Treaty of Ciudad Juárez
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Ciudad Juárez was a peace treaty
signed between the then President of Mexico
, Porfirio Díaz
, and the revolutionary
Francisco Madero on May 21, 1911. The treaty put an end to the fighting between forces supporting Madero and those of Díaz and thus concluded the initial phase of the Mexican revolution
.
The treaty stipulated that Díaz, as well as his vice president
Ramón Corral
, were to step down by the end of May, and that he was to be replaced by Francisco León de la Barra
as interim president until elections could be held. As a result Díaz left Mexico for exile in France.
Significantly, the treaty did not mention or institute any social reforms that Madero had vaguely promised on previous occasions. It also left the Porfirian state essentially intact. Additionally, Madero supported the unpopular idea that all land disputes were to be settled through the courts, staffed by the old judges, which led to outbreaks of sporadic violence, particularly in rural areas.
On June 7, 1911, Madero entered Mexico City
and in October 1911 he was elected as president, along with José María Pino Suárez
, his running mate, as vice-president.
, from where he issued his famous Plan of San Luis Potosí
. This manifesto called for an armed uprising against the Porfiriato and establishment of free and democratic elections. As a response to Madero's proclamation, violent clashes began throughout Mexico in November 1910.
In the Guerrero district of Chihuahua, Pascual Orozco
attacked Federal troops and sent the dead bodies back to Díaz with the message, "Ahí te van las hojas, mándame más tamales" ("Here are the wrappers, send me more tamales.") He then began operations which threatened Ciudad Juárez
. Additionally, political support for Madero's rebellion came from Abraham González
, who accepted the Plan of San Luis Potosí.
At roughly the same time, agrarian unrest in the state of Morelos turned into a full blown rebellion under the leadership of the Zapata
brothers, Emiliano
and Eufemio
.
and Orozco and in April the army began approaching Ciudad Juárez. Orozco and Villa led the way with 500 men each, while Madero followed up with 1,500 riders. The city was besieged by the end of the month, after Madero's army encountered some resistance in the Chihuahuan countryside. Madero asked the commander of the city's garrison to surrender but the latter refused, hoping that the fortifications he had constructed would allow him to defend the city until reinforcements arrived. Concerned also with the possibility that a direct attack on the town would cause artillery shells to cross the border into the United States
which could provoke an outside intervention, and faced with a series of peace proposals from Díaz, Madero hesitated in attacking the city. He in fact ordered his commanders to lift the siege. Orozco, however disregarded the order and, joined by Villa, attacked. After two days of fighting the city fell to the insurrectionists. Madero intervened personally to spare the life of the city's commander, Gen. Navarro, whom both Orozco and Villa wanted executed for his previous killing of rebel POWs. This, coupled with the fact that both leaders were ignored by Madero in his political appointments, outraged and estranged them from him.
At about the same time that Villa and Orozco were marching on Ciudad Juárez, the Zapatista revolt gathered strength and spread to the states of Puebla
, Tlaxcala
, Mexico, Michoacán
and Guerrero
. On April 14, Madero had Emiliano Zapata officially designated as his representative in the region. However, Zapata was worried that if he did not fully control all the major towns in Morelos by the time that Madero concluded negotiations with Díaz, the demands of his agrarian movement and the issue of the autonomy of Morelos would be ignored or sidelined. Zapata's first military action was to take the town of Chinameca
where he obtained essential supplies. Subsequently Zapata, for political and strategic reasons, decided to attack the city of Cuautla
. In order to mislead his opponents however, he initially attacked and captured the towns of Izúcar de Matamoros
(which was subsequently retaken by federal forces) and Chietla
. From there he made a wide circle around Cuautla and captured Yautepec
and Jonacatepec
where he gathered more supplies, munitions and soldiers. By May, out of all the major urban centers in the region, only Cuautla and the capital of Morelos, Cuernavaca
, remained outside of his control.
Zapata began the attack on Cuautla on May 13 with 4000 troops against 400 elite soldiers of the so called "Golden Fifth"; the Fifth Cavalry Regiment of the Federal Army. The battle took almost a week and has been described as "six of the most terrible days of battle in the whole Revolution". It consisted of house to house fighting, hand to hand combat, and no quarter
given by either side. General Victoriano Huerta
arrived in nearby Cuernavaca with 600 reinforcements, but decided not to come to the relief of Cuautla as he was afraid that the capital would revolt in his absence. On May 19, the remains of the "Golden Fifth" pulled out of the town which was then occupied by Zapata's soldiers.
