Mexican President Diaz

1.  Porfirio Diaz and International Influence
Bret R. Fuller
History 512 – Inter-American Relations
August 1, 2014
ASSESSMENT OF THE PORFIRIATO
PERIOD

2. Mexico still
holds President
Diaz at a
distance, while
he is largely
forgotten
outside of
Mexico (at least
in the U.S.);
perhaps now is
the time for
Mexico to
ceremonially
welcome Diaz
home; he was
not perfect, but
he was Mexican
at heart.
Left: Diaz’s
current resting
place: Paris,
France.
THESIS

3. John Kenneth
Turner,
American
journalist,
argued against
Diaz to his
American
audience. He
viewed Diaz as
in it for
personal
ambition, even
claiming that
modern-day
slavery existed
under Diaz’s
watch.
VIEW #1

4. James
Creelman,
American
journalist,
conducted the
famous 1908
interview with
Diaz, when Diaz
claimed he
would not run
again. Creelman
gave a glowing
portrait of Diaz,
acknowledging
Mexico’s faults,
but never
directly laying
the blame with
Diaz.
VIEW #2

5. Ethel Tweedie,
British travel
writer, enjoyed
direct access to
President Diaz;
like Creelman,
she was willing
to overlook any
faults Diaz had,
assuming that
Mexico’s ability
to modernize
and stabilize
was mainly due
to Diaz’s strong
leadership.
VIEW #3

6. From an objective
point of view, one
of the major
accomplishments
under Diaz was
the creation of
the Sanitation
Code. The
Mexican health
community was
able to control
problems within
its own borders,
like Yellow Fever,
without needing
to go to the
United States
authorities for
assistance.
PORFIRIATO
PERIOD

7. During the
Porfiriato
Period, Mexico
transformed;
an examination
of postcards at
the time is one
interesting way
to understand
how Mexico
viewed itself,
as well as how
it projected its
image to
others.
SELF-
DISCOVERY