A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S
F O L I A H I S T O R I C A 3 0 , 19 8 7
D a v id G. LaFrance
GERMANY, REVOLUTIONARY NATIONALISM ,
A N D THE DOW NFALL OF PRESIDENT FRANCISCO I. MADERO: THE C O V A D O N G A KILLINGS'
During the night of 12— 13 Ju ly 1911 in th e c ity of Puebla, the capital of the state of Puebla, M exico, a bloody cla sh b etw een e x -d i ctator Porfirio D iaz1 federal forces and Francisco I. M adero's re v o lu tio nary troops resulted in the deaths of se v e r a l d ozen s of insu rgents and their fam ilies. M any of the M aderistas w ere m achine-gunned in the city bull ring as th ey w aited to g re et M adero w ho w a s sch ed u led to v isit the city the follow in g day. In the w ak e of the infam ous b attle that lasted until dawn, out-gunned revolu tion a ries fled to safety in the surrounding cou n trysid e. On group, led by the M ethodist-m inister- -turned-rebel, E enigno Zenteno, p assed by the C ovad on ga, te x tile fa c tory located to the north of the city near the T laxcala state line. The Spanish m anagers of the plant, fearing an attack, fired on the fleein g M aderistas. The factory's defenders, outnum bered and left w ith ou t g o vernm ent help b acau se of a dispute b etw een the governor and the federal zon e com m ander in Puebla, w ere soon overw h elm ed by the insurgents w ho w ere join ed by the local citizen ry including m any of the m ill’s w orkers. In the tw o-d ay sacking that follow ed , a Spaniard and four G erm ans (three m ale tech nician s and on e of their spouses) em p loyed by the factory w ere m urdered1.
* A n e a r l i e r v e r s i o n o f t h i s w o r k w a s r e d d a t t h e R o c k y M ountain C o n fe r e n c e o n L a t i n A m e r i c a n S t u d i e s , P a r k C i t y , U t a h , 14 A pril 1983. T h e author w o u l d l i k e t o t h a n k T h o m a s W . B a r ł e n b a c h a n d W a l t e r R e d m o n d for t h e i r a s s i s t a n c e i n t r a n s l a t i n g t h e G e r m a n . 1 A r c h i v d e s A u s w ä r t i g e n A m t e s , 1 8 6 7 — 1 9 2 0 , L a t e i n a m e r i k a ( G e r m a n F oreign M i n i s t r y A r c h i v e ) , W h a d d o n H a l l , E n g l a n d , M i c r o f i l m , Paul v o n H in tz e to T h e o b a l d v o n Beth m an n H o ll w e g , 19 J u l y 1911, r o l l 14: d o c . 5 0 4 ( h e r e a f t e r c i t e d a s A A A ) ; A r c h i v o P a r t i c u l a r d e G i l d a r d o M a g a n a , A r c h i v o H i s t ó r i c o , U n i v e r s i d a d A u tó- n o m a d e M e x i c o , M e x i c o C i t y , E duar do R e y e s lo A g u s t in d e l P ozo , 15 J u l y 1911, c a ja 2 8 : e x p e d i e n t e 15 d o c . 3 1 7 ( h e r e a f t e r c i t e d a s A G M ) ; A G M , R a ia el C a ń e t e to Fra n c is co León d e la Barra, 15 J u l y 1911, 17 : 10: 4 9 6 ; A r c h i v o d o F r a n c i s c o I. M a d e r o ,
The death of foreign ers in M ex ico during the rev o lu tio n w as not an unusual occu rren ce g iv e n th e v io le n c e of the period and the n a tio nalistic tone of the u pheaval. A lth ou gh foreign g o vern m en ts g en erally v ig o ro u sly p rotested such incidents, seldom w ere th ey able to do a n y thing con crete to force M exico to capture the perpetrators or to re com pense the fam ilies of victim s of any g iv en incident. G iven the chaotic situation and the M exican govern m en t's lack of m oney, other cou n tries u su a lly added the n e w e st statistic to their grow in g lists and look ed forward to the day w h en an overall settlem ent, u su a lly in the form of a claim s com m ission, could be w orked out w ith M exico C ity2.
Ram o do P résid en tes, A rch iv o G onera! de la N a ció n , M ex ico C ity, C a n e t e to E m i l i o V a z q u e z G ô m e z , 15 J u l y 1911, caja 17: no carp eta num ber: no fo lio num ber (he reafter c ite d as A G N /A F M ); A r ch iv o do F ran cisco V ä zq u ez G óm ez, Sou thern Illin ois U n iv e r sity , C arbon dale, H i l a r i o G . M a r q u e z I o F. V a z q u e z G ó m e z , 18 J u l y 1911,
b o x 14: folder 7: doc. 1521 (hereafter c ite d as A FVG ); A rch iv o H istó rico de la S ccreła ria de R ela cio n es E xteriores, M e x ico C ity, M. C a s t e l a z o F. — r e p o r t e , 4 S e p t . 1911, o x p e d ie n te 242.5(43: 72) le g a jo 12—0 — 20 (hereafter cited as SRE); SRE, C a r ïe t e to S e c . d e R e l a c i o n e s E x t e r io r e s , 15 J u l y 1911, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 20; SRE, J u a n d e V e l a s c o to V i c e c ô n s u l a l e m à n e n P u e b l a , 19 J u l y 1911, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 20; E. C. y T o r r e s , D i c c i o n a r i o b i o g r à l i c o d e P u e b l a , vol. 1— 2, P u eb la 1973, Pue.:
C e n t r o d e E s t u d i o s H i s t ó r i c o s d e P u e b l a , p. 716— 717; M. A. P e r a 1, L o s q u e lu e - r o n a la r e v o l u c i o n , M ex ico C ity 1976, (PAC), p. 144; D. G. L a F r a n с e, A p e o p l e b e t r a y e d : F r a n c i s c o I. M a d e r o a n d th e M e x i c a n r e v o l u t i o n i n P u e b la , Ph. D. d isser tation, Indiana U n iv ersity -B lo o m m g to n 1984, p. 166— 168. C o v a d o n g a w a s foun ded in 1898 by the Sp anish in d u strialist and hacond ado, J o sé D iaz Rubin. In 1906 it w as ta k e n o v er by his son s, A n g el, León, Enrique, and F ran cisco w h o w e r e th e o w n er s at the tim e ol the m assacre; s e e R. E. U r r o z N u e v a s m a q u i n a s , m e n o s h o m b r e s : L a m o d e l n i z a c i ó n d e u n a e m p r e s a t e x t il e n P u e b l a : L a C o v a d o n g a , P uebla 1984, p. 7— 10, u n p u b lish ed ms. C o v a d o n g a had b een th e site of sev era f v io len t en co u n to rs sin ce th e b eg in n in g ot the r ev o lu tio n in N o v e m b e r 1910 in c lu d in g the sa ck in g and burning of parts oi the fa cto ry o n tw o earlier o c ca s io n s. R eports in d icate C o v a d o n g a w o rk e rs had poor r ela tio n s w ith their Sp an ish b o s se s and that r e v o lu tio n a r y bands found the m ill hands e a s y recru its; se e C o le c c ió n p orfiro D iaz, Uni- v ersid a d do la s A m ericas, C h olu la, P uebla, M icrofilm , J u a n d e la F u e n t e P a r r e s to P. D ia z , 12 D e c . 1910, rollo 367: doc. 6180; A rch ivo de la R e v o lu c io n M exican a, C om p ilado por el P atron ato de la H istoria de Sonora, Instituto N a cio n a l de A n tro p o lo g ia e H istoria, M ex ico C ity, M icrofilm , R e l a t o - s u c e s o d e la C o v a d o n g a , 3 A u g . 1911, rollo 35: vol. 60: p. 227; R ecords of the F oreign S e r v ic e P o sts of the D e partm ent of S tate, R ecord Group 84, C o rresp o n d en ce w ith C on su lar A g e n c ie s , A m e rican C o n su la te G eneral, M ex ico C ity, N a tio n a l A rch iv es, W a sh in g to n , D. C. W i l l i a m S. C h a m b e r s to A r n o l d S h a n k l i n , 8 M ay 1911, vol. 1911; „ M ex ica n H erald" 5 XII 1910,- „El Pais" 8 II 1911.
