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3. Mexico Enters the Global Conflict: May-June 1942
- University of New Mexico Press
- Chapter
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57 three Mexico Enters the Global Conflict may–june 1942 Just before midnight on May 13, 1942, a torpedo launched by a German U-boat struck the bridge of the Mexican oil tanker Potrero del Llano as it steamed northward off the Atlantic coast of Florida. Thirteen men, including the ship’s captain and most of its officers, perished in the explosion. Rescuers later pulled the twenty-two surviving members of the crew from the burning waters around the crippled vessel, but one, a machinist named Rodolfo Chacón, subsequently died of his injuries in a Miami hospital. The attack, and the loss of life, shocked and saddened many in Mexico, but it was by no means clear how the government would react to the incident. Labor leaders and others on the left, whose enthusiasm for the Allied cause had been growing ever since the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, insisted on an immediate declaration of war on the Axis powers, but other voices suggested that a less extreme response would be sufficient. In any event, it was clear that the vast majority of Mexicans still did not wish to see their country embroiled in the world war. When President Manuel Ávila Camacho responded to the attack on the Potrero del Llano by dispatching a forceful ultimatum to Berlin, Rome, and Tokyo, and by calling for the declaration of “a state of war” after Mexico’s protest was answered only by the sinking of another ship, the Faja de Oro, on May 20, the president was not following the lead of public opinion. Rather, he sensed that deepening Mexico’s involvement in the war—taking the nation beyond the awkward policy of pro-Allied “neutrality” that 58 c h a p t e r t h r e e it had followed since Pearl Harbor—would provide new opportunities for him to foster a climate of national unity within Mexico and to gain benefits for the country in the international arena. Because there was little popular support for participation in the war, Ávila Camacho had to proceed with great caution, but his gamble paid off in the months ahead, as groups and individuals from across the political spectrum found that they had little choice but to rally behind his “patriotic” policies in defense of the national honor and as improved relations with Mexico’s new partners among the Allied “United Nations” bore fruit. HHH When news of the sinking of the Potrero del Llano began to reach Mexico on May 14, reactions varied widely. Legislators and government officials expressed outrage but were generally noncommittal when asked how Mexico should respond, saying only that they would support whatever measures the president might recommend. The tone of declarations on the subject by other political figures and by popular organizations tended to depend on their ideological orientation, with those on the left generally advocating a declaration of war against the Axis and those on the right calling for calm and a more measured response. In between the anti-fascist war hawks and the more cautious conservatives, most Mexicans simply felt unenthusiastic about the prospect of entering the war and uneasy about the sacrifices they might be called upon to make. Mistrust of the United States played a part in shaping the public’s lukewarm feelings about the possibility of formally joining the Allies, as did a strong fear that Mexican soldiers would be sent abroad to fight and die on distant battlefields. These concerns surfaced occasionally in letters written to government officials, but more often the prevailing ambivalence was recorded only as an apparent apathy that worried many observers. Ávila Camacho did not lead a united country into the war, but by making Mexico a belligerent—with appeals to patriotism and reassurances for those who feared the consequences of such a momentous step—he succeeded, at least temporarily, in rallying the nation behind him and in strengthening his authority. The initial reaction to the sinking of the Potrero del Llano in official circles was cautious. In public statements made in the immediate aftermath of the attack, members of Congress and prominent functionaries [3.89.163.120] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 22:51 GMT) m e x i c o e n t e r s t h e g l o b a l c o n f l i c t 59 expressed different ideas about how Mexico should respond. Whatever their personal views might have been...