Sara Estella Ramirez Poeta y Flores-Magonista

RAMIREZ, SARA ESTELA

RAMÍREZ, SARA ESTELA (1881–1910). Sara Estela Ramírez, poet and political figure, was born in Villa de Progreso, Coahuila, Mexico, in 1881. Her mother died during her youth, leaving her to take care of her father and younger sister. She spent her early years in northern Mexico, completed public school in Monterrey, Nuevo León, and graduated from Ateneo Fuentes, a teachers' college in Saltillo, Coahuila. In 1898, at the age of seventeen, she settled in Laredo, Texas, and took a position as a Spanish teacher at the Seminario Laredo. She spent the rest of her life in that city, where she became a popular writer among Mexican Americans and a prominent supporter of the Partido Liberal Mexicano, the most progressive political party in the era leading to the Mexican Revolution. As a leader in PLM, Ramírez often represented the party before the public, due to the harassment of the group by local authorities and Pinkerton and Furlong detectives. She was a close friend of Ricardo Flores Magón, noted leader of the PLM, with whom she corresponded between 1901 and 1904.

She probably published most of her poetry and essays in such Spanish-language newspapers as El Demócrata Fronterizo and La Crónica, two influential journals in South Texas at the turn of the century. Starting in June 1901, she herself became a publisher of two newspapers-La Corregidora and Aurora. The former, which featured literary works, was printed in Mexico City and distributed in Laredo and San Antonio. It is likely that Ramírez published La Corregidora while working for PLM in Mexico and Texas. During the last years of her life, she also oversaw the publication of Aurora in Laredo. No copies of either newspaper are extant. In addition to her direct involvement with these publications, she also collaborated with Juana Gutiérrez B. de Mendoza on Vesper: Justicia y Libertad, another newspaper for the Mexican working class and women. Her journalism was apparently tied to her work with Regeneración y Concordia, a feminist organization to which she belonged. Ramírez joined hands with Juana Gutiérrez B. de Mendoza, Elisa Acuña y Rosetti, and Dolores Jiménez y Muro to bring attention to women's concerns and is considered, along with them, one of the founders of Mexican feminism.

Twenty-one of her poems and essays, all published between January 8, 1908, and April 9, 1910, constitute the body of her known work. These pieces, though small in number, have provided insights into her ideas about politics, women, and Tejanos. They have also illuminated the literary interests and achievements of Texas Mexican women, whose works have remained largely unpublished. Moreover, her political activities on behalf of PLM and women's causes made her a forerunner to the founders of Ladies LULAC, the American G.I. Forum Women's Auxiliary, and Mujeres por la Raza. Writers who emerged from the Chicano movement and the Chicano Literary Renaissance also owe a large debt to her contributions. Ramírez's poems, all presumably written in Spanish, cover at least four themes: "philosophy, politics, male-female relationships, and sisterhood." Works such as "Diamantes Negros," "A Juárez," "Huye" ("Flee"), and "Surge" address some of these themes, with the poet ranging over a wide array of emotions in each one. In "Diamantes Negros" she stresses the existence of grave obstacles to happiness and catalogues ways to overcome them; in "A Juárez" she combines an ode to patriotism with a recollection of Mexico's struggle to gain freedom; in "Huye" she raises the problem of maintaining one's faith in life; and in "Surge" she asserts the reality of female strength. Further, Ramírez evoked the bicultural nature of Tejano life along the border throughout her work. Besides her poetry, she wrote a play, "Noema," and published a few of the speeches she made to the members of the Sociedad de Obreros (Workers' Society). One of these talks-"Igualdad y Progreso" ("Equality and Progress")-reflected her participation in the local labor-unionizing efforts among Hispanics.

Ramírez was about twenty-nine years old when she died on August 21, 1910, in Laredo, twelve years after arriving in Texas. She had apparently been ill for some time, but the exact cause of her death is unknown. She was eulogized in La Crónica by fellow writer Jovita Idar, who praised her accomplishments and bestowed on her the nickname "La Musa Texana."

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Magdalena Mora and Adelaida R. del Castillo, Mexican Women in the United States(Los Angeles: Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, 1980). Inés Hernández Tovar, Sara Estela Ramírez: The Early Twentieth Century Texas-Mexican Poet (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Houston, 1984).