The successful capture of Cuautla made Zapata a hero to ordinary people throughout Mexico and new corridos were written about him. After Zapata's taking of Cuautla, the federal government controlled only five states and some urban areas. Porfirio Díaz himself later stated that, while he felt that he could defend against Villa and Orozco in Chihuahua, the fall of Cuautla was the event which persuaded him to agree to peace with Madero.
, José Yves Limantour
, and the Mexican ambassador to the US in order to discuss the possibility of peace between the two sides. Limantour proposed an end to the hostilities and offered an amnesty for all revolutionaries, the resignation of the then vice president Ramón Corral, the replacement of four Díaz cabinet ministers and ten state governors by ones chosen by Madero, and the establishment of the principle of "no-reelection" which would prevent Díaz from seeking yet another term as president (which would have been his ninth). Madero responded positively although he also stated that any kind of peace deal had to include an immediate resignation by Díaz.
Faced with the siege of Ciudad Juárez and the outbreak of rebellion in Morelos, Díaz and members of his cabinet became more willing to negotiate and launched a "skillful peace offensive" aimed at Madero. This was largely a result of panic among the large landowners associated with the Díaz regime (the hacendados) and the financial elite, which represented a "moderate" wing within the government. Some among the Porfiristas in fact, expected that Zapata would soon march on Mexico City itself, unless peace was concluded with Madero.
The moderate view within the Díaz government was represented by Jorge Vera Estañol who in a memo to the minister of foreign affairs wrote that there were two revolutions taking place in Mexico: a political revolution
, based mostly in the north, whose aim was mostly to establish free elections and remove Díaz himself from power, and a social revolution whose aim was "anarchy
" which was spreading throughout the Mexican countryside. Estañol recommended coming to terms with the first group of revolutionaries, by agreeing to the principle of no re-election and a general amnesty, in order to prevent the second group from succeeding. In addition to his fear of "anarchy", Estañol was also worried that the social revolution would lead to a military intervention by the United States.
Estañol's views represented those of the portion of the upper class which was willing to come to terms with at least a portion of the middle class in order to crush the peasant uprisings, as exemplified by those of Zapata, which were erupting throughout Mexico. Limantour, who broadly agreed with Estañol, had the support of the Mexican financiers, who feared the downgrading of Mexican international credit and a general economic crisis as a result of ongoing social unrest, as well as that of the large landowners who were willing to come to terms with Madero if it would put an end to the agrarian uprisings.
These social group were in turn opposed by the more reactionary elements within Díaz's government, mostly concentrated in the federal army, who though that the rebels should be dealt with through brute force. This faction was represented by General Victoriano Huerta
, who would later carry out an attempted coup d'état against Madero. Likewise, the general, and potential successor to Díaz, Bernardo Reyes
stated in a letter to Limantour that "the repression (against the insurrectionists) should be carried out with the greates energy, punishing without any pity anyone participating in the armed struggle". In the end however, Díaz dismissed the advice from his generals as "Custer-like bluster" and chose to seek peace with the moderate wing of the revolution. Limantour had finally managed to persuade him to resign.
At the same time there was also disagreement among the rebels. The "left wing" of the revolutionary movement, represented by Zapata and Orozco (Villa for the time being tended to support Madero), warned against any possible compromises with Díaz. In the end their suspicions proved correct as the treaty that was eventually signed neglected issues of social and agrarian land reform that were central to their struggle.
, resign and that de la Barra, acting as interim president organize free elections as soon as possible.
Additionally, the treaty stipulated that:
Zapata however refused to recognize the interim government of de la Barra, and for the time being the fighting in Morelos continued. Madero met with Zapata on several occasions during June. While initially Zapata trusted Madero, with time he became increasingly concerned that the goals of "his revolution" were not being fulfilled. He was particularly angry that Madero did not plan on carrying out any kind of agrarian reform, or the breakup of large hacendias. Additionally, the press in Mexico City, controlled by the landowners began referring to Zapata as a bandit and federal generals, such as Huerta, continued attacking his troops under the pretext that Zapata failed to demobilize in violation of the treaty. Sporadic fighting in southern Mexico continued. In November 1911, shortly after Madero's inauguration, Zapata issued the famous Plan of Ayala
, in which the Zapatistas denounced Madero and instead recognized Pascual Orozco as the rightful president and leader of the revolution.