2 Sp aniards in P uebla as w e ll as oth er parts of M ex ico and A m ericans' su ffe red m uch m ore lo s s of life and property d am age than did ah e G erm ans buł w ere not n ea rly as a g g r e s siv e as the G erm ans in p u rsuing M ex ico for co m p en sa tio n . Both co u n tries loft their g r ie v a n c e s to be se ttle d by claim s co m m issio n s in la ter years. A s ol A u g u st 1982, Sp ain's claim s had still not b een se ttle d e v id e n tly b e ca u se of the break in d ip lom atic rela tio n s w ith M exiico from 1939 to 1977.
The afterm ath of the C ovadonga k illings, h o w ev er, did not follo w this gen eral pattern. The German govern m en t refused to file aw ay for future n egotiation the deaths of its four citizen s, and Berlin's m inister M exico City, Adm iral Paul v o n H intze, c e a s e le ss ly pursued the M e x i can au th orities from Ju ly 1911 to e a r ly 1913 in an attem pt to gain a satisfactory con clu sion to the problem. The Germ an p ressu re placed the Francisco León de la Barra and then the M adero gov ern m en t in a dilem m a w ith gra v e co n seq u en ces for the latter adm inistration. On the on e hand, the M exican govern m en t could not ignore the Germ an en treaties g iv en M exico C ity's d esire to m aintain satisfactory relations w ith Berlin. This p olicy w e s deem ed n ecessa ry as a m eans to create som e ind ep en d en ce in its international p olitics by p lay in g G erm any off against Britain, France, and the U nited States w h o w ere alread y ill-disposed tow ard M adero and his revolu tion and too c lo se to the c i e n t i f i c o s to be of h elp 3. N ot w an tin g to an tagon ize the G erm ans León de la Barra and then M adero m ade the p o litica lly unpalatable d ecision to p rosecu te the rebel perpetrators as Berlin dem anded. On the other hand, capturing and p unishing the cu lprits p roved nearly im p ossib le as neither p resident w a s able to gain the full cooperation of state and lo ca l au th orities in order to carry out the task. The p r e si d en t’s lack of e ffe c tiv e control over officials in Puebla and T laxcala w as exacerb ated by the p op u lace's n eg a tiv e reaction to their efforts to punish popular revolu tion ary lead ers-m en w h o had m ade M adero's rise to p ow er p ossible, and w h o had, at least in the public's mind, o n ly ju stifiab ly defended th em selv es again st cou n terrev olu tion aries as w e ll as foreigners. T he regim e's n early fu tile efforts to control its fo l low ers con vin ced the Germ ans and other outsiders of its w ea k n ess internally. A t the sam e time, steps to catch and p ro secu te the gu ilty alien ated k e y elem en ts w ith in M adero's revolu tion ary coa litio n w ho felt that he w as capitulating to the dem ands of a foreign power. To m ake m atters w orse, m any p eop le su sp ected the govern m en t of using C ovadonga to p ersecu te d issentin g revolu tion ary officers rather than the truly culpable. U n ab le to ex trica te him self from this d oub le-edged political dilem m a, M adero lo st valu ab le support both intern ation ally and d om estically. In the en d C ovad on ga g re a tly contributed to his dow nfall as his d isillu sion ed adherents (as w e ll as ex p ed ien t co n se r
s F. K a t z , D e u tsc h la n d , D iaz un die m e x i k a n i s c h e R e v o l u t i o n : D ie d e u t s c h e Po li tik in M e x i k o , 1870 1020, B erlin 1964, V ob D eu tsch er V e rla g der W isse n sch a fte n ,
p. 207; F. К d t z, T h e s e c r et w a r in M ex ico : Europe, th e U n ite d S t a t e s an d the M e x i c a n r e v o lu ti o n , C h icago 1981, U n iv e r sity of C h icago, p. 88. T he c ie n t i f ic o s w ere
a cliq u e of D iaz su pp orters and advisoT s in clu d in g form er cab in et m in isters w h o a d v o c a te d a p o sitiv ist e co n o m ic and so c ia l p h ilo so p h y and w h o still w ie ld e d a great d eal oi in flu en ce and pow er.
v a tiv e opponents taking ad van ta ge of the situation) took up arms against him, and the Germ an govern m en t cooperated dith other foreign nations in pushing for the coup d'état of V ictoriano Huerta and F élix Diaz that ousted M adero from pow er.
THE LEON DE LA BARRA GOVERNM ENT
T he killings, occurring on th e day of M adero’s sch ed u led v isit to Puebla in celeb ration of his recen t victo ry over Diaz, w e re roundly condem ned b y the M aderista leadership. M ill ow ners, too, join ed in the protest by shutting dow n their factories and threatening to put their thousands of em p lo y e e s p erm anently out of w ork if so cia l p eace w ere not restored. The German m inister jou rn eyed to Puebla w h ere he m et w ith both G overnor Rafael C ańete and M adero to press his governm en t's claim s for com pensation and the caputre of the killers, in response, M adero's brother, Raul, and another im portant M aderista, Eduardo H ay, w ere instructed to in v estig a te the matter w h ile authori ties arrested Z enteno and sev e ra l other insurgent officers for having initiated the attack. M adero prom ised the factories s e c u r it y ordered the rebels around Puebla C ity to w ithdraw to the nearby tow n s of A tlixco and Cholula, and sen t on e thousand additional troops to P u e bla to help en su re p eace. León de la Barra, at H intze's behest, p ro vi ded a sp ecial m ilitary guard to accom p any the German su rvivors of C ovadonga to the port of V eracruz w h ere they em barked for h om e4.
The G erm an m inister w as not satisfied to let the M exican lega l s y s tem run its course, h ow ever, and he th erefore con stan tly applied p res sure on the León de la Barra govern m en t to so lv e the case quickly. C ovadonga w as H intze's first real test sin ce taking up his post in M e xico C ity on ly tw o m onths earlier, and he doub tless felt the need to p rove him self for sev e ra l reasons. Hintze, a career n aval officer, had
* A FV G , J. 1. M o r e n o to F. V a z q u e z G ó m e z , 15 J u l y 1911, 14: 5: 1441; AGM,
M a d e r o to L e ó n d e la B a r r a , 13 J u l y 1911, 17: 10: 489; In dice dcl A r ch iv o H istó- rico do la Secrçtarfa dc Id D efen sd N a cio n d l, Serie XL/481.5, C om p ildd o por Luis Muro, El Co leg i о d e M ex ico , M ex ico C ity, L u i s V a l l e to S e c . d e G u e r r a , 15 J u l y 1911, caja A -2 (hereafter c ite d ag ILM); F oreign O ffice, G en eral C orresp on d en co- -P o litica l-M ex ico , S eries 371, Public R ecord O ffice, London, M icrofilm , T h o m a s B e a u m o n t H o h l e r to E d w a r d G rey Bart, 27 J u l y 1911, file 1150: doc. 26 (h ereafter c ited as GBFO); SRE, H i n t z e to B. C a r b a j a l у R o s a s , 24 J u l y , 21 A u g . 1911, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9 —20; P u e n t e s p a r a la h i s t o r ia d e la r e v o l u c i ô n m e x ic a n a , ed. M. R a m i r e z , v o ls 5, M ex ico C ity 1954— 1957, Fondo de Cultura E conóm ica, vol. 4, p. 250__251; „ M ex ica n H erald'' 16, 17 VII 1911; „ D ia n o d el H o g a r” 29 VIII, 10, 21 IX 1911; „Im parcial" 16, 17 VII 1911.
on ly been part of the Germ an diplom atic corps sin c e 1908 w hen, w h ile servin g as the K aiser's aide-decamip, h e w a s nam ed the G erm an e m peror's p erson al rep resen tative to the court of Czar N ich o la s II of Russia. His lack of tim e in the foreign se r v ic e also m eant that he had a lim ited base of institutional support w ith in the Berlin bureaucracy. Kard Btinz, h is p red ecessor, had left M ex ico C ity in N ovem ber 1910, lea v in g the m inistry in the hands of subordinates during the critical e a r ly m onths of the M exican revolu tion . The k aiser's nam ing H intze admiral and appointing him to M exico dem onstrated both th e German lead er s con fid en ce in H intze as w e ll as Berlin's con cern w ith e v e n ts in M exico. Finally, the Germ an p ress added to the p ressu re on H intze by calling on the govern m en t to p rotect Germ an citizen s in M exico and to se e that th ose resp on sib le for C ovad on ga w e re prosecuted. C on seq uently, the fo rty -sev en -y ea r-o ld bachelor, w hom h is diplom a tic co llea g u es described as straightforw ard and strong, y e t cau tiou s and shrewd, faced the g re a test ch a llen g e of his y ou n g diplom atic car eer®.
