THE H.B. TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16, 1927 A MEXICAN ELECTION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 16 November 1927, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16, 1927 A MEXICAN ELECTION

JpRESIDENTIAL election campaigns in the United States are generally pretty warm affairs, but they are mildness itself compared with what takes place on like occasions in the neighbouring Latin Republic of Mexico, where an election takes on something of the aspect of a revolution. An election campaign has been in progress there for some good few weeks now, and has been, and is still being, attended by the usual “incidents.” It was only yesterday that we had word of an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate General Obregon, who has already occupied the presidential chair, and who is now the Government candidate in succession to Senor Calles. This may or may not recall to readers the fact that some five or six weeks ago we had news of the “execution” of another candidate, General Serrano, who was accused of being implicated in a revolt against the Government and, with thirteen of his followers, was summarily court-martialled, stood up against a wall and shot. Referring to this little occurrence, the London “Times” said :—“The execution? that are announced from Mexico indicate that the election campaign has begun in earnest. Of the two . generals, Serrano and Gomez, who were already in the field in opposition to the Government candidate, one has been eliminated by the firing squad, and the capture of the other seems imminent.” It appears that Serrano was, the more formidable of the two. He was Govenor of the Federal district. including Mexico City, and had been for years an important member of the Obregon-Calles group, whose socialistic outlook he shared. The rising in which he perished was put down with

promptitude and with the severity which is becoming customary. Resting on Vera Cruz, this revolt seems to have been a more widespread Hind ambitious scheme than most of the contemporary efforts to mobilise dissatisfaction. It turned on the question of re-elec-tion—a matter of particular interest to all generals with political ambitions or politicians with enough military strength to justify Presidential aspirations. Since Diaz no President has been reelected. The practical question for each President has been not whether he might be elected again, but whether he would actually survive his statutory term, and the answer has amost always been in the negative. Bu( “no re-election” is the oldest and strongest cry in Mexican politics.

An amendment to the Constitution of 1917 permits a President to be re-elected after an interval. When, four years ago, there leaked out news of the pact between Obregon and his Minister of War, the present President Callgk, whereby the latter would succeed Obregon, and Obregon would afterwards succeed Calles, opponents of the reigning group declared that the position would be very little better than it was when Porfirio Diaz made a habit of suceeding himself and presided over his own re-election every four years. What difference the elimination of these first candidates will make is doubtful. The campaign has still nearly a y.ear to run ,and the danger of the trade has never yet caused a dearth of generals willing to put their fortunes to the test. Though one of the first economies of President Calles was to remove 4,000 generals from the Army list, they still abound. Though a strict censorship of news has been maintained, there is no pretence that the country is quiet, and it is now almost a matter of course for the Mexican Government to report the suppression of a small rising every few days. The numbers of troops engaged in these operations seem seldom to be more than a few hundreds; only too often there is no clear line to be drawn between the capture of bandits and the suppression of rebellion, for the successful bandit passes on naturally to political ambitions, while the unsuccessful politician who survives has few ’ other professions but banditry left to him. But the general fact emerges that there has been little or no unity amongst those who have been challenging the present regime. The very characteristics of Mexico —the mountainous inaccessibility of so much of the country, the many distinctions and divergent interests of its twenty - eight States—which make local revolt so easy to start and so hard to extinguish, also prevent common action. Modern inventions like the aeroplane and wireless telegraphy have greatly strengthened the central authority. But where, apart from the chances of assassination, this petty but constant warfare is most dangerous to those in authority is in its cumulative effect and in the strain it puts upon the Federal revenues. On this occasion th’e campaign has begun earlier than usual, and there may be some doubt as to finance holding out.