to state that, because of the diminution of the petroleum revenues, it was necessary in January last to solicit from the Bankers Committee a loan of $718,811.89 U.S., guaranteed by the Bank of Mexico, to cover the deficiency on interest on the railroad debt for the last half of 1926. In July last another loan was obtained from the Committee, amounting to $2,000,000 U.S., to make up the payment due upon the foreign debt for the first six months of the present year. Inasmuch as this last loan was negotiated at 6 percent and with no security other than the good faith of the government and the credit of the nation, the Executive considers the fact to reflect favorably upon the credit standing of the country abroad.
Certificates without interest have been issued by the federal treasury, to the payment of which $950,000 U.S. has been applied, which represents the cancellation of 4% percent bonds of the Caja de Prestamos amounting to $2,500,000 U.S.
It has been necessary for the government to postpone payment upon a majority of the obligations comprised in the interior debt, especially those owing to the banks. In principle, the banks have agreed that their credits be spread over the budgets from 1928 to 1934 inclusive, which relieves the budget for the present year and enables it to be balanced in 1928. Under this arrangement the heaviest payments are to be made in future years.
AGRICULTURE
The work which has been developed by the Executive, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Fomento, has been inspired by the elevated conceptions of the precepts of our Constitution, according to which we are obliged to make a just distribution of the natural resources of the country, in order that the best advantage possible may be taken of them to the greatest benefit of the nation.
The initiation of the concrete resolution of the problems which affect the general interests of the nation, according to the principles outlined above, is in accordance with a perfectly defined plan, the fundamental points of which include a new distribution of the land by dividing it among, and restoring it to, the villages; breaking up the large haciendas, colonization, the organization of agricultural production and exportation, rural sanitation, irrigation, rural credits, agricultural education, etc., etc. all points upon the realization of which is founded the hope, in which I firmly confide, of a glorious future for our country.
AGRICULTURAL BANKS
These institutions which were inaugurated in May 1926, in the States of Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Michoacan and Durango have made loans to holders of common property amounting to 552,680 pesos. In connection with these banks there are in operation 253 cooperative societies with 18,700 members who have subscribed to shares of the value of 221,490 pesos. The operations of these banks have been completely successful, to the satisfaction of those who have benefited by the distribution of profits, especially in Mixquiahula, Hidalgo, where the shareholders of the local institution have received 40,000 pesos from the profits of one season's cultivation of crops.
These institutions have freed their subscribers from the iniquitous exploitation of middlemen, to whom formerly they were compelled to resort for loans in anticipation of their crops, which were only granted upon usurious terms. These banks make crop loans to the small farmer at a low rate of interest and provide him with money, implements and seeds, upon the sole condition that they be applied exclusively to the cultivation and cropping of his farm. It should be noted that in almost every case, the farmers in their operations with these banks have completed their transactions with balances in their favor which have been applied to their accounts.
CENTRAL AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS
Only one of these institutions was in operation a year ago, in the State of Guanajuato. Since then three additional schools have been established, one in Hidalgo, the second in Michoacan and the third in Durango. No effort has been omitted to provide these schools with everything necessary for their organization and purposes. They are equipped with competent teaching forces, modern machinery and implements, live stock and selected seeds. Connected with each are experimental farms of 500 hectares of irrigated land. Every school has a library, suitable living accommodations for the students, baths, sport fields, etc. Three additional schools will be opened this year in the States of Chihuahua, Mexico and Puebla.
NATIONAL AGRARIAN COMMISSION
This department has been organized and regulated in the best possible manner. Its personnel has been selected with the object of ridding the department of politics, which seriously interferes with the proper solution of the agrarian problem. The resume of its work follows: It has dealt with 380 court appeals against its decisions and asked for revisions of court judgments in 249 cases. In agrarian matters the State Governors have made decisions in 435 cases and the Federal Executive in 489 cases. Provisional possession of lands has been given to 37,808 families and permanent possession to 80,123 families, the latter involving 1,153,218 hectares. Sixty-two applications have been made for water rights. To the persons interested in these applications, distribution of water has been made to 22, the use of water has been granted to 54, provisional ownership of water has been allowed to 17 and definite ownership to 42. The total volume of water distributed provisionally was 92,211 square meters, definitely 70,102 square meters and by consent 67,306 square meters.