C ovadonga also threatened German p olicy toward M adero’s M ex i co. Berlin, b eliev in g that on ly the dynam ic m iddle and upper c la s s e s could govern, favored M adero sin ce h e cam e from on e of M exico's w ea lth iest entrep ren eu rial fam ilies. It w as thought that by m aking a few minor ch an ges in the political system M adero w oulfi p rove to be better able to govern than e v e n Diaz him self. In return for b a c king M adero, Berlin hoped to b en efit fin an cially by increasing its e c o nom ic ties with M e x ic o 6. Suddenly, h ow ever, C ovadonga stood in the w a y such an arrangem ent. T herefore, H intze im m ediately and fo r ce fu lly dem anded that the León de la Barra go vern m en t clear up the m attei. He e v e n offered to p ay an award to a n y o n e w h o provided inform ation lead ing to the capture of the culprits say in g sarcastically ,,I h a v e b een assured that for m on ey e v e n the assassins' rela tiv es .would be capable of turning them in"7.
» GBFO, Francis S lro n g e to G r e y Bari, 10 A p r 1912, 1397: 68- GBFO H o h l e r
to G r e y Bart, 26 M a y 1911, 1 1 4 9 : 5 2 5 , SR E Fra n cisc o A. d e Ic a z a to Sec', d e R e
la cio n es E x ï e ü o r e s , 26 Jan. 1911, no e x p e d ie n te num ber: 11— 14—1 6 3 ; S R E E R h o m -
b e rg to León d e la Barra, IS Apr. 1911, 111 /3 2 3 (4 3 : 7 2 )1 : 4 2 — 1 6 - 1 3 2 ; S R E , Ic a z a to
C a rb a ia l, 21 J u ly 1911, 2 4 2 .5 ( 4 3 : 7 2 ): 1 2 - 9 - 2 0 , K a t z , T h e se cret..., p. 7 5 - 7 6 - P . C a l v e r t , T h e M e x ic a n r e v o lu ti o n , 1 9 1 0 - 1 9 1 4 : The d i p l o m a c y o l A n g l o
-- A m er ic a n conflic t, C am bridge 19 6 8 , C am b ridge U n iv e r sity , p . 1 2 0 __ 1 2 1 ; P E H a -l e y , R e v o l u t i o n a n d in t e r v e n t i o n : T h e d i p lo m a c y o l Tail a n d W i l s o n w i t h M e x i c o , 1910— 1917, C am b ridge 1 9 7 0 , M . I. T ., p. 1 2 5 ; „ E l M u n d o " 31 I I I 1914.
6 K a t z D e u tsc h la n d , p. 2 0 7 , i d e m , Th e secret..., p. 74, 88.
In resp on se to H intze's h e a v y p ressu re and the d esire to con clu de w ith the p oten tially dam aging incident, León de la Barra took several steps to aid and speed up the in vestigation in Puebla. T h ese m easures included setting up a sp ecial telegrap h lin e b etw een M exico C ity and Puebla, and sending p olice agen ts, a ju d ge/in vestig ator, and a p ro secutor to assist G overnor C an ete8. The interim presid en t e v e n prom i sed H intze the ca se w ould be cleared up w ithin tw o w e ek s and that ten to fifteen su sp ects w ould be e x e cu ted for the crim e ,,w h eth er g u il ty or n o t”9.
León d e la Barra's action s and attitude helped to substantiate char g e s that th ose insurgent officers arrested in the days follow in g the crim e w ere not respon sible but in fact scap ego ats whom th e Maderi- sta leadership w anted rem oved b ecau se of their a ctiv e opposition to the n ew g overn m en t due to th e slo w progress of revolu tion ary change. G overnor C an ete helped confirm the accusation s w h en he told the president as w ell as the secretary of ex terior relations that the a s s a i lants, m ade up m ainly of p eop le liv in g near the factory, could not be identified b ecau se of their large number and the fact that the factory's su rvivors k n ew n on e of them. To the sec reta ry of g o b e r n a c i ó n (interior affairs) he op en ly declared that the k illin gs w ere not com m itted by insu rgent troops. E ven H intze adm itted to Berlin that he doubted the truly g u ilty w ould be found sin c e the Germans saw nothing, there ex iste d a ^ f a t e of anarchy in the state, and go vern m en t officials ad m itted th ey w ere p o w erless to do anything. A lso, Zenteno, on e of the arrested officers, w as released for lack of e v id e n c e on ly to be rearres ted sh ortly thereafter, e v id e n tly on M exico C ity's orders. Later, when sev e ra l of the en carcerated officers w rote a letter to the M exico C ity daily, D i a r i o d e l H o g a r , p rotesting their in n ocen ce and claim ing g overn m en t co llu sio n again st them, the judge, in order to sile n c e them, placed them in solitary con fin em en t10.
8 A A A , H in tz e to B ethman n H o ll w e g , 24 J u ly 1911, 14: 4 8 2 , A r c h i v o d e A l f r e d o R o b l e s D o m i n g u e z , A r c h i v o G e n e r a l d e l a N a c i ó n , M e x i c o C i t y , M aria n o X i c o y to R o b les D o m in g u ez , 1 A u g . 1911, t o m o 2 : e x p e d i e n c e 8 : f o l i o 9 0 ; A G M ,
L. H. G u a ja r d o to León d e la Barra, 28 J u l y 1911, 17 : 10: 508,- A G M , León d e la Barra to C a n e t e , 24 A u g . 1911, 17: 10: 511,- S R E , León d e la Barra to C a n e t e , 21, 22 J u ly 1911, 2 4 2 .5 ( 4 3 : 72).- 1 2 - 9 — 20,- S R E , C a n e t e to León d e la Barra, 21 J u ly 1911, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12— 9 — 2 0 ; „ N u e v a E r a " 3 V I I I 1911. “ A A A , H in tz e to B eth m a n n H o ll w e g , 19 J u ly 1911, 14: 5 0 4 ; A G N / A F M , H in tz e lo M a d e r o , 12 N o v . 1912, 1 7 : 4 1 7 — 1: — ; K a t z , D e u tsc h la n d , p . 20 8 . 10 A A A , H in tz e to B ethman n H o ll w e g , 19 J u l y 1911, 14 : 5 0 4 , A G N / A F M , C a n e t e to Em ilio V a z q u e z G ó m e z , 15 J u l y 1911, 7 7 : — : — ; S R E , J e s u s Flores M agón t o Sec. d e Ju sti cia , 27 S ept. 1911, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12 — 9 — 6 ; S R E , H in tz e to C arbajal, 24 J u l y 1911, 2 4 2 .5 ( 4 3 : 7 2 ): 1 2—9—-20; S R E , C a n e t e to Sec. d e R e la c io n e s E x ter io r es , 15 J u l y 1911, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12— -9— 2 0 ; S R E , C a n e t e to León d e la Barrs,
By ea rly A ugust, the sp ecial federal in vestig ator, L. H. Guajardo, had p rovided the Puebla judges, h e claim ed, w ith en o u g h inform ation, including nam es and other con crete ev id en ce, to fa cilita te a rapid co n clu sion to the case. N e v erth ele ss, the actual cap tu re of the rem ainder of the susipec ts and their p ro secu tion ran into a w a ll of official and unofficial op position in Puebla and T laxcala. G iven the instability of his govern m en t and the threat of provok in g m ore v io len ce, G overnor C an ete w as v er y reluctant to p rosecu te revolu tion ary officers (w hose a lleg ed crim e had b een to attack foreigners) w ith ou t havin g thoroughly exam in ed the in cid en t and p roven b eyon d a doubt the cu lpab ility of the suspects. S en sitiv e to ou tsid e intrusion in state affairs, h e on ly relu ctantly accep ted León de la Barra's aid and w h en p ressu red to m odify the la w to a llo w sp ecial a u x ilia ry ju d ges to be nam ed to help w ith the case, h e m oved slo w ly to m ake the ch an ge. H e also refused to allow in v estiga tors to en ter the C ovadonga factory w h ile a strik e w as taking p lace in A u gu st and Septem ber. A lth ou gh C anete k n ew the w hereabouts of m any of th ose w ho had robbed th e mill, h e refused to m ove against them. Puebla ju d ges, reluctant, too, to p ro sec u te the case, took th e m axim um tim e under the law and e v e n a llo w ed Z enteno's defending la w y er to m ake an appeal a ll the w a y to the state suprem e court. In ea rly N ovem ber, on e of the principal attorn eys quit the case, further d elayin g the process. The underm anned Puebla p o lice force also sh ow ed little en th u siasm in pursuing the cu lprits11.
