Chapter XVIII: Behind the Scenes of the Carranza-Villa Imbroglio

To make the story very short we could say that Mexican and American reactionary interests were behind Villa, in an endeavor to exclude Carranza as a factor in Mexican politics. But the story will be more interesting and revealing if we point out some of the methods used to engineer the conspiracy.

During the first six months of the revolution against Huerta (1913), few authentic stories were published about the revolution. Most of the news came from Mexico City. There was no other political personage who could get more space in the first page of the newspapers than Victoriano Huerta.

In Europe, the oil interests very effectively silenced the press as to the progress of the revolution; in Paris the press was bought outright.

(Defender of Naco), under General Obregon]

Although the American press cannot be bought, there are ways of circumventing it and cheating it of the truth. The Huertista press agents knowing the curiosity of the American people, fed them with stories about Huerta, and with details of his official and unofficial actions, and more than once his very thoughts were reported and published. The refrain was always: No matter how bad Huerta may be, he is nevertheless President de facto,--he is the strongest man in Mexico and he should be recognized. A Mexican and a foreign newspaperman spent four thousand dollars a week on publicity work, while another supporter of Huerta is known to have spent ten thousand dollars for the same purpose.

The Huerta agents came in contact with the felicista and científico agents, and they put their heads together to devise a means of breaking up the successful revolution. The reactionary junta watched the events with keen interest. As soon as Villa had proved his ability as a general, he was chosen at once as the easiest and most convenient tool to break up the harmony between the revolutionists.

All the efforts were concentrated on Villa. He was furnished with money, ammunition, friends and advisers. Villa’s sincerity, impulsiveness, his violent temper and cruelty, his utter lack of scruples and his ignorance, were splendid instruments in the hands of the past masters of intrigue. On May 13th, 1911, during a mutiny, Pascual Orozco and Villa almost succeeded in murdering Francisco I. Madero. This incident pointed out to the científico element, the man who might be induced to repeat, more successfully, the elimination of another leader of the new revolution.

The Villa press agents began to fill the magazines and Sunday papers with romantic stories about the bandit general, the Napoleon bandit, the Washington, the Lincoln of Mexico. The life record of Villa, his personality and ignorance, forbade his ever becoming a presidential possibility. That just suited the junta, as Villa’s presidency would have been fraught with too many dangers for the científico element. Huerta worked very hard to bring about a break between Villa and Carranza, while he was in power, but he did not succeed. Nevertheless, the work of corrosion and strife was continued by the exiled huertistas, felicistas and científicos.

During the summer of 1913, the Villa publicity reached its zenith. As much as two hundred dollars was paid to a writer to get a story on Villa into a New York Sunday paper. At about that time everybody began to suspect that Huerta would resign. Carranza was approached by the interests which had loaned money to Huerta, to discover if he would recognize the loan, and as Carranza would not countenance such a proposition, the foreign interests united with the Huerta, felicista and científico exiles, with the addition of some of the Madero clan, to work together, against the Constitutionalists.

Villa, with all his ability as a guerrilla general, became a marionette in the hands of politicians who pulled the strings. Even the Aguascalientes Convention became a Punch & Judy show managed from New York, and it was used as a convenient lever to oust Carranza and place a puppet in his stead. The original suggestion to acclaim Don F. Iglesias Calderon as provisional president missed fire, because of the refusal of that very fine and integral personality to take orders from a single military division. Suggestions were telegraphed from New York to the junta’s representatives in Aguascalientes, who, under the guise of radical counsellors, were really dictating what Villa should do.

In fact, all the interviews passed through the hands of an American press agent of Villa, and his manifestos, proclamations and letters were written by the agents, and signed by Villa, who was absolutely ignorant of the contents of the documents.

The Aguascalientes convention was to be represented by all the generals who had fought in the revolution. Only one civilian was present: Luis Cabrera. No soldiers outside of the personal staffs of the generals were supposed to come near Aguascalientes.