Madero also earned the great displeasure of other revolutionaries, including, Pascual Orozco. Madero's first act after the treaty was signed was a gesture of reconciliation with the Díaz regime. As a result of the treaty he was given the right to appoint members of the la Barra cabinet. He chose mostly upper class Maderistas, including his wife for the post in the treasury. He also maintained the existing federal system, by keeping the sitting judges of the Supreme Court, the legislators in federal and state assemblies and the bureaucrats of the various federal agencies. Venustiano Carranza
, who was going to become a major revolutionary in his own right and a future president of Mexico, stated that, after the treaty, Madero had "deliver(ed) to the reactionaries a dead revolution which will have to be fought over again". Díaz, after leaving for exile in France, observed that "Madero has unleashed a tiger, let us see if he can control him".
Orozco, who saw himself as being instrumental in Madero's victory over Díaz, was merely appointed as a commander of the rurales in Chihuahua, which increased his resentment. When he tried to run for governor of the state, Madero supported his opponent, Abraham González
and eventually pressured Orozco to drop out of the race. When, in the aftermath of the Plan of Ayala, Madero ordered Orozco to lead federal troops to suppress Zapata, Orozco refused. In March 1912, Orozco issued his Plan of Empacadora and formally declared himself in rebellion against Madero.
Peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a state of war between the parties...
signed between the then President of Mexico
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
, Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
, and the revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
Francisco Madero on May 21, 1911. The treaty put an end to the fighting between forces supporting Madero and those of Díaz and thus concluded the initial phase of the Mexican revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
.
The treaty stipulated that Díaz, as well as his vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
Ramón Corral
Ramón Corral
Ramón Corral was the Vice President of Mexico under Porfirio Díaz from 1904 until their deposition in 1911.-Early Years:...
, were to step down by the end of May, and that he was to be replaced by Francisco León de la Barra
Francisco León de la Barra
Francisco León de la Barra y Quijano was a Mexican political figure and diplomat, who served as interim president of Mexico from May 25 to November 6, 1911....
as interim president until elections could be held. As a result Díaz left Mexico for exile in France.
Significantly, the treaty did not mention or institute any social reforms that Madero had vaguely promised on previous occasions. It also left the Porfirian state essentially intact. Additionally, Madero supported the unpopular idea that all land disputes were to be settled through the courts, staffed by the old judges, which led to outbreaks of sporadic violence, particularly in rural areas.
On June 7, 1911, Madero entered Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and in October 1911 he was elected as president, along with José María Pino Suárez
José María Pino Suárez
José María Pino Suárez was a Mexican statesman, revolutionary, poet, journalist and jurist who served as Vice President of Mexico , Secreatry of Education and Governor of Yucatán...
, his running mate, as vice-president.
Military developments leading up to the treaty
The rebellion against the government of Porfirio Díaz broke out in late 1910, after Díaz had his rival Francisco Madero imprisoned and had announced his own victory in a falsified election. Madero's earlier vague promises of agrarian reforms had attracted many supporters. He himself escaped from prison and fled to TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, from where he issued his famous Plan of San Luis Potosí
Plan of San Luis Potosí
The Plan of San Luis de Potosí was a political document written in San Antonio, Texas, United States, and published in the Mexican city of San Luis Potosí in 1910. The document ushered in the Mexican revolution and the collapse of the Presidency of Porfirio Díaz...
. This manifesto called for an armed uprising against the Porfiriato and establishment of free and democratic elections. As a response to Madero's proclamation, violent clashes began throughout Mexico in November 1910.
Pascual Orozco
Pascual Orozco Vazquez was a Mexican revolutionary leader who, after the triumph of the Mexican Revolution, rose up against Francisco I...
attacked Federal troops and sent the dead bodies back to Díaz with the message, "Ahí te van las hojas, mándame más tamales" ("Here are the wrappers, send me more tamales.") He then began operations which threatened Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
. Additionally, political support for Madero's rebellion came from Abraham González
Abraham González
Abraham González Casavantes was the provisional and constitutional governor of the Mexican state of Chihuahua during the early period of the Mexican Revolution...