21 J u l y 1911. 242.5(43: 72): 12— Э— 20; F. V. G ó m e z , Me m o r i a s p o litic o s , 1909—
— 1913, M ex ico C ity 1933, M undial, p. 347; „D iario del H ogar" 29 VIII, 10, 21 EX 1911, 23 IV 1912; „ N u ev a Era" 3 VIII 1911. H in tze also to ld B erlin that he did n ot resp ond to C arbajal's a d m issio n of p o w e r le s sn e ss so that M ex ico co u ld not la ter u s e it as an e x c u s e for not h a v in g d on e a n y th in g about C ov a d o n g a .
^ AGM , G u a j a r d o t o L e ó n d e la B a r r a , 28 J u l y 1911, 17: 10: 508, 4 A u g , 1911, 4: G— 3: 311; AGM , C a n e t e to L e ó n d e la B a r r a , 2 S e p t . 1911, 15: 5: 313, 19 Sep t.
1911, 12: С —2: 330; AG M , H i n t z e to L e ó n d e la B a r r a , 17 S e p t . 1911, 3: H— 4: 560; A rch iv o del C on greso del Estado, Libros de lo s E xpedienten, P uebla, Ern es to
S o l i s et al. to C a n e t e , 31 A u g . 1911, v o l. 190: ex p e d ien ce 9165; A r ch iv o Ju d icial del Estado de Puebla, In stituto N a c io n a l de A n tro p o lo g ia e H istoria, C entro R e gio n a l, P uebla, J o a q u i n Ib a n e z Jr., to T r i b u n a l S u p r e m o , 2 A u g . 1911, p a q u e te 1911 (hereafter c ite d as AJE) IN A H ); A JE /IN A H , J e s u s Z. М огело to J u e z lo
d e l o C r i m i n a l , 3 N o v . 1 9 1 1; SRE, J. F l o r e s M a g ó n to S e c . d e J u s t i c a , 27 S e p t . 1911, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 6; SRE, H i n t z e to C a r b a j a l , 24 J u l y , 7, 13 S ept.
1911, 242.5(43: 72): 12—9—20; SRE, C a r b a j a l to S e c . d e J u s t i c i a , 13 S e p t. 1913,
242.5(43: 72): 12—9—20,- SRE, M a n u e l C a l e r o to S e c . d e R e l a c i o n e s E x ter lo r es , 26
S e p t . 1911, 242.5(43: 72): 12—9—20; C o r r e s p o n d e n t D ip lom ätica H isp an o M ex ica n a , 1826—1917, El C o le g io de M ex ico , M ex ico C ity , M icrofilm , J u a n S â n ch ez A z c o n a
to S e c . d e Go b e r n a c i ó n , 2 6 J u l y 1911, ro llo 45: caja 281: le g a jo 1: nu m éro 37; „ N u ev a Era” 30 VIII 1911.
C anete, hardly a radical or a cham pion of the left-w ing of the M aterista m ovem ent, w as clea rly acting in such a dilatory manner in the face of p ressu re from H intze and León de la Втггга both out of p olitical n e c e ssity and the fact that he could not control state a n i local officials no less the g en era l public in his state. R esistan ce to the p rosecution of the C ovadonga attackers w as w idespread prom p ting C anete, at H intze's behest, to double the guard at the city jail and the p en eten tiary and to put the prisoners in solitary confinem ent r e p ortedly in order to p reven t an e sc a p e attem pt. Street dem onstrations and d elegation s to M adero (who refused to interfere) protesting the p rocess took place. G overnm ent officials, the German con su l in P u e bla, and p oten tial w itn e sse s regularly received threats. A t lea st one policem an in v o lv ed in the probe w a s killed. A u th orities in the n eig h boring state of T laxcaia, a haven for m any of the suspects, also refu sed to co op erate w ith the federal govern m en t12.
H intze, in creasin gly disturbed over the slow -m ovin g p rocess and w hat h e saw as the M aderista lead ersh ip 's h o llo w prom ises, urged that a state of sieg e be declared in Puebla, that su sp ects alread y held be im m ediately tried co lle c tiv e ly , not on e at a time, and that the fe deral govern m en t take direct resp on sib ility for the in v estiga tio n . After considering the leg al and p olitical ram ifications of such action, León d e la Barra refused to take th ese ste p s13.
In retaliation, Berlin refused to form ally recogn ize the interim g o vernm en t by not an sw erin g the n otification of ch an ge in adm inistrations follow in g Diaz' fall to M adero’s forces in late M ay 1911. León de la Barra called the bluff b y threatening to reveal publicly German
non->* AGM , G u a ja r d o to León de la Barra, 28 J u l y 1911, 17: 1: 94, 4 A ug . 1911, G— 3: 311, 22 A u g . 1911, 4: G— 3: 419; AGM , H in tz e lo León de la Barra, 17
Sep!. 1911, 3: H— 4: 560; SRE, H in tz e l o C a ler o , 7 N o v . 1911, 242.5(43: 72) 12— 9— 20;
SRE, C a ń e t e to Sec. d e R e ia c io n e s E x ter io r es , 29 S ept., 15 N o v . 1911, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 20; SRE, H in tz e to C arbajal, 24 J u ly, 13, 26 S ept. 1911, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— — 20; SRE, A n ó n i m o to C la u d e V o ig h t, n.d., 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 20; SRE, J. Flore s
M a g ó n to Sec. d e Ju sti cia , 27 Sept., 14 O cl. 1911, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 6. A n oth er
rea so n tor th e r elu cta n ce of T la x ca la n o fficia ls to c o o p era te w ith th e fed era l g o v ern m en t m a y h a v e b een due to a d isp u te w ith P uebla o v er ju risd ictio n of th e m ill. Built in an area w h er e the lin e b e tw e e n th e tw o sta te s w a s in q u estio n , th e fed eral g o v ern m en t in 1899 a w ard ed th e la n d to P uebla th ex eb y d ep rivin g T la x ca ia of im portant ta x r ev e n u es. T he incid en t rem ain ed a sore poin t b e tw e en th e tw o sta tes; s e e A rch iv o G en eral de N o ta ria s d el Estado de P uebla, Puebla,
Protocoliza ción ..., 21 Jan. 1907, n otaria P u eb la 5: afio 1907: vol. 1: doc. 3 4 ; V. L. G.
