South of the Border

Trump's racist ranting against Latinos occasioned last Saturday's post about the U.S. crackdown on Germans during World War I; today, let's catch up on the news south of the Rio Grande at this point in 1918.

When last we checked in on U.S.-Latin American relations, it was coming to light that reports of Pancho Villa's death were greatly exaggerated, but U.S. expeditionary forces were being withdrawn from Mexico in exchange for promises by Mexican President Venustiano Carranza to do more to stop Villa's border raids.

"Gulliver en la Tierra de los Liliputienses" in El Momo, Mexico City, before February, 1918

The above cartoon depicts Carranza tied down by members of his own political party, the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista. I regret that that I cannot credit the Latin-American cartoonists in this blog post by name; they were not credited in Cartoons magazine and each of the cartoons appear to have been unsigned. (Given the autocratic tendencies and instability of many Latin American governments, signing one's name to a political cartoon could be hazardous to one's health.)

Pancho Villa was not the only issue dividing Mexico and the U.S. The American occupation of Veracruz in the Tampico Oil Fields affair of 1914 had led to the downfall of Carranza's predecessor and was a continued irritant to the Mexican government. By 1917, the Tampico oil fields were under the control of Manuel Pelaez, whose sympathies toward the Allies did not come without a cost. Cartoons magazine's Latin America correspondent, Harry H. Dunn, described Pelaez's modus operandi:

"These fields, in which are more than 50 wells which flow an average of 100,000 barrels a day, are policed and protected by Manuel Pelaez, better known in the 200 square miles which he controls as "King Pelaez." For this protection, which is real and thoroughly carried out against Mexicans and foreign intruders impartially, Pelaez receives $20,000 a month from the owners of the wells. ... Britishers, Americans and Frenchmen come and go freely in the territory Pelaez controls, but anyone of Teutonic tendencies or anyone against whom the oil well owners have the slightest suspicion is held for examination, or unceremoniously hustled out of that region."

"Moses" in El Momo, Mexico City, before January, 1918

The Mexican government collected its taxes on oil exports on top of the protection payments charged by King Pelaez, but in a move to more effectively control Mexico's most important natural resource,  Carranza ordered Pelaez and his soldiers driven out of the district in November, 1917. This did not result in any savings to Mexico's petroleum customers; Carranza simply raised the petroleum export tax.

"Von Rin Rin y Su Mundo" in El Momo, Mexico City, before January, 1918

Rafael Martinez, the editor of Mexico City's El Demócrata newspaper, was a German sympathizer described by Mr. Dunn, as "right-hand man" to Mexico's Ambassador to Germany, Rafael Zubaran. In 1917, Martinez also acquired rival newspaper El Mundo (which, of course, translates to "The World"). El Momo, a Mexico City satirical magazine, skewered the two, referring to Martinez by the nickname Von Rin Rin ("Von Laugh Laugh") and portraying the ambassador as a bloviating academic.

"Dr. Zubaran" in El Momo, Mexico City, before January, 1918

By now, you may have detected that El Momo (The Mimic) had Yanquí sympathies. Here is a fairly flattering caricature of the American Ambassador to Mexico at this time, Henry P. Fletcher.

There's a lot to unpack in this next cartoon, in which the central characters are El Demócrata's Rafael Martinez and Jose Pavalicini, the pro-American editor of El Universal. The caped figure in black on the far right is germanófilo General Obregón, who despite his German sympathies was on a U.S. tour in early 1918 to promote "friendship between the two nations." Appearing as his nemesis on the far left is aliadófilo General Gonzales.

"En el Signo del Laurel" in El Momo, Mexico City, before February, 1918

For the most part, Latin American countries tried to steer a neutral course in the war, but after three Brazilian ships were torpedoed by the Germans, Brazil declared war on Germany in October, 1917. Brazilian troops would not be significantly involved in the fighting, however; perhaps they would have been if the war had lasted longer. Instead, Brazil's primary contribution to the Allies was its naval patrols of the southern Atlantic, and its exports of beef, beans and sugar.

"Come Over Here, Kid" (possibly by J. Carlos?) in A Careta, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February, 1918 or earlier

The Allies' interception of a note from German chargé d'affaires at Buenos Aires Karl von Luxburg via the Swedish legation to German Foreign Minister Alfred Zimmerman after the sinking of two Argentine ships sparked protests in Argentina, but Argentine President Hipólyto Yrigoyen still refused to be drawn into the conflict.

It was poor psychology, Luxburg wrote, to allow news of such maritime losses to be circulated, therefore Argentine ships should either be left alone altogether or else sunk without a trace, which involved gunning the survivors in lifeboats. Luxburg went on to sneer at the Indianism of South America, make disparaging remarks about Yrigoyen and Foreign Minister Honorio Puerrydon whom he characterized as "a notorious ass and Anglophile." These coldblooded remarks as well as the insults aroused public feeling and German-owned businesses and clubs were wrecked by angry mobs. Luxburg was expelled and in September, 1917 the Argentine Congress voted 76-19 to sever relations with Germany. Yrigoyen, however, was amazingly patient and ignored the clamor of the "best people," continuing diplomatic relations.

"Now Get Out," (possibly by J. Carlos?) in A Careta, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, probably September, 1917.
Contemporary American sources spell the president's name with an "I" instead of a "Y."

Immediately following the U.S. declaration of war, Yrigoyen proposed a conference to be attended by only the Spanish-American states. His plan was to isolate the United States and possibly Brazil from the other American republics and to assert a dominant influence over Latin American affairs. Although most of the invited governments at first accepted the invitation, their enthusiasm soon cooled when they realized how unwise it was to exclude the United States. In the end only Mexico sent delegates, who arrived in Buenos Aires to find that the congress had been postponed indefinitely.

Luxburg's "bundle" in the above cartoon is wrapped in the Swedish flag. Incidentally, instead of Berlin, Luxburg went to Uruguay to represent the German government in Montevideo.

Cartoons magazine thought that his cover illustration from the Argentine magazine Sucesos is complimentary to the American President, but it doesn't appear so to me. Perhaps it was more flattering in color. You decide.

From Sucesos, Buenos Aires, February, 1918 or before.