, who accepted the Plan of San Luis Potosí.
At roughly the same time, agrarian unrest in the state of Morelos turned into a full blown rebellion under the leadership of the Zapata
Liberation Army of the South
The Liberation Army of the South was an armed group formed and led by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution. The force was commonly known as the Zapatistas....
brothers, Emiliano
Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...
and Eufemio
Eufemio Zapata
Eufemio Zapata Zalazar was the brother of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. He was known as a womanizer, a macho man, and a very heavy drinker....
.
Orozco and Villa take Ciudad Juárez
Encouraged by the news of the uprisings, Madero crossed the border back into Mexico in February 1911. He was joined by Pancho VillaPancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
and Orozco and in April the army began approaching Ciudad Juárez. Orozco and Villa led the way with 500 men each, while Madero followed up with 1,500 riders. The city was besieged by the end of the month, after Madero's army encountered some resistance in the Chihuahuan countryside. Madero asked the commander of the city's garrison to surrender but the latter refused, hoping that the fortifications he had constructed would allow him to defend the city until reinforcements arrived. Concerned also with the possibility that a direct attack on the town would cause artillery shells to cross the border into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
which could provoke an outside intervention, and faced with a series of peace proposals from Díaz, Madero hesitated in attacking the city. He in fact ordered his commanders to lift the siege. Orozco, however disregarded the order and, joined by Villa, attacked. After two days of fighting the city fell to the insurrectionists. Madero intervened personally to spare the life of the city's commander, Gen. Navarro, whom both Orozco and Villa wanted executed for his previous killing of rebel POWs. This, coupled with the fact that both leaders were ignored by Madero in his political appointments, outraged and estranged them from him.
Zapata in south and central Mexico
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
, Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala....
, Mexico, Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
and Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
. On April 14, Madero had Emiliano Zapata officially designated as his representative in the region. However, Zapata was worried that if he did not fully control all the major towns in Morelos by the time that Madero concluded negotiations with Díaz, the demands of his agrarian movement and the issue of the autonomy of Morelos would be ignored or sidelined. Zapata's first military action was to take the town of Chinameca
Chinameca, Morelos
Chinameca is a Location in the Mexican state of Morelos. At Hacienda de Chinameca Pablo González, general serving Venustiano Carranza, ordered Coronel Jesús Guajardo the assassination of Mexican Revolutionist Emiliano Zapata, on april 10, 1919....
where he obtained essential supplies. Subsequently Zapata, for political and strategic reasons, decided to attack the city of Cuautla
Cuautla, Morelos
Cuautla , officially La heroica e histórica Cuautla de Morelos, or H. H. Cuautla de Morelos, is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Morelos. In the 2005 census the city population was 145,482 and the municipality population was 160,285. The municipality covers 153.651 km²...
. In order to mislead his opponents however, he initially attacked and captured the towns of Izúcar de Matamoros
Izúcar de Matamoros
Izúcar de Matamoros is a city and its surrounding municipality of the same name located in the southwestern part of the Mexican state of Puebla. The city serves as the municipal seat of the municipality. At the census of 2005 the city had a population of 41,042 inhabitants, while the municipality...
(which was subsequently retaken by federal forces) and Chietla
Chietla (municipality)
Chietla is a town and municipality in Puebla in south-eastern Mexico....
. From there he made a wide circle around Cuautla and captured Yautepec
Yautepec de Zaragoza
Yautepec is a city and its surrounding municipality of the same name located in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Morelos. It stands at ....
and Jonacatepec
Jonacatepec
Jonacatepec is a city in the Mexican state of Morelos.It stands at .The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name.The municipality reported 13 623 inhabitants in the year 2000 census....
where he gathered more supplies, munitions and soldiers. By May, out of all the major urban centers in the region, only Cuautla and the capital of Morelos, Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. It was established at the archeological site of Gualupita I by the Olmec, "the mother culture" of Mesoamerica, approximately 3200 years ago...
, remained outside of his control.