Nevertheless, Villa sent ten thousand soldiers to the city and had it surrounded by troops, while he sat in a caboose on a railroad track at the outskirts. For all practical and illegitimate purposes, the Convention was imprisoned--the deliberations were not free and independent, and were not meant to be so. Many generals who tried to escape outside of the ring formed by Villa’s soldiers were sent back to the city; while others managed to slip through and joined their commands.

A perusal of the cabinet members supposed to be named by E. Gutierrez, shows that the list was drawn up in New York. F. Iglesias Calderon, although perfectly honest and independent, stands very high among the members of the Científico Junta. He refused the honor of a portfolio. José Vasconcelos is known to the American public through the stolen Hopkins letters, where his name was mentioned as a recipient of American oil money. E. C. Llorente, who is to represent Gutierrez in Washington, was a porfirista who plotted against the Madero régime at the border.

One of the most important reasons for Villa’s caution in not rushing into a fight against Carranza’s generals, is that he did not feel strong enough to cope against the constitutionalist forces. Fighting veteran Constitutionalists is a different proposition from fighting Huerta’s raw recruits and ex-convicts, or boys. The defection of Villa’s best generals, Generals Luis and Maclovio Herrera, and the Arrieta brothers, could not be supplanted by the support of J. M. Maytorena.

In his anxiety to fight Carranza, General Villa went so far as to enlist many federal Huerta generals, whom he had fought so bitterly and denounced so roundly, and who had escaped from Mexico in fear of Villa’s wrath. Poor Villa seemed unconscious of the fact that he was slowly being surrounded by all the reactionary elements in Mexico--the same element of which he was a conspicuous victim during the Diaz régime. When these interests that now surround him have achieved their purpose, they will try to corrupt him, and if they cannot buy him they will assassinate him.

Villa’s blindness could not go any farther. No reasoning, no arguments, no sense of patriotism or decency can rouse such an innocent fool, and therefore, force will have to decide once more the question of supremacy.

As Luis Cabrera said in a speech before the Convention, “In all probability, the only solution at which the Aguascalientes Convention will arrive, will be another war, another military action,” the name of Aguascalientes (hot waters), is very significant as to the trouble which the Convention has brought Mexico face to face with.

The Científico-Huerta-Madero junta in New York decided a few months ago that if Carranza could not be eliminated through the Convention, he could be forced out by another revolution within the revolution proper.

When it was discovered that the appeal Villa had sent out to the revolutionary generals on September 23d before the Convention, had not succeeded in bringing about the desired result, it was decided to induce the doubtful element in the Convention to join in a supposedly legal procedure. After Carranza’s resignation had been refused at the Convention in Mexico, the delegates suggested the Aguascalientes meeting as a means of settling all the questions of reform. Villa’s supporters, instead of keeping to the business on hand, jammed through the Gutierrez election, published the list of the Cabinet members, and sent Carranza an ultimatum.

In this way they expected to give a legal appearance to their action, and thus accelerate the secession, throwing the loyal Constitutionalists on the side of the Villa contingent.

Neither Villa nor Zapata ever harbored the intention of handing over their forces to the generals designated by the convention--their hope was that Carranza might resign, and then they would control the situation by the mere threat of force, backed by their success.

It can be safely asserted that if Villa should succeed, he would be the president maker, the virtual dictator of Mexico. Then Villa and the científico faction would fight for supremacy ... and destroy each other.

However, no matter what the result of the struggle may be, the Mexican people are tired of “strong men on horseback” and the succession of a Villa tyranny would not be much more advantageous than a Huerta or Diaz dictatorship.

The Mexican people, the 15,000,000 who have suffered so much from military liberators, will very effectively overthrow the pretorian rule of one or more guerrilla czars, when they discover that the strings are managed by Mexican and foreign reactionary interests.

Villa will only repeat Orozco’s treachery and defection, and he will pay the price of his foolishness and ignorance with the contempt and ostracism of the real revolutionary element.