MY PROGRAM IF MADE PRESIDENT OF
THE REPUBLIC
f,
-nr-asr-rrw ism
FELIX
EX ICO. FMFItOLXO FHOM tl tin;., of
n dilution, will i led a new Cltiif F.n villi a
within lln next fnr week. t'pmi him nil!
tit pt ml the resurrect ion mid inti trit ;. not
the salvation, nf the Ilemhlle. Frit mis of
(ii in ml Diaz (a so fur as Id insist that, if his
lift is spurn! until the duly elections, he will
In elmseii tn sureeeil the Idle Fresidt nt Modi rn.
Horn fortisix iears ano in the slalt uf
Oaxueu, in the smith nf Mexico, the jirnsu etii
I'rcsiili nl enteral the Military Aeodt my
( 'luijtiilli pec in fSS.f mill irus cum missioned a Lieutenant o( F.nyi
iiars iii .S'.S'.V. His first military service was mi the tnjrapln
enl Commission which prepared the ireul military wop of Mtxiai.
At its conclusion, he wus in sujinine cliunje of the work which is
concedi d to he a masterpiece of its kind. Dnriny the Spanish
A merican war, Lieutenant Diaz was mode a Colonel on the m nil
Staff of (he Mexican Arm if, mid later was twice elected to Cmitnss
from Vera Cruz. Py I'.IOJ he had olreadij hecmne political!; for
midable and was reiordcd as the most likely successor to his umh .
President 1'orfiriu Diaz, who in UIU made him Inspector (It mml
By Felix Diaz
Mexico, March 21, inn.
UK CLOSH OF A bloody but just revolution lintls nic a candi
date l'or the 1 'residency of my country. This position has
been forced upon nie by the exigencies of the situation, backed
by the unsolicited support of a large proportion of the def
lorate. Hut abroad mitl particularly, I fear, in the 1'mted
States of America my aims and my attitude toward political
preterment have been misunderstood. 1, there tore,
gladly embrace this opportunity to address a large- section of the
American reading public.
Should 1 have the good fortune to be elected President of Mexieo, my
first efforts will be toward creating conditions of absolute peace through
out the country. "Peace and Justice" has been my motto, and shall
remain the guiding principle of my administration. I am convinced
that only by dispensing justice to all, in the fullest sense of the word,
can permanent conditions of internal pence be assured.
To enlarge on this proposition: My attitude at present is neces
sarily one of expectancy; but my aims are the same as those 1 ex
pounded years ago in an address to the Military College, and recently
in a manifesto to the people of the state of Oaxnca. Three steps must
be taken in the rehabilitation of Mexico. First, order must be restored;
second, the natural resources of the Republic must be developed, and
knowledge dillused for the greater growth of these
resources; third, perfect justice must be adminis
tered, so far as it lies in a human being to administer
justice. The rest will come of its own momentum,
based on the foregoing and a new rule of conduct
which will decline to indulge in Utopian dreams, but
which will appraise men and things as they are and
as they may lie used, not as one would like them to bo
and as they are never found in Ibis world.
I recognize that peace must first be assured before
we can obtain confidence abroad, and the confidence
of other nations is necessary if this Republic is to be
placed on a sound financial basis. It is my earnest
hope that President lluerla's interim government
may succeed in putting down the last vestiges of re
bellion and disorder in Morelos, CJuerrero and in the
North, especially in Souora. The active militarv
measures that are now being taken in this direction
ought to have good results. Should this task not lie
fully accomplished by the time the new government
comes into power, it is my intention, should I be
President, to bring about, with all the means at my
disposal, the prompt and complete pacification of
those states and of the whole country.
If tho means I find at hand are not adequate, new
means will be created. Hut I am convinced that it
would be wise for me to adopt only some of the
methods of pacification used by my uncle, lion Por
firio Diaz, at the time of his early triumphs. This is
because I would lack the personal elements on which
of Folia in the ('ill of Mexico. As such In iiirnal a sinister i m
tatimi for sea rit;, ofti)i tiiual h; ermlty. It is said that mm;
firismiers were jml to death under his ui! ministration than umU r
an; other police retfimc in Mexico, hat this is emphatically tit nit tl
li;i him. On the contrar;, (It nerol Diaz points to the fact that no
Chit f of Folia, undtr the Mexican low. is authorized to eondt mn
or t xt cute firismiers in his ehorije
Toward the close of the disheveled Modcro reyimr, Felix Diaz
tiiitomaticall; liceuinc the trailer of the malcontents in the reyular
army, and last October mailt- hinistlf temporarily master of Vera
Cm:. His r colt was a fiasco ami he was imprisoned. The nst is
I in ui' tliutt hislor;. An ufirixiii; followal in which the prison teas
shii ini it mitl tfie (lenerol was released.
ll;i tin It rms of his compact with Provisional-President lluerla.
(it in nil Diaz has announced himself a emididole for the next Fnsi
ilt m ;i of tin licpiildic. Since mokiny the announcement, he has
ttikt n no nnneccssar;! chances, hut has slrmuly entrenched hinistlf
ot the Hacienda del Christo at Atzeapulzaico, some twenty milts
frmn Mexico City. From this yurrisoned retreat, denerul Diaz
issiial the fiillowinij exclusive declaration of his political prineijihs
for fiuhlication in the Si:mi-Montiii.y iM.uiazinu:
he counted. My principal strength must lio in the fact that 1 shall be bound
by none of the compromises which often cause trouble to well-intentioned
governments.
It is not my present expectation that the standing army of Mexico will
have to be materially increased. According to the needs of the moment, there
iniij come such especial measures as calling for volunteers, or incorporating
standing bodies of ru rules into the army for short periods of time; but 1 am
by no means committed to the mooted plan of introducing general military
conscription. This I feel to be a very large and momentous problem, from a
social and financial point of view, as well as from many others. Therefore,
it should not be rashly undertaken without the fullest and most earnest pre
liminary consideration.
T AM a soldier and 1 know that large armies can not be improvised off
hand, except, perhaps, at moments of high patriotic fervor. Power
ful standing armies cost money a great deal of money. Mexico, at
the present time, is in no financial condition for a vast expenditure for
any such purpose. The late Madero government has left us without
an, funds in the treasury. We found only debts. Our country needs
money badly; but she needs money for constructive purposes- for
economic development and for internal improvements. With this as
our frankly declared financial policy, and in view of the admitted
wealth of our permanent national resources, I believe that foreign cap
ital can be obtained; but I feel free to say that I
doubt very much whether foreign capital could he
readily obtained for purely military purposes.
Still, it must be clear to all that our country can
not be properly developed without guarantees of com
plctc pacification, and such pacillcatiou must neces
sarily require, military methods and occasionally
heavy expenditures. Put in the solution of this
problem 1 know that we shall have the hearty co
operation of all our political parties and of I lie peo
pie at huge. In regard to Souora and the menace
of its secession which I do not believe for a mo
ment can he successfully accomplished, or is even de
sired by a majority of its citizens 1 feel, like every
right-thinking Mexican, that any loss of our terri
tory in this or in any other direction, is simply in
admissible. Should I become President, it will be my aim to
encourage in every possible way the influx of foreign
capital and foreign immigration. Mexico is rich in
minerals, in agricultural products and in timber, to
name (.:ly three id' our leading industries. We cheer
fully invite the foreign investor to aid us in devel
oping these resources.
It is planned to create a new Ministry of Agri
culture and Labor, in addition to the existing Minis
tries of Mines, Hacienda, Fomento, Communications
and the Interior. To this Ministry id' Agriculture
and Labor will fall the task of making a special studs
of a more eijuitable distri- (('milium d on Page J ' i