Zapata began the attack on Cuautla on May 13 with 4000 troops against 400 elite soldiers of the so called "Golden Fifth"; the Fifth Cavalry Regiment of the Federal Army. The battle took almost a week and has been described as "six of the most terrible days of battle in the whole Revolution". It consisted of house to house fighting, hand to hand combat, and no quarter
No quarter
A victor gives no quarter when the victor shows no clemency or mercy and refuses to spare the life in return for the surrender at discretion of a vanquished opponent....
given by either side. General Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
arrived in nearby Cuernavaca with 600 reinforcements, but decided not to come to the relief of Cuautla as he was afraid that the capital would revolt in his absence. On May 19, the remains of the "Golden Fifth" pulled out of the town which was then occupied by Zapata's soldiers.
The successful capture of Cuautla made Zapata a hero to ordinary people throughout Mexico and new corridos were written about him. After Zapata's taking of Cuautla, the federal government controlled only five states and some urban areas. Porfirio Díaz himself later stated that, while he felt that he could defend against Villa and Orozco in Chihuahua, the fall of Cuautla was the event which persuaded him to agree to peace with Madero.
The compromise
As early as March 1911, Madero's representatives met in New York with Díaz's finance ministerFinance minister
The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government.A minister of finance has many different jobs in a government. He or she helps form the government budget, stimulate the economy, and control finances...
, José Yves Limantour
José Yves Limantour
José Yves Limantour was a Mexican politician, Secretary of the Finance of Mexico from 1893 until the fall of the Porfirio Díaz regime in 1911.José Yves Limantour was the illegitimate son of Joseph Yves Limantour....
, and the Mexican ambassador to the US in order to discuss the possibility of peace between the two sides. Limantour proposed an end to the hostilities and offered an amnesty for all revolutionaries, the resignation of the then vice president Ramón Corral, the replacement of four Díaz cabinet ministers and ten state governors by ones chosen by Madero, and the establishment of the principle of "no-reelection" which would prevent Díaz from seeking yet another term as president (which would have been his ninth). Madero responded positively although he also stated that any kind of peace deal had to include an immediate resignation by Díaz.
Faced with the siege of Ciudad Juárez and the outbreak of rebellion in Morelos, Díaz and members of his cabinet became more willing to negotiate and launched a "skillful peace offensive" aimed at Madero. This was largely a result of panic among the large landowners associated with the Díaz regime (the hacendados) and the financial elite, which represented a "moderate" wing within the government. Some among the Porfiristas in fact, expected that Zapata would soon march on Mexico City itself, unless peace was concluded with Madero.
The moderate view within the Díaz government was represented by Jorge Vera Estañol who in a memo to the minister of foreign affairs wrote that there were two revolutions taking place in Mexico: a political revolution
Political revolution
A political revolution, in the Trotskyist theory, is an upheaval in which the government is replaced, or the form of government altered, but in which property relations are predominantly left intact...
, based mostly in the north, whose aim was mostly to establish free elections and remove Díaz himself from power, and a social revolution whose aim was "anarchy
Anarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...
" which was spreading throughout the Mexican countryside. Estañol recommended coming to terms with the first group of revolutionaries, by agreeing to the principle of no re-election and a general amnesty, in order to prevent the second group from succeeding. In addition to his fear of "anarchy", Estañol was also worried that the social revolution would lead to a military intervention by the United States.
Estañol's views represented those of the portion of the upper class which was willing to come to terms with at least a portion of the middle class in order to crush the peasant uprisings, as exemplified by those of Zapata, which were erupting throughout Mexico. Limantour, who broadly agreed with Estañol, had the support of the Mexican financiers, who feared the downgrading of Mexican international credit and a general economic crisis as a result of ongoing social unrest, as well as that of the large landowners who were willing to come to terms with Madero if it would put an end to the agrarian uprisings.
These social group were in turn opposed by the more reactionary elements within Díaz's government, mostly concentrated in the federal army, who though that the rebels should be dealt with through brute force. This faction was represented by General Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
, who would later carry out an attempted coup d'état against Madero. Likewise, the general, and potential successor to Díaz, Bernardo Reyes
Bernardo Reyes
Bernardo Reyes was a General in the army of Mexico under Porfirio Díaz. He served as governor of Nuevo León he helped in the modernization of that state. While governor of Nuevo León, Reyes approved a workers compensation law. He was the father of the writer Alfonso Reyes, and grandfather of the...
stated in a letter to Limantour that "the repression (against the insurrectionists) should be carried out with the greates energy, punishing without any pity anyone participating in the armed struggle". In the end however, Díaz dismissed the advice from his generals as "Custer-like bluster" and chose to seek peace with the moderate wing of the revolution. Limantour had finally managed to persuade him to resign.
