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5. Toward Direct Participation: July 1943–July 1944
- University of New Mexico Press
- Chapter
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141 five Toward Direct Participation july 1943–july 1944 With the midterm elections safely concluded, the Ávila Camacho administration continued to make subtle moves to prepare the population for the possibility of direct participation in World War II, but also, for the first time, it began to take concrete steps behind the scenes toward the formation of an expeditionary force. Preparations for the deployment of a Mexican military unit began with informal discussions on the subject between Foreign Minister Padilla and Ambassador Messersmith in July 1943. In the months that followed, carefully staged presidential statements on Mexico’s role in the war laid the groundwork for the announcement that Mexican troops would go to the battlefronts. For logistical and political reasons, however, the administration concluded that Mexico’s military contribution to the war effort would be limited, at least initially, to a relatively small air squadron. Integrating larger ground units into the Allied forces would create headaches for war planners in Washington and for commanders on the front lines. Moreover, Mexican leaders judged that the public at home was less likely to resist participation in the war if only a small group of professional military pilots and support personnel were sent into action. When the newly organized Squadron 201 of the Mexican Air Force left Mexico City for training in the United States in July 1944, there was no outcry over the news that the unit would ultimately be destined for service overseas in the fight against the Axis. Although the belief that Mexico might send its soldiers abroad had been enough to trigger 14 2 c h a p t e r f i v e rebellions in the countryside during the first year after the country had declared war, the government’s cautious handling of the issue over many months allowed it to avoid any serious resistance when it finally did acknowledge that an expeditionary force would carry Mexico’s flag into battle. Indeed, not only did the Mexican decision to participate actively in the war contribute to the administration’s efforts to professionalize the armed forces and to raise the country’s standing in the international community, it also generated a burst of patriotic feeling that enhanced the president’s authority and prestige. And by the middle of 1944, any additional leverage that the government could gain through a deepened public commitment to the war effort would have been welcome to the country’s leaders, given the ominous signs of discontent and instability that were beginning to appear at that time. HHH When Padilla raised the possibility of Mexican military participation in the war in a conversation with Ambassador Messersmith early in July 1943, he made it clear that his government’s interest in the matter arose largely from a desire to deepen the Mexican people’s consciousness of what was at stake in the global conflict. He noted that with Mexico becoming geographically “further away from the war” and with the prospect of an attack on Mexican shores becoming “more remote,” “it was difficult for the great masses of the people to appreciate all of the implications of the war for Mexico.”1 Participating in the conflict directly would make the importance of the conflict clearer to the Mexican public, the foreign minister implied. Though Padilla did not say so, it is very likely that he and his colleagues calculated that a deeper emotional investment in the outcome of the war would cause the citizenry to rally around President Ávila Camacho and to curtail its criticism of the government. In light of the unwelcome attention that the regime was then receiving for its inability to control inflation, its failure to punish the grafters in its ranks, and its underhanded tactics during the recent congressional elections, the president and his ministers were no doubt eager to find ways to rekindle the spirit of “national unity” that had been on display for brief periods during the first few months after Mexico entered the war. Padilla also told Messersmith that many of the country’s military leaders were anxious to take part in the fight against the Axis. In their view, [18.206.13.112] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 22:29 GMT) t o wa r d d i r e c t pa r t i c i pat i o n 143 he said, “it was not in accord with Mexico’s dignity and her place among the United Nations that her army did not bear...