I consider it of interest to inform the Congress that the difficulties caused by the application and regulation of Article 27 of the Constitution, relating to the distribution and restitution of lands and waters, which regulations were promulgated by the Executive on April 22 of this year by virtue of the extraordinary faculties conceded to him, have obliged me to consider the necessity of reforming the law in such a manner that it will not only meet the necessities of the villages, but also to establish and fix the objects and proceedings under the law as to avert the fatal results of prolonged, costly and unnecessary litigation to defeat the upright intentions of the Executive. The unanimous opinion of the field workers also demands legislation more in accordance with the principles established by the fundamental law of the Republic. In accordance, therefore, with the extraordinary facilities given by this Congress to the Executive, I shall proceed to a study of the indispensable reforms to the law of April 23, in conformity with the project which is now before the Agrarian Commission of the Congress.
INDEMNITIES FOR LANDS EXPROPRIATED FOR AGRARIAN PURPOSES
When this department was opened on September 1, 1925, 70 applications for indemnity were presented. The total number received up to July 31 last, was 699, of which 574 were filed by nationals and 125 by foreigners. Eighty of these demands, which covered 48,602 hectares of expropriated property, have been liquidated by the payment of 7,616,300 pesos in bonds of the Public Agrarian Debt.
Various demands have been rejected and others are pending in the courts. Properties numbering 154 have been valued and within a few days 74 additional demands will be liquidated. The notable increase in the work of the department is owing to the fact that the landowners affected have finally become convinced of the serious intention of the government to enforce the law and of its promptness in handling their demands and affording them means of collecting their indemnities.
NATIONAL IRRIGATION COMMISSION
Emphasis must be laid upon the work of the National Irrigation Commission in view of the fact that it is evident that the economic future of pur country, upon which its social, moral and political progress depends, rests principally upon the efficacious agricultural use of our land. This cannot be done without a complete and proper system of irrigation. This Commission has constructed the irrigation reservoirs of Santa Gertrudis, Tamaulipas; Don Martin, upon the Salado River in Coahuila and Nuevo Leon; Rio Mante, Tamaulipas; Guatimaps, Durango; Rio Santiago, Aguascalientes and Tepuxtepec, Michoacan. These works will provide irrigation for approximately 190,000 square hec- tareas (469,300 square acres.) Studies are in progress for making use of the waters of the Yaqui and Mayo Rivers in Sonora, the Conchos and San Benayentura Rivers in Chisuahua and the Sauceda River in Durango. Zones are also being irrigated with waters from the Tepeji River in Hidalgo and from the drainage canal of the valley of Mexico in the valley and in the Mezquital region of Hidalgo.
To the present the commission has expended the sum of 11,511,581.84 pesos, divided as follows: construction, machinery and equipment, 7,727,918.94 pesos; land and right, 2,495,582.69 pesos; studies and plans, 1,065,285.38 pesos; miscellaneous construction, 95,20.03 pesos; instruments, tools, etc., 127,675 pesos. The government's irrigation programme is not limited to the projects outlined above. It will be amplified in accordance with the national necessities and the financial power of the treasury. This is an enormous work. My desire is to sustain and continue it with the greatest enthusiasm and not to abandon it, but on the contrary, to intensify it day by day.
INDUSTRY, COMMERCE AND LABOR
The diverse circumstances which compelled the Federal Executive to adopt a resolute attitude in defense of the legitimate interests of the Mexican people during the past year, and which appreciably affected the economic conditions of the country, provide a severe test for this department. It emerged from it successfully. In each case it acted with firm judgment, but in a conciliatory manner, to reconcile the interests of the distinct social groups concerned without in the least degree sacrificing the national dignity and sovereignty. It is especially satisfactory to note that high significance attaches to the fact that, despite all the obstacles which were encountered, the programme of the government has been faithfully complied with. I will add merely that the resolution of the difficult problems confided to its attention has always been preceded by a serene and careful investigation, in order that it might proceed in every case with all confidence, and that this is the standard to which this department of the government intends to adhere in the future.
Difficulties having arisen as the result of the expiration of the existing contracts between the Mexican Railway Company and its organized employees, the department was called in to mediate, which it did successfully. New contracts were made which explicitly set forth the mutual rights and obligations of the parties to them and established the principle that, under the terms of Article 123 of the Constitution, employees who lost their positions as the result of necessary reductions in personnel, must be properly indemnified.