О j e d a, Per lil d e l e m p r e s a r i a d o d o m in a n t e en la in d u s tr ie t e x t i l de Puebla , 1906— — 1929, M.S.S. th esis, U n iversid ad A u tón om a de P uebla 1982, p. 33.
13 A A A , H in tz e lo Beth man n H o ll w e g , 30 Aug. 1911, 14: 566, 14 O ct. 1911, 14: 598; AGVf, H in tz e to León d e la Barra, 17 Sept. 1911, 3: H— 4: 560, GBFO, H o h ler
recogn ition w h ich w ould h ave serio u sly jeopardized the D eutsch-Sü d a m erikanische Bank's p rivileged p osition in M exico. T he bank had had a c lo se relationship w ith the M adero fam ily ev e n providing it w ith m on ey during the revolu tion again st Diaz. In the autum n of 1911 it planned a large investm ent in an industrial d ev elo p m en t project along with the M aderos in n ortheastern M exico and the creation of a m ortga g e bank in B russels w ith S w iss and B elgian partners. This latter v e n tu re w a s d esign ed to take ad vantage of the M exican g overn m en t's plan to float bonds w orth 100 m illion p esos for irrigation and other a g ricu l tural im provem ents. N ot w illin g to risk its ec o n o m ic o b jec tiv es in M exico o ver C ovadonga, the German foreign office soon after took the step to recogn ize León de la Barra's govern m en t d esp ite H intze's op p o sitio n 14.
T H E M A D E R O G O V E R N M E N T
U ltim ately, the resp on sib ility for reso lv in g the ca se fell on M adero, who assum ed the p resid en cy in early N ovem b er 1911, and on his n ew governor in Puebla, N icola s M aléndez. M aléndez, M adero's favorite, assum ed office in late D ecem b er follow in g a d iv isiv e electio n that w eak en ed the regim e's hand in the state and c o n seg u en tly its ab ility to deal w ith C ovadonga. H intze w arned the M adero governm en t of the need to rem ove this „fatal” ob stacle that th reaten ed am icable relations b etw een the tw o countries. In turn the presid en t m ade it im m ediately clear to M aléndez that h e w an ted the matter g iv e n first priority b e cau se the German pressure w a s an em barrassm ent to M ex ico 15.
In Puebla, how ever, the judicial p rocess made little p rogress d esp ite the German con su l's alm ost d aily v isits to M eléndez. Legal m a n eu v e ring in volvin g the right of d efend en ts t0 reject judges, the right of
prosecutors to operate in courts other than the on e to w h ich th ey w ere assigned, w hether the su sp ects should be tried togeth er or sep arately, the right of defending la w y er s to se e prisoners in solita ry confinem ent, and the length of tim e each of the accu sed sh ould h a v e to prepare his d efen se all prolonged the case. M elénd ez ca u tio u sly attem pted to speed
14 A A A , León d e la Barra to K a is e r W i l h e lm II, 25 M a y 1911, 14: 5 8 8 - A A A
R h o m b e rg to Beth m an n H o ll w e g , 12 A pr. 1911, 14: 3 1 8 , A A A , H m t z e to Beth man n Hollw pg, 22 J u ly 1911, 14: 5 1 4 , 16 S ept. 1911, 14: 5 5 5 , 14 O ct. 1911, 14: 508,- 15 Oct. 1911, 14: 5 9 1 , A A A , A l lr e d v o n K i d e r l e n - W a c h t e r to K a ise r, 13 Oct. 1911, 14: 5 8 7 К d t z, D eu tsch lan d, p . 2 0 4 — 2 0 5 , 2 0 8 ; K a t z , T h e se c r e t, p . 74 , 8 5 — 86 .
15 A G N / A F M , M a d e r o to M e lé n d e z , 8 Jan. 1912, 5 7 : 1: 1 6 6 , S R E , H in tz e to Sec. d e R e la c io n e s E xter io r es , 2 Jan. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12 — 9 — 8 , L a F r a n c e , Л people .. ., p. 190— 193.
things up but ad v ised M adero that the n ece ssa ry tim e had to be taken to en su re that the p ro ceed in gs w e re le g a lly sou n d 16.
A s the C ovadonga matter dragged on into M arch 1912, H intze re p eated ly w arned federal au th orities that a break out of the su sp ects w as con tem p lated and called for tighter security. N e v erth ele ss, on 15 M arch tw en ty -o n e of the a ccu sed m anaged to tunnel to freedom m ost lik e ly w ith the aid of p en eten tiary p erson n el and outsiders. The escap e w as a se t back to the M aderista govern m en t e sp e c ia lly sin ce it cam e in the m idst of a seriou s rebel in su rg en cy in central and northern M exico. Indeed, in Puebla, the Z apatistas had set up a second state go vern m en t in the southern tow n of P etlalcin go and at the tim e of the esca p e had Puebla C ity surrounded and w ere callin g for its surrender. S p ecu lation ex isted that there w as a co n n ectio n b etw een the Zapatista threat and the prisonbreak e s p e c ia lly sin ce B enigno Z enteno and s e v e ral others w h o fled the p en eten tiary join ed up w ith the Zapatista fo r ces17.
T he incident also helped ju stify recen t secu rity m easures taken by the alread y n ervou s German com m unity in M exico. Under H intze's d irection it organized itself into d efen se and selfh elp com m ittees to ward off any attackers and to p lace p ressu re on the govern m en t to provide m ore protection. H intze e v e n persuaded M adero to m ake an ex c e p tio n to his govern m en t's ban on arms imports allow in g the G er man co lo n y to purchase in N e w York C ity fiv e hundred carbines and fifty thousand rounds of am m unition to be distributed to German n a
и A G N /A F M , M e l é n d e z to M a d e ro , 10 Jan. 1912, 3: 77: 2285, A G N /A F M , H in tz e to
M a d e r o , 19 Jan. 11912/, 17: 417-— 1: — ; A G N /A F M , Fe der ic o G o n z ä l e z Garza to M e
lé n d e z , 12 Mar. 1912, 57: X: 145; A JE /IN A H , J u z g a d o 2° d e lo C rim inal, Puebla Y n c i d e n t e re lati vo.. ., 12 Jan. 1912-, SRE, H in tz e to Sec. d e R e ia c io n e s E x t e
r io r e s , 2 Jan. 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 8; SRE, M e m o r a n d u m - - c o n v e r s a c i o n con
H i n t z e , 27 Feb. 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9—8; SRE, M e l é n d e z to Caler o, 6 Mar. 1912
242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 8.
17 A G N /A F M , H in tz e to M a d e r o , 15 Mar.- 1912I, 17: 417— 1: — ; A JE /IN A H ,
Barlos / s i c j A r t e s a n o s to C a rlo s A l d e c o , 16 Mar. 1912; GBFO S tr a n g e to G r e y Bart, 16 Mar. 1912, 1397: 20; R ecords o l th e D epartm ent ol S ta te R elatin g
to th e In ternal A lfairs o l M ex ico , 1910— 1929, R ecord Group 59, N a tio n a l A rch i v e s, W a sh in g to n , D. C., M icrofilm , F r e d e r ic k A. L en dru m to C la u d e E. G u ya n t,
20 A p r . 1912, roll 17: doc. 1355— 56 (hereafter c ited as RDS/59); SRE, H in tz e to C a ler o , 31 Jan., 24 Mar. 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 6; SRE, M e l é n d e z t o Calero, в, 15 M a i . 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 12—9— 6; SRE, M a n u e l Pińa to J. Flores Magon , 16 Mar. 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 8; L a F r a n c e , A people..., p. 255— 257; „Diario,
tionals in M exico. By doing so, M adero im plicity adm itted his g o v er n m ent’s inab ility to protect foreign ers1*.
