In a few days he had rallied around him a few faithful followers and captured the small garrison of Tehuitzingo. From this time his career was a succession of victories until the capture and execution of Maximilian. These victories and the firm stand of the United States government re-established republican supremacy. Early in 1867 preparations were made to regain Puebla which city was defended by a force of several thousand French troops. On April 2nd he made a feint with a few hundred men on the convent of “El Carmen” which caused the army of the defenders to be concentrated there. Then a concerted attack followed from several points, and the soldiers of Diaz drove back the hardened troops of the third Napoleon, and the flag of liberty waved over the city in the early dawn. He followed up the fleeing foreigners and a series of engagements followed in which Diaz was victorious. The war was ended by the capture of the City of Mexico after a siege of several assaults.
From boyhood until the close of the empire in 1867, General Diaz had worked against great odds. He was by this time easily the most popular man in Mexico. One party at the general elections of that year nominated him for president, but he refused to run against his old friend and patron, President Juarez. He even refused an office and resigned his commission in the army. In search of rest he retired to the place of his birth, and his trip from the capital was a triumphal journey. The citizens of Oaxaca received him with open arms, and presented him with the estate of La Noria near that city. Hither he went with the wife whom he had married by proxy during the war and spent a few years in comparative quiet. In 1871 another presidential election was held. Juarez, who had failed both mentally and physically, had advocated a number of unpopular measures, but was determined to have himself reëlected to office. Diaz was also a candidate. When Juarez was declared elected, the “Porfiristas” declared a revolution with the slogan “less government and more liberty.” However Juarez died in a few months and the executive power temporarily fell upon the president of the Supreme Court, Lerdo de Tejada, who was afterwards elected to that office to serve the unexpired term.
General Diaz refused reconciliation with this government, and, fearing trouble before the next presidential election, for Lerdo was an active candidate, he sold his estate and left for the United States after a “pronunciamento,” called the “Plan of Tuxtepec,” had been issued to which he gave his allegiance, if he was not the author of it. This “plan” declared a president ineligible to succeed himself. By the time the revolution was well underway in several states, General Diaz had crossed the Rio Grande at Brownsville, Texas, with forty followers. These forty men increased to four hundred in a few days and they captured Matamoros on April 2nd, 1876.
Learning that a large force had been sent after him, General Diaz decided to return south. He went to New Orleans and took a steamer from there, called the City of Habana, sailing for Vera Cruz, and passed himself off as a Cuban doctor. He was not suspected until some of the troops he had captured at Matamoros a few weeks before got on board the ship at Tampico. They immediately made arrangements to secure him on arriving at Vera Cruz. Although the ship was four miles from land, Diaz jumped overboard and attempted to swim ashore. He was picked up after nightfall in an exhausted condition, and taken on board the ship again. However the purser was won to his cause and concealed him in a wardrobe, where he remained for several days on a diet of ship’s biscuit and water. The purser, as a matter of policy and in order to disarm all suspicion, invited the Lerdist officers into his cabin, where they would spend hours in playing at cards. Oftentimes the chair of the one sitting in front of the wardrobe would be tilted back against the door behind which was the man they would have given almost anything to catch. From his cramped position General Diaz was in torment. He could not stand upright, nor was he able to sit down. When the City of Habana arrived at Vera Cruz the chief of the coast guard service, who was the fugitive’s friend, managed to smuggle in to him a dilapidated sailor’s suit and a very old pair of boots. At the same time the chief sent word that a rowboat, in charge of a man he would recognize by certain signals, would come alongside for him. When the ship began to unload bales of cotton into barges, this boat appeared among them, and the noted prisoner made his escape to land.
After several exciting adventures on the way, General Diaz again appeared at Oaxaca among his friends and ardent supporters. His popularity and prestige in Oaxaca have always been remarkable. Never did he appeal to his neighbours and friends of that state in vain. It was not long until he was at the head of an army of four thousand “Porfiristas”—men who would follow their leader to the death if need be, and many of whom had fought with him at Puebla and elsewhere. The news of the escape of Diaz brought gloom to the “Lerdistas.” Lerdo immediately marched his army southward. The two armies met on the 16th of November, 1876, at Tecoac, and for a few hours the battle waged hotly and bitterly. The Lerdist army, which was considerably larger, began the engagement with every prospect of success. At the last moment Diaz led a charge in person which routed the enemy, and the result was a complete triumph for the “Porfiristas.”
