The Participation of Mexico in the Second World War , Although usually unnoticed and unknown by many, was of great importance to the Allied bloc.
The Latin American country contributed significantly to the sale of raw materials to the United States mainly, in addition to having fought in the Philippines campaign for the liberation of the island of Luzon.
Mexican Expeditionary Air Force
Although Latin America was not a war territory during the Second World War , Thanks to the different Pan-American conferences and to the emergence of the political, economic and social movement of Pan-Americanism, most of the countries were involved in the indirect or direct conflict, as is the case in Mexico.
World War II became a conjuncture that allowed it to initiate a process of successful industrialization through the inflow of foreign capital, and at the same time entering the international financial markets after solving its main bilateral conflict, namely with the United States .
After the war began in 1939, in the framework of the Pan-American Conference of Panama, the Latin American countries met with the objective of establishing a position on the new emerging conflict, deciding to adopt a neutral position in addition to agreeing a security zone of 300 miles where no acts of hostility or war could be generated.
However, two events forced the Mexican nation to forget the neutrality agreement and enter the war by creating the famous Mexican Expeditionary Air Force known under the name of squadron 201.
The policy of neutrality begins to be lost
The bilateral relations between the United States and Mexico have been marked from the beginning by great antagonisms.
From the American intervention in the port of Veracruz in 1914 and the punitive expedition of 1917 that the United States carried out in Mexico with the objective of capturing the revolutionary Francisco Pancho Villa, the relations between both nations had always been conflicting.
However, with the coming to power of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933 and the establishment of his policy of"good neighborliness"that prevented him from interfering in the internal affairs of other states, relations improved, later later The decade of the thirties to be in crisis again.
In 1934 Mexican general and statist Lázaro Cárdenas took power at a time when the Mexican political climate was unstable and the economic situation still affected by the Great Depression of 1929.
However, with its policies of expropriation of agricultural land, creation of various banks and nationalization of railways, the situation and support for its government improved considerably.
Cárdenas decides Nationalize the oil industry , A decision that the United States does not willingly accept as the US Treasury orders to suspend the purchase of Mexican silver by having no other company buy oil from Mexico.
The decision of the American administration forces the Mexican nation to sell oil to Germany, Japan and Italy to balance its economy.
For 1940 enters the government of the military and Mexican politician Manuel Avila Camacho, who begins to soften the relations with the United States authorizing that American planes fly over the Mexican territory, at the same time that begins to seize to German and Italian ships that were in ports Mexicans leaving aside the neutral stance that their predecessor had adopted.
President Camacho's goal was to improve relations with the United States, since only then would the Mexican economy come to fruition.
When the Pearl Harbor attack took place in 1941, Mexico was one of the first to provide aid and diplomatic support to the United States, an action that at the international level caused it to lose its hitherto"neutrality in the conflict".
Mexico declares war
Due to the good relations that begin to establish between the United States and Mexico, the latter begins to be seen as active country of the Allied block, even more after starting to sell oil again to the United States. This was a situation that the Germans did not like at all, hence two events took place.
The first of these occurs on May 13, 1942, when near the Florida coast a German submarine torpedo hits the Mexican tanker"Petrolero del Llano", killing 13 crew members.
And the second, seven days later. On his return from the United States, the oil tanker"Golden Belt"is torpedoed and destroyed by a German submarine causing 9 Mexican sailors to die.
As a result of these attacks the Mexican government had to adopt a stance in the face of the war, hence on May 28, 1942 President Manuel Avila Camacho declared the war announcing the existence of a state of war between Mexico, Germany, Italy And Japan.
Indirect participation of Mexico in the War
The Mexican nation participated in World War II in two different ways.
On the one hand, through the Bracero Program, which was introduced in 1942, it consisted of a binational labor agreement between Mexico and the United States through which the American government moved more than a thousand Mexican peasants to work in the fields of Cultivation and American farms.
This was done with the aim that the American economy would not be affected by investing the budget in the arms industry alone.
On the other hand, being the main exporting country of raw materials of Latin America. Throughout the war, Mexico improved its economy through the sale of metals as silver And covers the Allied nations, especially the United States.
In turn, Mexico was in charge of providing textiles, construction materials and supplies to the great powers of the alliance.
Direct participation of Mexico in the War
In order to support allied forces, the Mexican government decided to create a small unit with the mission of collaborating in the Philippines Campaign to liberate the country and in particular the island of Luzon (one of the most important politically and economically) of The Japanese imperial forces. For that reason, the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force is created, alias squadron 201.
The chosen Mexican soldiers received military training in the United States for seven months and then they were sent to fight with this power in the air war of the Pacific Front.
It is estimated that the 201 squadron traveled 1966 hours of flight in combat mission, managing to destroy 30,000 Japanese and part of its infrastructure, arms, convoys of supply and reinforcement.
The squad is known today as the famous"Aztec Eagles", who played an important role in the liberation of the island of Luzon.
References
- Deutsche Welle. Squadron 201: Mexico in World War II . (2017). Retrieved on July 24, 2017 from dw.com
- Encyclopedia Britannica. World War II. Retrieved on July 25, 2017 from britannica.com
- Keller, R. S-Mexican Relations from Independence to the Present. Retrieved on July 25, 2017 from americanhistory.oxfordre.com
- Mendez, J. (2017). Mexico and World War II. Retrieved on July 25, 2017 from academia.edu
- Minster, C. (2017). Mexican involvement in World War II. Retrieved July 25, 2017 from thoughtco.com
- News RT. (2010). Latin America in World War II . Retrieved on July 25, 2017 from actual.rt.com
- Robertson, J. (2016). Mexico's involvement in World War II . Retrieved on July 25, 2017 from owlcation.com
- Salazar, D. and Flores, E. Mexican soldiers in the front. Mexico and World War II. Retrieved on July 25, 2017 from studioshistoricos.inah.gob.mx.