T he esca p e w as a se v e r e b low to the govern m en t's im age am ong the foreign diplom atic com m unity and put M adero in an ev e n m ore v u ln e rable position v is-à -v is H intze. A s the su sp ects scattered in all d irec tions, som e to join the Zapatistas, other the r u r a l e s , and ev e n others to T laxcala w h ere th ey w ere out of the im m ediate reach of the Puebla authorities, H intze g reatly increased his pressure on the p resi dent. C oncerned about calls in the A m erican and German press for an in va sion and succum bing to H intze's threat to order G erm ans to le a v e M exico for their safety as the British and U nited States g o v e r n m ents had done, M adero not on ly ordered the firing of the prison offi cials and sev era l guards but also M eléndez' gen era l secretary w ho a lleg ed ly sym pathized w ith the prisoners, perm itted lax secu rity at the pen etentiary, and tried to im pede their recapture. In addition, M adero placed d ete ctiv es at H intze's disposal, sen t a sp ecial in v estigator and a fifty-m an federal rural force to Puebla, and allo w ed H intze p erso n ally to re v ie w the Puebla penal facility and to recom m end ch a n ges in s e cu rity m easures. H e also ordered M elénd ez to estab lish a reward of up to one thousand p eso s for the capture of the esca p ees. Distrustful of M eléndez and to p acify H intze, he also sen t G eneral J u v en cio Robles to Puebla to k eep an e y e on the governor. F in ally, M adero p erson a lly prom ised H intze that a n yon e caught w ou ld im m ediately b e shot on the sp ot19. M adero did, h ow ever, stop short of a cced in g to the German m i
18 A A A , H in tz e to B ethmann H o llw e g , 6 A pr. 1912, 15: O i l , A G N / A F M , Ma- clero to Hin tz e, 11 Mar. 1912, 5 7 : 1: 4 3 5 ; A G N / A F M , B ara qu iel M. A l a tr is te to M a d e ro , 3 Mar. 1912, 6 : 140— -1; 4 1 2 4 ; L a F r a n c e , A pe ople .. ., p . 2 6 7 ; K a t z ,
D eu tsch la n d , p . 2 1 3 ; K a t z , The secret..., p. 89.
18 A G N / A F M , H in tz e to M a d e ro , 29 Mar. 1912, 17: 4 1 7 — 1: — , 4 Dec. 1912,
7 0 : 6 : — ; A G N / A F M , M a d e r o to H in tz e, 19 Mar. 1912, 5 7 : 1: 5 0 0 , 30 Mar. 1912, 5 7 : 2 : 2 5 ; A G N / A F M , M a d e r o to M e lé n d e z , 2 7 Mar. 1912, 3: 7 7 : 2 2 2 9 ; A G N /A FM ,
Luis G r a ja l e s - - m e m o r a n d u m , 31 Mar. 1912, 16: 3 9 9 — 1: 1 2 9 7 5 ; G o b e r n a c i ó n , Ramo d o G o b e r n a c i ó n , A r c h i v o G e m r a l d e l a N a c i ó n , M e x i c o C i t y , Julio Barcia to Sec. d e G o b ern a ció n , 19 Mar. 1912, o x p e d i e n t e 4», 9 1 1 — 1 2 (1 0 ), 1 ( h e r e a f t e r c i t e d as R G / G ) ; SRE, C a ler o to M e l é n d e z , 16 Mar. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 ( 4 3 :7 2 ) : 1 2 — 9—6 ; SRE, M e
l é n d e z lo Calero, 18 Mar. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12 — 9 — 6 ; SRE, J. Flores M agon to
Sec. d e R e la c io n e s E x ter io r es , 27, 30 Mar., 16 M ay 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12— 9 — 6 ; S R E , H in tz e lo P edro Lascuräin, 9 Aug. 1912, 242 .5 (4 3 ,- 7 2 ): 12—9—7,- N. M a l e n - (1 e z, 400 in lo rm e que el j e l e d e l d e p a r t a m e n t o e j é c u t i v o r e m il e a la leg isla tu ra d e l estado.. . / 1 J u ly 1912/, P u e b l a 1 9 1 2 P u e . : Escuela d e A r l e s y O lic io s d e l Estado,
p . 11 —12,- M e m o r ia d e la S e c re ta r ia d e G o b e r n a c ió n c o r r e s p o n d ie n t e al p é r i o d e c o m p r e n d id o e l / ° d e ju lio d e 1911 y el 20 d e le b r e r o d e 1913, M é x i c o , . Secretaria d e G o b e r n a c i ó n , M e x i c o C i t y 1 9 1 3 , T a l l e r e s G r â f i c o s d o l a N a c i ó n , J. Flores M agón to M e l é n d e z , 30 Mar. 1912, p . 2 6 2 , D o c u m e n t e s h is tó r ic o s d e la r e v o lu c i ô n m ex ic a n a ,
nister's requ ests that M elénd ez b e fired, the federal gov ern m en t send Puebla au th orities a n o te from H intze con d em n ing their handling of the case, the sp ecia l federal in vestigator in terven e d irectly in th e Puebla courts, and su sp ects captured in Puebla and surrounding sta tes be trans ferred to M exico C ity for interrogation. Federal officials cited sep ara tion of state and federal govern m en tal fu n ction s w h en refusing H intze th ese latter dem ands20.
Still not satisfied w ith the M exicans' con cessio n s, H intze then d e m anded 500.000 G erm an marks in com pensation for the C ovadonga k illin g s in order to q u iet German public opinion and threats of reta lia tion from the R eichstag. H e also stipulated that talks con cern in g the m on ey b e con d ucted on a govern m en t-to-govern m en t basis and not through an y arbitration or claim s com m ission. M exico, in turn, offering little resistance, su ggested 300.000 marks, but w ith the condition that the govern m en t w ou ld not accep t resp on sib ility for the attack. F o llo w in g a few short w e e k s of talks, the tw o g o v ern m en ts settled on 400.000 marks, and the sum, in cash, w as im m ediately paid to Berlin m aking G erm any the o n ly country, according to that nation's press, to r e c e iv e such a com pensation from M ex ico 21.
H intze's diplom atic su c c e sse s u sing hard-line tactics w e re not lost on the other m em bers of the diplom atic corps in M exico. O ne British ob server com m ented that H intze had d one more than any other g o vern m en tal rep resen tative to p rotect its citizen s in M exico; som e eigh ty A m erican s and forty Spaniards had b een k illed and neither g o v e r n m ent had m anaged to g e t the M exican s to punish the gu ilty or pay an
e d s . I. F a b e l a and J. E. de F d b e l a, vo ls, 27, M ex ico C ity 1960— 1970, Jus a n d F o n d o d o C u l t u r a E conóm ica, vol. 7, M a d e r o to H in tz e, 30, 31 Mar. 1912,
p . 2 6 3 2 6 5 . O t h e r d i p l o m a t s i n th c M ex ica n ca p ita l w ece a l s o p r iv a tely inform ed t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t f a v o r e d th e e x p e d ien t a l b e i t ille g a l p o licy o f sh o o tin g su sp ects o n t h e s p o t ; s e e GBFO, S tr o n g e to G r e y Bart, 16 Mar. 1912, 1397: 20.
*° R G / G , A l i o n s o M . M a n d o n a d o to Sec. d e G o b e r n a ció n , 4 M a y 1912 4«
9 1 1 — 1 2 (1 0 ), 1.