At the same time there was also disagreement among the rebels. The "left wing" of the revolutionary movement, represented by Zapata and Orozco (Villa for the time being tended to support Madero), warned against any possible compromises with Díaz. In the end their suspicions proved correct as the treaty that was eventually signed neglected issues of social and agrarian land reform that were central to their struggle.
The treaty's terms
The most significant point of the treaty was that Porfirio Díaz, and his vice president, Ramón CorralRamón Corral
Ramón Corral was the Vice President of Mexico under Porfirio Díaz from 1904 until their deposition in 1911.-Early Years:...
, resign and that de la Barra, acting as interim president organize free elections as soon as possible.
Additionally, the treaty stipulated that:
- An amnesty for all revolutionaries be declared, with the option for some of them to apply for membership in the ruralesRuralesRurales was the name commonly used to designate the Mexican Guardia Rural : a force of mounted police or gendarmerie that existed between 1861 and 1914...
. - The revolutionary forces were to be demobilized as soon as possible and the federal forces were to be the only army in Mexico. This was in order to placate the army, which had opposed a compromise with Madero.
- Madero and his supporters had the right to name fourteen provisional state governors, and to approve la Barra's cabinet.
- Pensions were to be established for relatives of the soldiers who had died fighting the rebels.
- Policemen and judges, as well as state legislators, that had been appointed or "elected" under Díaz were to retain their offices.
Implementation and results
The treaty was signed on May 21. Díaz resigned accordingly on May 25. Francisco de la Barra became the interim president. Madero entered Mexico City on June 7.Zapata however refused to recognize the interim government of de la Barra, and for the time being the fighting in Morelos continued. Madero met with Zapata on several occasions during June. While initially Zapata trusted Madero, with time he became increasingly concerned that the goals of "his revolution" were not being fulfilled. He was particularly angry that Madero did not plan on carrying out any kind of agrarian reform, or the breakup of large hacendias. Additionally, the press in Mexico City, controlled by the landowners began referring to Zapata as a bandit and federal generals, such as Huerta, continued attacking his troops under the pretext that Zapata failed to demobilize in violation of the treaty. Sporadic fighting in southern Mexico continued. In November 1911, shortly after Madero's inauguration, Zapata issued the famous Plan of Ayala
Plan of Ayala
The Plan of Ayala was a document drafted by revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata during the Mexican Revolution. In it, Zapata denounced President Francisco I. Madero for his perceived betrayal of the revolutionary ideals, embodied in Madero's Plan de San Luis, and set out his vision of land reform...
, in which the Zapatistas denounced Madero and instead recognized Pascual Orozco as the rightful president and leader of the revolution.
Madero also earned the great displeasure of other revolutionaries, including, Pascual Orozco. Madero's first act after the treaty was signed was a gesture of reconciliation with the Díaz regime. As a result of the treaty he was given the right to appoint members of the la Barra cabinet. He chose mostly upper class Maderistas, including his wife for the post in the treasury. He also maintained the existing federal system, by keeping the sitting judges of the Supreme Court, the legislators in federal and state assemblies and the bureaucrats of the various federal agencies. Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...
, who was going to become a major revolutionary in his own right and a future president of Mexico, stated that, after the treaty, Madero had "deliver(ed) to the reactionaries a dead revolution which will have to be fought over again". Díaz, after leaving for exile in France, observed that "Madero has unleashed a tiger, let us see if he can control him".
Orozco, who saw himself as being instrumental in Madero's victory over Díaz, was merely appointed as a commander of the rurales in Chihuahua, which increased his resentment. When he tried to run for governor of the state, Madero supported his opponent, Abraham González
Abraham González
Abraham González Casavantes was the provisional and constitutional governor of the Mexican state of Chihuahua during the early period of the Mexican Revolution...
and eventually pressured Orozco to drop out of the race. When, in the aftermath of the Plan of Ayala, Madero ordered Orozco to lead federal troops to suppress Zapata, Orozco refused. In March 1912, Orozco issued his Plan of Empacadora and formally declared himself in rebellion against Madero.