The department has striven to obtain the maximum of safety and hygienic working conditions for the workers, to the end of enabling them to preserve their health and to prevent so far as possible occupational accidents. As a result, labor difficulties during the year were appreciably reduced, only 334 cases having been recorded.
Important work was done by our labor representatives abroad in the direction of bringing the workers of Mexico and of other countries in close touch with each other and in creating a better understanding outside of Mexico of our people and their just aspirations for moral and material improvement.
More than 41,000 workers applied to the department during the year for financial redress against their employers. Compensation was awarded to them to the amount of 688,975.25 pesos. The department also devoted much attention to the study of the prevailing rates of wages, in order to determine the minimum wage which would enable its recipient to live decently and comfortably; to providing jobs for the idle and to controlling with efficiency the multiple aspects of the important social function constituted by labor.
PETROLEUM DEPARTMENT
Despite the debate over the petroleum law of December 1926, there were registered in this Department 973 applications for petroleum concessions, of which 675 were confirmed and 308 were given preferential rights. The first provided protection to the owners of a total of 10,877,446 hectares of land and the second 3,784,372 hectares. The latter figures include land claimed by all the companies which have not manifested the holdings which they assert they acquired prior to 1917, regardless of the names in which rights are claimed. The rights which may be regarded as not complying with the law comprise only 527,027 hectares, which are rights obtained prior to 1917, confirmation of which has not been applied for by the companies. Of the 147 companies operating in the country in December last, 125 have submitted to the new legislation and only 22 have declined to do so. This fact demonstrates the unjustifiable attitude assumed by the recalcitrant companies. The study and drafting of the new regulations for the operations of the petroleum industry, which will soon be promulgated, has been another of the important functions of the department. Its object is to bring about the scientific conservation and proper use of the petroleum resources of the country. It should be noted that the standards established by Mexico for the regulation of the industry, proceeding from the laws which have been so bitterly opposed, have commenced to be adopted even in the United States, the country which is most vigorous in its opposition to our laws.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Inasmuch as the Secretary of Education will tomorrow present a detailed report to the Congress, I shall limit myself to mentioning various considerations of a general nature and referring to the most interesting educational problems which we are endeavoring to solve.
As I have frequently stated since I became President, the constant philosophical thought which has guided the government in its educational work has tended toward placing the school in more intimate contact with the community, in order that the benefits of the former might not be alone confined to the student, but that they might be taken advantage of by the people and especially the industrial and rural masses.
It has been our steadfast endeavor to awaken and develop the economic potentialities of our people for the benefit of the collective welfare by imparting through the schools knowledge capable of immediate practical application. Consequently we have tried in all grades of our scholastic establishment to create a nexus between the schools and the community. Naturally, it has been by means of the rural schools, which come most closely in touch with the agrarian masses, who have been isolated from the benefits of civilization, that we have especially sought to bring about this contact. But it must be confessed sincerely, in order to counteract any impression which may prevail that we imagine that we have already attained this end and that no new forces must be brought to bear in the future in this direction, that what we have thus far done consists of little more than essays in realism and in the reconstruction of society.
Although the principle of national education is now definitely established in Mexico in its various branches and activities, in accordance with its modern philosophical conception, so distinct from the merely instructive work which it formerly pursued, so long as we fail in perfecting a complete coordinated action and sustaining influence upon the rural masses, and especially upon the Indians, the efforts of the rural school, no matter how energetic and generous they may be, will continue to be weak and insufficient, considering that in the work of civilization the scholastic element is only a minimum part.
In addition to the traditionally distinct activities of the school, that is to say, the study of language, writing, arithmetic, geography, etc., which is already an important feature of our rural schools, we are trying to teach the breeding, care and use of domestic animals, small industries, the making of clothing, objects of ornament, toys and furniture; the proper preparation of food, tanning, the weaving of cloth and serapes, the fabrication of pottery. We are trying, I repeat, to concentrate and reduce to practicability these non-traditional educational activities in accordance with the conditions and the means with which we have to cope, in order that they may exert a more intense and rapid influence upon the collective life of the people.
Notwithstanding the economies enforced upon the treasury, the federal government is now sustaining 3,433 rural school teachers and six agricultural missions. These teachers are experienced in agriculture, small industries, physical education, hygiene and the imparting of information useful for social action. The missions are bearing to the various parts of the country the civilizing agencies to which I previously referred. Nine Rural Normal Schools for the training of rural school teachers and their education along the lines indicated by the new social tendencies of the country, are developing an intensive work in isolated communities in which, in common with the rural schools, they are endeavoring to promote the collective cultural progress among adults by means of night, Saturday and Sunday classes. Their object is not merely to impart knowledge, but to stimulate new sources of production and improve the organization of existing ones. In a word, to elevate the standards of living among the Mexican people.