S1 GBFO, S tr o n g e to G r e y Ba rt , 7 Jun e 1912, 1397: 30; SRE, Icaza to Sec de R e ia c io n e s E x ter io r es , 7 M a y 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 1 2 - 9 — 7; SRE, H in tz e t o Calero, 1 A pr. 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 6; SRE, H in tz e to l a s c u r à i n , Apr. 1912, 242.5(43-
7 2 ): 12— 9— 6; SRE, Lascuràin to M in is tr o m e x i c a n o en Berlin, 6 M a y 1912, 242.5(43- 7 2 ): 1 2— 9— 6: SRE, Lasc uràin to Sec. d e H a cięn d a , 10 M a y 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 12 9 6; K a t z , D e u tsc h la n d , p. 211. M adero p rom ised th e C h in ese govern m en t
c o m p e n s a t i o n f o r t h e k illin g of C h in ese c itize n s in T orreón, C oalm ila, in M ay 1911, b u t it ds n o t clear w h eth er the p a y m en ts w e re e v er m ade; s e e A A A , F. A lb er t t o G. P a g en s tec h e r , 25 A p r 1912, 15: 065; A A A , H in tz e to A u s w ä r t i g e A m t, 12 M a y
indem nization. Indeed, M exico City ignored M adrid's dem ands for treat ment equal to Berlin's as ou tlined by international law*2.
M adero hoped that the paym ent w ould satisfy the G erm ans and re lie v e him of a p articularly se n sitiv e and in creasin gly d eb ilitatin g situ a tion 23. Berlin's d issatisfaction m erely accen tu ated M adero's alread y poor international standing w h ile his co n ce ssio n s to H in tze’s pressure underm ined support for him am ong his n ationalistic follow ers, e sp e c ia l ly at the local lev el.
G overnor M eléndez, much lik e his p red ecessor, Rafael C anete, exp ressed his d esire to coop erate w ith federal au th orities in the case, but in prąctice his ab ility to do so w a s strictly lim ited by the w id e s pread pro-rebel sen tim ent in the state and his sen sitiv ity ov er the in terferen ce of M exico C ity in local affairs. Im m ediately after the March break out, for exam ple, M eléndez v o w e d to h a v e an y recaptured pri soner shot on the spot. W h en on e of the su spects, w ho had b een se r v in g as a sargeant in the r u r a l e s , w a s apprehended, M elénd ez re fused, h ow ever, to h a v e him ex e cu ted as H intze dem anded. T he g o v e r nor took this stand ev e n though the man, M anuel V illeg a s, had adm itted to taking part in the k illin g of the G erm ans and m ay h a ve raped and se x u a lly m utilated the wom an. Indeed, the federal govern m en t ev e n had to urge M elénd ez to transfer V illeg a s to the state p en eten tiary from the city jail for safer k eep in g 24.
M eléndez also dem onstrated his ind ep en d en ce and concern for the local p olitical situ ation in other w ay s. W hen federal authorities infor m ed the governor that th ey w ere sen d in g a sp ecial investigator, M anu el Sanchez G avito, to Puebla and asked the gov ern or for his co o p era tion in the nam e of ,,national décorum ", M eléndez replied that he w ould com ply ,,but on ly as long as the referred to la w y er, in the carrying out of his com m ission, did not attack the so v er eig n ty of the sta te”*5. In another instance, the secretary of g o b e r n a c i ó n , at H intze's behest,
** GBFO, W. L. G o s ch en lo G r e y Bari, 11 Jun e 1912, 1397: 26; SRE, Be rnard o
J. C ó lo g a n lo Lascuràin, 24 Auq. 1912, 111/242(46: 72)/44: 12— 11— 55; V . G. L e s c e r - t a l e s , La c o lo n ia e s p a ù o la d e M e x i c o d u r a n te la r e v o lu c i ô n m a d er is ta , 1911— 1913, „ R e v i s t a d o l a U n i v e r s T d a d C o m p l u t e n s e " 1977, № 26, p. 107, 362. T h e Sp aniards, o f e x a m p l e , s u f f e r e d a t l e a s t & d e a d a n d 5 w o u n d e d i n t h e s-ta.te s i n c e t h e s p r i n t ) o f 19U .
23 S R E , L asc urà in to I ca/a, 3 A u g . 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9—8.
« A G N / A F M , H in tz e to M adero, 15 Mar., 11 M a y 1912, 17:417— 1: — ; SRE, J. Flores M a g ó n to Sec. d e R e la c io n e s E x t e n o r e s , 16 M a y 1912, 242.5(43: 72): 12— 9— 6; Memoria..., G o b e r n a c i ó n , G ar ci a lo Sec. d e G o b e r n a ció n , 14 M ay 1912,
p . 2 6 4 — 26 6 . H i n t z e c l a i m e d t h a t V i l l e g a s i n s e r t e d a b o t t l e i n t h e worab of t h e G e r m a n w o m a n .
25 Memoria..., G o b e r n a c i ó n , J. Flores M a g ó n to M e l é n d e z , 30 Mar. 1912, p. 262. M e l é n d e z to Sec. d e G o b e rn a ció n , 11 A pr. 1912, p. 262— 63.
urged M elénd ez to travel to M exico C ity for an au d ien ce w ith the German m inister. The govern or refu sed claim ing that to g et authoriza tion from the legisla tu re and then le a v e the state w ou ld cau se political panic. A t another point, M eléndez p ub licly declared that the in v e stig a tion had been clo sed w ith no results, but he soon after d en ied h avin g m ade such a statem en t26.
W h ile M elénd ez assum ed a p o litica lly cau tion s sta n ce v is-a -v is C o vad onga, the recapture of the esc a p e e s and the in v estig a tio n of the break out made o n ly lim ited progress. T he sp ecial agen ts and rural force m anaged to apprehend or sh oot a handful of men (som e w h ile servin g w ith rural con tin gen ts fighting Z apatistas in M orelos), but the m ajority rem ained at large. Indeed, press reports claim ed that B enigno Z enteno ev e n appeared in Puebla C ity but w as not arrested 27.
In T laxcaia, federal au th orities also found little cooperation. G o ver nor A n ton io H idalgo, an ex-factory w orker and radical, h elped o n ly to the lea st e x te n t p ossib le. H e reportedly refused to a ssist a reservo p olice force capture su spects, arrested som e p olice w h o did not h av e proper orders, and protected the j e f e p o l i t i c o of Z acatelco w ho harbored su sp ects in h is hom e. O ne esc a p e e a lle g e d ly w as ev e n w o r k ing as a co n sierg e in the T laxcaia state capital building w h ile another served as the m unicipal p resident of San Pablo del M on te28. An indi cation of the slo w n ess of the in vestigation can b e see n in the fact that the Sanchez G avito report, w h ich w as to h a v e b een out in April, still had not appeared by m id-Septem ber29.
In M ay 1912, as som e of th e e s c a p e e s w ere recaptured, the judicial p rocess begun the p reviou s year resum ed. A gain, h o w ev er, leg a l m a n eu verin g by the d efend en ts and their ’la w y er s and the relu ctance of
26 A G N / A F M , H in tz e to M a d e r o , 29 Mar. 1912, 1 7 : 4 1 7 — 1; — , S R E , H in tz e t o Lascuràin, 6 A u g . 1912, 2 4 2 .5 ( 4 3 : 7 2 ): 12—9—7 ; S R E , J. Flores M a g ó n to Sec. d e R e ia c io n e s E xter io r es , 26 A u g . 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 1 2 — 9 — 7.
27 A G N / A F M , J. Flores M a g ó n to M e l é n d e z , 4 Sept. 1912, 8 4 : — ; — ; S R E ,
J. Flore s M a g ó n to Lascuràin, 3 N o v . 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12 — 9 — 8,- „ N u e v a E r a " 1 V I I 1912.