Flushed with victory, and determined to press his advantage to the utmost, General Diaz promptly proceeded toward the capital with his augmented army. Panic seized Lerdo and his followers. He took all the public funds available, and, with his ministers, fled to Acapulco. Upon arriving there he embarked for San Francisco, and made no further effort to impede the progress of the Diaz forces. Iglesias, President of the Supreme Court, upon whom the succession legally fell upon the death or resignation of the President, established headquarters at Guanajuato and issued a proclamation assuming the office of chief executive. Diaz at once marched upon Puebla, which he entered without opposition. City after city sent representatives announcing their adherence to his cause. The onward march was continued without a halt until Guadalupe, about three miles from the capital, was reached. Here he halted for a day in order to get his forces into presentable condition to make a triumphal entry into the historic capital.
It was on the 24th of November, 1876, that General Diaz made his memorable march into the City of Mexico. Riding at the head of an army of several thousand armed men he made a triumphal entry into that ancient capital, while thousands gathered along the route to see this new adventurer—as he was styled by his enemies. The Plaza was packed with the populace. This son of an innkeeper, this man with the blood of the Indian in his veins, this hero of many battles passed through the portal of the National Palace and became master of Mexico. From there he issued a proclamation assuming the provisional presidency of the republic, until an election could take place in regular form and a constitutional ruler should be chosen. This was held in December. With the government in his hands the result of that election was never in doubt. After a three months’ campaign his authority was recognized over the entire republic. Since that time Porfirio Diaz occupied that high office continuously, except for an interval of four years from 1880 to 1884, when Manuel Gonzalez held that title, until May 25th, 1911, when he resigned. Diaz himself became a victim of the “Tuxtepec Plan,” forbidding two consecutive terms, and gracefully retired at the end of his first term, although urged by a large following to remain at the head of the government. For the first time in Mexican history was seen the spectacle of one President voluntarily relinquishing the sceptre to his successor, and returning to private life without an effort to retain himself in power. Gonzalez entered the office one of the most popular men in Mexico, having been elected by an almost unanimous vote. Four years later he left it under a cloud of almost universal execration and contempt. During the four years of Gonzalez’s administration Diaz was not idle, but served in the cabinet, as governor of Oaxaca and senator from Morelas. Isolated disturbances have arisen at times, but no formidable opposition arose against him until 1910. This revolution is treated in the succeeding chapter. The law limiting the succession was revoked during his second term, and the length of office was subsequently extended to six years. At the various elections the reported vote was almost unanimous for Diaz. On December 1st, 1910, he was inaugurated President for the seventh consecutive term, or eighth term in all.
Immediately upon first assuming the executive office after the flight of Lerdo, Diaz issued a statement in which he set forth in clear terms his intention to restore constitutional order and institute reforms. He invited all factions and cliques to coöperate with him. This soon won the regard of the intelligent and honest partisans of all factions, and he early showed his impartiality by selecting his advisers irrespective of party. It was not long until most of the Lerdistas and Juaristas were won to his cause. By this skilful handling of the leaders, he secured the good will of Congress in furthering his plans for reforms, and in organizing the finances on a better basis. New treaties were negotiated with foreign nations and able diplomatic representatives sent abroad.
It has been said that the best peacemakers are those who have made war. Those who detest powder most are generally those who have smelled it on the field of battle. To them—more than all others—are known the horrors and hardships of war, and what it entails upon the innocent and guilty alike. Even though a battle-scared hero may have profited by the advantages gained by military success, the tragedy of empty homes and nameless graves is known to and acknowledged by him. General Sherman said: “The main thing is to deal as hard blows at the enemy’s forces as possible, and then cause so much suffering to the inhabitants that they will long for peace.” A similar belief animated President Diaz. He himself has said in explaining his actions in suppressing brigandage: “Sometimes we were harsh to the point of cruelty. But it was all necessary to the life and progress of the nation. If there was cruelty, the results have justified it. It was better that a little blood be shed that much blood be saved. The blood that was shed was bad blood; the blood that was saved was good blood.” Almost before they knew what was happening the professional malcontents found themselves in the grip of this masterful new leader. It was to this quality of firmness that he owed his pronounced success during the first years of his presidency.
Several scattered uprisings occurred during the first term, most of them being fostered by the “Lerdistas.” Lerdo issued a proclamation on the 24th of February, 1877, from New York, claiming to be the constitutional President, and, a few months later, Iglesias did the same thing from New Orleans. Neither of these manifestos were looked upon seriously by the Mexicans, but they were in a great measure responsible for the tardy recognition of the Diaz government by the United States and other foreign powers. One revolt is worthy of mention because of its novelty. A part of the crew of the armed vessel Trinidad mutinied during the absence of the commander at Vera Cruz. They headed for a Campeche port, where they seized several thousand dollars of public funds. While the leaders of the mutiny were ashore enjoying the money, a counter mutiny was led by the boatswain, who took the ship back to Vera Cruz and returned it to the government.