NATIONALIZATION OF CHURCH PROPERTY
When the Attorney General created this department he had no doubt of its value. It affords me satisfaction to say that his judgment was correct. Notwithstanding its scant personnel and appropriation, it has begun and concluded 158 proceedings affecting rural property, 749 affecting urban property and 47 relating to mortgages. As a result of these proceedings, which have been brought before the district and the Supreme Court judges, 225 rural and 1,443 urban properties, of an estimated value of 21,000,000 pesos, have been nationalized. This bureau also has obtained possession of credits and legacies in favor of the Catholic Church of a value of 1,000,000 pesos.
PUBLIC HEALTH
In view of the powers granted it under the new sanitary code, the department has extended the activities of the federal health service by installing in each state a sanitary delegation. Seventy-four offices have been established throughout the country, including the representations in the states, at the ports, on the frontier, dispensaries, etc. A congress of local sanitary authorities will be held in Mexico City during the present month for the purpose of standardizing the functions of the authorities in connection with the federal health service, endorsing the acts of the sanitary units and to plan an active campaign against venereal diseases. An indication of the enthusiastic manner in which invitations to this congress have been received by the state governments is indicated by the fact that some of the states have offered to permit the funds raised locally for sanitation to be administered by the federal health officials. In connection with these activities, this department has suggested to the state governments the desirability of organizing sanitary units in each municipality. As a result approximately 1,000 of these units have thus far been organized. To combat infant mortality, advantage has been taken of the disinterested sympathies of the women of Mexico to form a corps of Volunteer Visiting Nurses. The Executive takes this opportunity to express his appreciation of the noble generosity with which the women have engaged in this crusade for infant hygiene. While the amount is not so large as the Executive would like to see it, although possibly it may be increased next year, the appropriation for the federal health service this year is 8,388,947.50 pesos, an increase of 3,28,643.30 pesos over the preceding year.
CONCLUSION
The characteristic which among public officials should be most highly estimated is that their actual deeds should be intimately related with the sincerity of their convictions. I have tried to mark all of my administrative acts with truth and sincerity. I have sought to comply strictly with the Constitutional law and to work with the other branches of the government and with the state governments in an atmosphere of mutual respect and in reciprocal observation of their orders and in harmony and in cordial understanding. While this has been his attitude with respect to domestic affairs, the President has likewise exerted especial efforts to strengthen the ties of friendship between the people of Mexico and those of other nations, according to the most elevated conceptions of decorum and dignity and always upon a basis of common and unequivocal demonstrations of respect to our sovereignty and to that of our neighbors.
Despite the intense economic crisis which pervades the world and the sacrifices imposed upon the Republic in the painful and necessary struggle to effect the rational development and the equitable distribution of the national wealth, the Executive while pursuing his programme of rigid and persistent economy, has still been able to meet the demands of the public service and has not alone complied with interior obligations, which naturally are given preference, but also with foreign commitments and has sought with tenacious earnestness to establish the country's credit abroad.
Similar success has been accomplished in coping with the unexpected disbursements caused by the military campaigns against the Yaquis and in Jalisco and Guanajuato. These were carried to successful conclusions with a decision and energy which provides eloquent testimony to the efficiency, discipline and military capacity of our army and to its ability to guarantee the inviolability of our democratic institutions and to insure public peace and tranquility in the country.
With firmness and vigor the Executive has continued his agrarian policy, and has corrected the deficiencies in the agrarian law and incessantly repaired errors which have been thrown into relief by experience. In the conviction that the true prosperity of the country depends upon the cultivation of the land, he has commenced great irrigation works and founded agricultural schools in order that the rural masses may acquire profitable knowledge and obtain a more exact and perfect idea of the value and significance of a moral and social solidarity among the workers.
As a proper measure for encouraging and making productive agricultural activities the Executive, according to the financial ability of the government, has brought about the construction and the development of land, water and aerial communications and extended his full support to this interesting branch of the administration in the comprehension that adequate means of communication are a fundamental basis for the progress of the people.
