Stanford University, International Studies
http://cgi.stanford.edu/group/wais/cgi-bin/index.php?p=323

MEXICO and the Masons

June 24th, 2005

Dick Hancick writes: When I was training Peace Corps volunteers (PCV) in Mexico during the 1960s, I found to my surprise that many of the presidentes municipales (town mayors) were Masons as well as members of the official party, the PRI. In fact, in arranging village experiences for the PCVs, I found that, in working with the presidentes, I could not work with the village priests. The University of Oklahoma had a center for almost 20 years, Hacienda El C bano, which was located in a small village in Colima. Our cook was a bright attractive young woman who had quite a sense of humor. On one occasion when the church bell was ringing calling people to mass, I spotted her walking away from the church. When I kidded her about not wanting to attend mass, she Said, ” Dr., didn’t you know that we are all Communists, Masons and Protestants?” This was a joke and I took it as such; nevertheless, I think that it may have represented a position—anti-Masonic, Communist and Protestant—that was probably then being conveyed to members of the village church.

RH: Presumably, many members of the PRI are Masons, while there are none in the PAN of President Vicente Fox.

Stanford University, International Studies
http://cgi.stanford.edu/group/wais/cgi-bin/index.php?p=363

Re: MEXICO and the Masons

June 28th, 2005

Randy Black writes: Many of Mexico’s presidents were Freemasons, including Benito Juarez and Porfirio D az. Additionally, while recent presidents of Mexico have not been Masons, a number of the Grand Lodges are and, the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite are closely identified with the ruling party “Partido Revolucionario Institucional” (PRI). In past years the bottom line was that Mexican Masonry appeared in most cases to be irregular in comparison with American Masonry. Some even accused Mexican Masons of “never really understanding Freemasonry” and of “possessing Latin minds incapable of grasping Freemasonry”.

The first American Ambassador to Mexico was Joel Poinsett, for whom the Christmas Flower is named. In Mexico we don’t refer to the Christmas Flower as a Poinsettia because, among other things, Poinsett is regarded as a meddler in Mexican affairs. It was he who brought York Rite Masonry to Mexico, and Mexican historians think this is because he saw the York Lodges as a way to extend American influence, which may be true. But they overlook the fact that all his life he was an enthusiastic Royal Arch Mason and, it was natural that his enthusiasm led him to side with the Yorquinos or Yorkists… and probably not entirely because of politics. (according to Oscar J. Salinas E., Senior Grand Warden-York/Mexico 1999.) Poinsett was a Charleston aristocrat and inveterate traveler; he paid an initial visit to Mexico in the summer of 1822, when he met and formed an unfavorable opinion of the Emperor Iturbide and his Court. Poinsett received the Mexican appointment in 1825, one which had originally been offered to Andrew Jackson. This was at a time when the predominantly Protestant and democratic United States, was suspicious of a Catholic and aristocratic neighbor, wary of increasing British presence in Mexico, and alarmed about Mexican intentions in Cuba. I found this five year old WAIS post on the matter: Tim Brown comments; “I am also interested in what Paul Rich thinks of this, given his expertise. My primary focus is different, but I have often run across Masonic connections when investigating revolutionary movements from Mexico south. For example, in the earlier part of the century, 1918-28 or so, Nicaraguan rebel General Augusto Cesar Sandino was a Mason and received a great deal of support from lodges in the Veracruz region before his final return to Mexico. Among his reportedly Masonic supporters was Lazaro Cardenas, the father of Cuauhtemoc and then army commander in the Veracruz region. The Sandinista Front, the FSLN, was, of course, named after Sandino. Later, during the 1960s and 1970s, the third [not first as most believe] head of that Front, Carlos Fonseca Amador, was often protected by Masonic lodges during his clandestine travels, especially in southern Mexico. But then, the arch rival of both Sandino and the FSLN, Anastacio Somoza Garcia was also a Mason. So, go figure.”

Sources: http://wais.stanford.edu/Mexico/mexico_masons.html
http://www.yorkrite.com/gcmx/os1999.html

Stanford University
http://wais.stanford.edu/Mexico/mexico_masons.html

MEXICO: The Masons

Gustavo del Angel thought that the Masons were losing their political power in Mexico and in Latin America generally. Paul Rich, an expert in these matters who spends each academic year in Mexico, questions this:

"Secret societies -- the Orange Order in Northern Ireland, the Broderbund in South Africa, the Ku Klux Klan in the Old South, the Scottish Rite Freemasons in Mexico, the Tongs in Macau and Hong Kong, the Opus Dei in Spain, the Grand Orient in France -- derive much of their influence from the power that people think that they have. Hence, they are like a gun that may not be loaded but which, unless people know for sure that it is empty, functions just as well in exerting control as the loaded one. The Custodians of Care at Bohemian Grove [near San Francisco] are a case in point. Supposedly most of them are recruited to form the Cavemen, but nobody is sure. Skull and Bones at Yale is the subject of an entertaining new movie. The AD and Porcellian at Harvard always gets credit for supposed powers. "

Tim Brown comments;

"I am also interested in what Paul Rich thinks of this, given his expertise. My primary focus is different, but I have often run across Masonic connections when investigating revolutionary movements from Mexico south. For example, in the earlier part of the century, 1918-28 or so, Nicaraguan rebel General Augusto Cesar Sandino was a Mason and received a great deal of support from lodges in the Veracruz region before his final return to Mexico. Among his reportedly Masonic supporters was Lazaro Cardenas, the father of Cuauhtemoc and then army commander in the Veracruz region. The Sandinista Front, the FSLN, was, of course, named after Sandino. Later, during the 1960s and 1970s, the third [not first as most believe] head of that Front, Carlos Fonseca Amador, was often protected by Masonic lodges during his clandestine travels, especially in southern Mexico. But then, the arch rival of both Sandino and the FSLN, Anastacio Somoza Garcia was also a Mason. So, go figure."

My comment: As an outsider and a non-expert, I can only comment that all service clubs (Lions, Elks, etc.) are losing membership. so I suspect that this phenomenon has hit the Masons too.