*s A G N / A F M , Gr aja ies- - m e m o r a n d u m , 31 Mar. 1912, 16: 3 9 9 — 1: 1 2 9 7 4 ; R G /G ,
Garci a to Sec. d e G o b e rn a ció n , 19 Mar. 1912, 4 a , 9 1 1—1 2 (1 0 ), 1 ; R G / G , A n t o n io H id a lg o to Sec. d e G o b e rn a ció n , 28 Mar. 1912, 4 a , 9 1 1—1 2 (1 0 ), 1; R G / G , M a n u e l S a n ch ez G a v i t o to Sec. de G o b e rn a ció n , 3 A p r. 1912, 4», 9 1 1 — 1 2 (1 0 ), 1 ; S R E , H in tz e to Lascuràin, 26 A p r . 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 1 2—9—6 ; S R E , M e m o r a n d u m anón imo, 26 Mar. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12— 9 — 6 ; S R E , H in tz e to Lascuràin, 19 Sep!. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12—9— 7 ; Memoria..., G o b e r n a c i ó n , G ar cia to Sec. d e G o b e r n a ció n , 2 7 Apr. 1912,
p . 2 6 3 — 6 4 ; R. T h . J . B u v e , El m o v i m i e n t o r e v o lu c io n a r io de T la xcaia, 1910—1914: Sus o r lg e n e s y d e s a r r o llo a n te d e la gr an c risis d e 1914: La r e b e lió n a r e n ista , ,,H u - m a n k l a d e s A n u a r i o " 1 9 8 1 — 1 9 8 3 , N o 7 , p . 1 5 2 — 153.
M eléndez and the Puebla courts to p rosecu te the a lleged culprits, e s p e cia lly w ithout in controvertible e v id en ce, slow ed the p rocess to a crawl. Indicative of the situ ation in Puebla w a s the courts' first con crete action — the releasin g on bail of the director of the p en eten tiary and s e veral guards accused of aiding in the 15 M arch break out. This action w as taken e v e n though the law proscribed bail for indicted p rison ers80. The drama in the Puebla courts m ain ly rev o lv ed around the second crim inal judge for the district of Puebla, C elerino Flores, and the prin cip al defending law yer, Francisco G. Luque. Flores, in ch arge of the case, made little effort to se e its con clu sion. W hen d ep rived (for w h at reason is not clear) of his au xiliary judge, h e d ism issed H intze's efforts to m ake him name another saying the still-at-large su sp ects the G er man had nam ed had nothing to do w ith the case, th ereb y im plying he did not need the help of another judge. At another point, w h en a cc u sed of inhibiting the location and capture of the su spects, F lores respon ded that the p olice, not he, w ere in charge of that end of the p ro cess31. Luque and other defending la w y er s in turn found the Puebla courts am enable to d elays. W h en the th ree-d ay period for exam in in g the e v i den ce against each su sp ect w as about to exp ire, the law yers' perem p tory ch a llen g e to Flores w a s readily accep ted th ereb y transferring the c a sse s of sev e ra l m en to another judge. In turn this latter judge w a s also ch allen ged and a third on e then becam e in v o lv ed in the p ro ce e dings. The law y ers then com plained that th ey could not ad eq u ately d e fend their clien ts if th ey w ere tried in the courts of more than one judge. On another occasion , Luque filed an appeal for a m p a г о (re prieve) w hen the hiring of a M ex ico C ity la w y er b y sev e ra l defen- dents w a s d isallow ed by the first crim inal judge. In ea r ly N ovem ber, w h en the in v estig a tiv e period w a s again about to end, Luque appealed, this tim e to the state suprem e court, claim ing h is clien ts had b een tortured in jail to co n fess and that he n eed ed more tim e to gather and present additional ev id en ce. T his step gain ed him an extra m onth32.
30 A J E / I N A H , J u z g a d o 2° d e lo Crim inal, Puebla, C on tr a M a n u e l R am ir ez Y socios..., 8 June 1912, S R E , H in tz e to Lascuràin, 22 June, 7 S ept. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 : 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : *72): 12 — 9 — 7.
31 S R E , H in tz e to Lascuràin, 10, 11 S ept. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12— 9 — 7 ; S R E , J. Flo re s M a g ó n to Sec. de R e la c io n e s Exter io r es , 3 Oct. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12— 9 — 7.
3S A G N / A F M , Crispin R a m o s to J. Flores M a g ó n . 19 Sept. 1912, 3 1 : 8 6 3 : — ; A J E / I N A H , D ie g o M. M a r tin e z to Jue z 2° C ri m in al de Puebla , 28 S ept. 1912:
A .I E /1 N A H , Luis Esp in osa to J u e z 3° C ri m in al d e Puebla, 12 Oct. 1912; A J E / / I N A H , J u z g a d o 1° de lo Crim inal, Puebla, C ausa 2 9 8 , R e la t i v o al..„ 2 6 Oct 1912; S R E H in tz e to Lascuràin, 23 Sept., 19 N o v . 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12— 9 — 7 ; S R E ,
J. Flores M a g ó n to Lascuràin, 9 N o v . 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12— 9 — 7 ; S R E , M e l é n d e z to Garcia, 9 Dec. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 ( 4 3 : 7 2 ): 1 2 — 9 — 7 :
W hen the trial fin ally began in early D ecem ber, on e of th e trial judges reportedly acquitted the su sp ects under his ju risd iction b eca u se of the lack of m erits. This action co n seq u en tly placed in doubt the outcom e of the w h ole process, but before the trial could con tin u e a bitter gu b er natorial elec tio n dispute in the state and the h olid ay sea so n postponed the p roced in gs until the n ew y e a r 33.
Luque, not m erely con ten t to prolong the p ro cess, also took his case to the public and m ay h a v e e v e n p lotted to help the prisoners e s cape. On 17 N ovem ber, in a w ell-atten d ed cerem on y at A q u iles Serdân's g ra v e to honor the fa llen revo lu tion ary hero, Luque d enounced the im prisonm ent of the C ovadonga su spects, claim ed th ey w ere political scap egoats, and praised them as true revo lu tio n a ries. Both M eléndez and the j e f e p o l i t i c o of Puebla w ere in attendance. Later, Luque w as caught inside the p en eten tiary receiv in g plans of the p rison ’s \ lay o u t from the prisoners in w hat w a s seen as an esca p e p lot34.
A s e v e n ts dragged on in Puebla, H intze, w h o w a s re c e iv in g pressure from both the German com m unity in M exico and at hom e to bring the C ovadonga ca se to a satisfactory con clu sion , becam e in crea sin g ly im patient w ith the M exican governm en t. For h is critics, m on etary com p en sation w as not en ou gh, he also had to accom p lish the culprits' ca p
ture and punishm ent.
In M exico, H intze faced the determ ined op position of the self-ap p oin ted lead er of the German colon y , G. P agen stech er. A m edical doctor w ith b u sin ess in terests in M exico, P agen stech er w a s accustom ed to a c lo se and ev e n indulgent relationship w ith the German m inistry as he pursued his personal fin ancial and political interests. In the period b etw een the departure of H intze's p red ecessor and the m inister's arri val in M ex ico in 1911, P agen stech er e v e n took it upon h im self u noffi c ia lly to represen t the German com m unity before the M exican g o v e r n ment. Hintze, u nlik e other Germ an m inisters to M exico, refused to have anyth in g to do w ith P agen stech er an d e v e n , h e claim ed, turned down an illegal b u sin ess offer made to him by the doctor in co n ju n ction with other Germ an b u sin essm en 35.
P agen stech er took offen se at his treatm ent b y H intze and v o w ed to m ake the m inister p ay for h is actions. H e seized upon C ovadonga
33 L a F г a n с e , A peop le..., p . 2 9 1 — 2 9 9 ; „ N u e v a E r a " 2, 4 X I I 1912.
34 A G N / A F M , H in tz e to M a d e ro , 4 Dec. 1912, 7 0 : 6: — ; S R E , M e l é n d e z to Raiael H e r n a n d e z , 17 Dec. 1912, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12— 9— 7 ; S R E , H in tz e lo Garcia, 4 Jan. 1913, 2 4 2 .5 (4 3 : 7 2 ): 12 —9 —7 ; „ N u e v a E r a " И X I I 1912.
15 A A A , H in tz e to Beth man n H o llw e g , 12 Mar. 1912, 14: 7 2 5 , 7 J u ly 1912, 15: 180,- A A A , P a g e n s t e c h e r о F löckh er , 2 7 Mar. 1912, 14: 7 7 0 ; G B F O , G o s ch en to G r e y Bart, 11 Jun e 1912, 1 3 9 7 : 26,- K a t z , D e u tsc h la n d , p. 20 9 .