In consonance with the development of communications the Executive has sought equally to favor industry and national commerce by rendering it practically possible to transport products at low rates, with the object of diminishing imports and increasing exports as much as possible. The motive of the Executive in this respect has been, and will continue to be, to bring about the uplifting of the industrial workers, the rural masses and the toilers generally who constitute the proletariat, to offer them the means of comfortable living and to dignify to the extent that is permitted by our powers those who are the true builders of national greatness. The frank evidence of the support of this policy, supplied by the legislation recently initiated by the Executive, is an open demonstration that neither interior nor exterior opposition nor the obstinate resistance of conservatism has succeeded in modifying the judgment or the purpose of the government, which is resolved steadfastly to maintain unimpaired the national sovereignty and the free right of Mexico to legislate in such debated questions as petroleum and in others of no less transcendental importance.
In line with his general concern for the welfare of the workers, the Executive has the obligation of fighting illiteracy and ignorance among the masses, which is being done through the continuous and progressive establishment of rural schools. Through self-denial and heroic force it has been possible to carry to the foremost corners of the country the benefits of these institutions.
All of these efforts, which are inspired by impulses of tangible truth and an unbreakable sincerity of conviction, I have brought to your attention in the summary of my work as Executive during the past year. To conclude, I shall say once more before this Congress that the greatest reward to which I aspire in return for whatever efforts I have made for the welfare of the Mexican people is that they may believe that I have complied with my duty.
Calles, Plutarco E. Mexico Before the World. Trans. Robert H. Murray. New York: The Academy Press, 1927. 168-192 Download the PDF (1.6 MB)
Mexico and Bolshevism
Mexico and Bolshevism
Russian system impossible there, for president points out that capitalism is firmly implanted in southern republic
(From The New York Times, November 27, 1927)
President Calles and President Calvin Coolidge in the White House gardens after a meeting. Photo courtesy Fideicomiso Archivos Plutarco Elías Calles y Fernando Torreblanca
I am now quite used to being called a Bolshevik by those who are opposed to my political views. But then, here in Mexico, every one whose politics are progressive is termed a Bolshevik. The mere fact that I have placed myself at the head of that powerful section of my countrymen which seeks to remove all that is antiquated and out of date from our present system of government does not in the slightest degree justify my opponents in designating me as an extremist. It simply amounts to this: My enemies do not realize what is actually taking place in the world of today! The social changes going on before our very eyes are radical in the extreme; they are to be noted in every corner of the globe. And herein lies my duty as I conceive it to do what is within my power to direct and hold this turbulent current of shifting opinion in check, so that instead of bringing destruction in its train it will bring prosperity.
In any case, it is still too early to pronounce judgment on the Russian Soviet system. We in Mexico must govern in accordance with the Constitution of 1917. That is why the Soviet as a system of government interests us only in so far as it represents a new philosophy and a new social standpoint in other words, we are interested in its theory, not in its practice.
THE TREND TOWARD INDIVIDUALISM
I have adopted this attitude of moderation not only because my personal inclinations lie that way but because I am convinced that any revolutionary movement here in Mexico which threatens the authority of capital is bound to fail, for the simple reason that such a radical change would be contrary to the Mexican viewpoint. There is in Mexico a pronounced trend in favor of individualism, and this can only be satisfied within the limits set up by the present so-called capitalist system. For this reason the Government will do everything in its power to safeguard the interests of foreign capitalists who invest money in Mexico.
Above and below the surface of the Mexican soil there lie untold treasures. These enormous sources of wealth, however, are of no use to us unless we are in a position to exploit them. Every enterprise bringing capital to exploit these hitherto untapped sources will enjoy the full protection of our laws. On the other hand, capitalists must abide by these laws, too. They must not treat them with contempt or expect to be granted special privileges which would set them above the law. And least of all must they expect to be allowed to make slaves of the Mexicans, rewarding the latter for their toil with nothing more than a miserly wage. If they derive profit from the land, they are expected to benefit the country in return.
WANTS ALL ALIENS NATURALIZED
Every capitalist who comes here should feel himself a Mexican; he should take root here and build up an estate with the idea of remaining here and becoming naturalized. We do not want persons to come over with the idea of making a fortune in the shortest possible time and then leave the country and spend that fortune elsewhere. We must put a stop to that sort of thing without, however, committing the grave error of striking at the liberty of the subject for we pride ourselves on the freedom which the individual citizen enjoys.
We should make it our object to see that every foreigner who comes here takes out his naturalization papers. Thus we shall be following the example set by the United States. For in the States they are expert in assembling those forces necessary to build up the economic structure of the country; these forces are concentrated; they are not allowed to disperse. Hence the rapid progress made by the United States in the last decade. The tendency today is for the States to widen the sphere of their political influence; this is a result of their productive capacity. It arises from surplus energy, and their object is to extend their influence over the whole continent.
But the United States is not composed of a people of robbers, but of producers; they need markets for their manufactured goods and raw material for their industries. Their imperialism, of which the other States of America are afraid, is kept within bounds if it were not, then the hostility of the Latin States would be immediately aroused. If the United States intervenes in the affairs of Latin America, for any reason whatsoever, the consequence will be that the whole of Spanish-speaking America will be alienated.
VALUE OF TRADES UNIONS
Nothing is further from my mind than to interrupt the peaceful economic development of Mexico or to interfere with the present economic system. But I must emphasize the fact that I consider the trade unions to be absolutely indispensable to this capitalist system. For the trade unions serve a two-fold purpose: They keep the growing might of capitalism in check on the one hand; and in the event of an attack being launched on the capitalist ranks the unions serve as a barricade. The trade unions stand or fall by capitalism. But they should never intervene in political matters. Their sphere is purely economic, and once they meddle in politics they lose their character and their significance.
But that does not mean that the individuals of which the trade unions are composed should not take part in politics if they so wish that is their right of citizenship, nay, more than their right, it is their duty. And in any case they will be doing no harm; for the leaders of the Mexican Labor Party have repeatedly shown that they are possessed of a strong sense of responsibility and that they attach more importance to what is likely to benefit the State than to the furtherance of their own ambitions.
I have expressly added the clause "here in Mexico" to my remarks, for I cannot overemphasize the fact that our internal political conditions are in no ways to be compared with those obtaining in the States of Western Europe. And I am absolutely convinced that in carrying out my political plans I can count on the firm support of the middle classes. I have done everything I could to arouse them from their former apathy toward political and social questions, so that now they are ready to take a prominent part in the renaissance which is just beginning. They will in time accept with alacrity the civic responsibilities which they will be asked to assume and for which they are already well fitted.
ATTITUDE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS
The middle classes have answered my call with enthusiasm, and I am certain they will take a decisive part in the further development of the Mexican democracy and in the eventual solution of our social problems.
My friendly feeling for the middle class can in part be ascribed to the fact that I am doing everything in my power to create a class of small peasant proprietors. It is my ambition to see the peasants own the land on which they work. For to make every peasant a proprietor is the best way of avoiding revolution and political unrest. Thus is created a substantial personal, and perhaps in a measure selfish, interest in supporting the existing order of things. Capital can play its part too in the founding of land banks, insurance companies, and so forth. In this way the bonds between capital and labor are strengthened.
But it is not the intention of the Government to split up large estates for this purpose. The voluntary cooperation of the present landed proprietors is sought, so that the acquisition by the peasants of small portions of land will be rendered possible. Under these circumstances, too, common land that is to say land held in common by villages will also be divided up into small holdings. But special laws will have to be formulated in order to prevent big stretches of this common land being controlled by one person.
It is my firm conviction that land held in common and worked in common offers no advantages to the peasants; it only gives rise to unnecessary disputes between neighbors. And when this system of small holdings has become an accomplished fact the means of production will be considerably increased. New railways will be built in districts which have not hitherto been opened up. Great tracts of country, as for instance the States of Coahuila and Durango, will come under the plough and cultivation will be carried out in accordance with the most modern methods. Our plateaus can be reforested in the manner of the Argentine pampas, with the result that our climatic conditions will be bettered.
Once this system has been established we shall be able to encourage the immigration to Mexico of farm laborers from Europe. But if this is to be on the same scale as the immigration to the United States and the Argentine, then the farm laborers in Mexico must be better paid than they are at present.
Up to now industry, agriculture and mining here have been carried on at the expense of the underpaid worker, so that laborers from Europe could never compete with Mexican labor unless wages were raised. But if we make it our business to better the conditions of the people in general, immigration from Europe will be a sources of great wealth, so that in a few decades our population will have doubled.
Excerpt from:
Calles, Plutarco E. Mexico Before the World. Trans. Robert H. Murray. New York: The Academy Press, 1927. 193-198 Download the PDF (352 kb)