Teresa Palomo Acosta

Who

What

Citation

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.

Teresa Palomo Acosta, "RAMIREZ, SARA ESTELA," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fra60), accessed October 10, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Juan N Cortina

Juan Cortina Biography

(1824–1894), The Cortina Wars, 1859–1860, Ramifications, corridos, Furia y Muerte: Los Bandidos Chicanos

texas mexican anglo anglos mexicans rio mexico war

Mexican American folk hero. Born in Camargo, Tamaulipas, in 1824, Juan Nepomuceno (“Cheno”) Cortina is known in Texas for a rebellion he led there in 1859 and 1860.
Cortina moved with his widowed mother to the U.S. side of the Rio Grande sometime during the 1840s. Working on his mother's property during the 1850s, Cortina watched as Anglo-Americans—who had arrived in the wake of the United States–Mexico War (1846–1848)—displaced Mexicans from positions in the legal and political systems, defrauded grantees of lands, and rapidly established economic dominance by virtue of their imported wealth. As Cortina saw it, Anglos committed crimes against Mexicans with impunity and often escaped punishment by virtue of their connections to the Anglo-controlled judicial system.

The Cortina Wars, 1859–1860

Cortina's pent-up resentment against the newcomers exploded following an incident at a local café one morning in July 1859. Going there for morning coffee, Cortina came upon the city marshal berating a drunken Mexican whom Cortina knew as a hard-working ranch hand. Cortina sought to reason with the peace officer, but was greeted with a racial epithet. Gunfire followed. Cortina left the sheriff prostrate and fled with the vaquero (cowboy).
On September 28, in an effort to avenge personal injustices inflicted upon him by local Anglos, Cortina and some seventy-five followers stormed into Brownsville and in an ensuing encounter killed four men. Cortina retreated to his ranch and from there issued a proclamation dated September 30 explaining his actions. In it he accused an Anglo clique in Brownsville and surrounding communities of complicity in mistreating the Mexican population. Because Anglos had gone unpunished for crimes they committed against innocent Mexicans, Cortina explained, he had taken it upon himself to ensure that they met justice.

South Texas History

Anglos reacted to Cortina's effrontery by sending a company of volunteers to capture him. Cortina proved elusive but, on October 24, a military skirmish took place between Cortina's columns and a detachment of Anglo recruits named the Brownsville Tigers. Cortina defeated them along with a Mexican force from Matamoros, which had joined up with the Americans. The next month he waylaid a small ranger force searching for him. After that, his fame spread throughout the valley, and his victories won over more believers to his cause.
Cortina issued a second proclamation (dated November 23, 1859). In it, he reiterated his complaints against the Anglos of South Texas. He proposed creating a secret society that would avenge committed wrongs or perhaps punish those responsible for persecuting Mexicans. He further appealed to governor-elect Sam Houston to employ the legal system to safeguard Mexican rights. In late 1859 and winter of 1860, however, a combined force of Texas Rangers and the federal military under Major Samuel Heintzelman defeated Cortina and pushed him and his troops across the Rio Grande into Mexico. With his retreat, Cortina's major role in Texas history ended, but he remained active in the region during the Civil War years and the rest of the decade. He died in Mexico in 1894.

Ramifications

Though a localized affair, the Cortina Wars had national ramifications. For one thing, they occurred almost simultaneously with John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, thus deepening the sense among Southerners that forces hostile to their way of life besieged them. Further, it diluted the confidence that Anglo Southerners (and especially Texans) had in the Union's ability to defend them against threats on the frontier, whether the threats were caused by Indians or by Mexicans from south of the border. Moreover, Cortina's actions necessitated the deployment of federal troops at a time of approaching civil war. Having been reassigned elsewhere just a few months earlier, the military had to return to the Rio Grande and contend with something wholly unconnected to the national crisis. Also inflicted on the national consciousness was a question surfacing for the first time following the war with Mexico: How was government (or Anglo society) going to deal with the discontented Mexican population indigenous to the conquered territories? At the regional level, indeed, Juan Cortina's dispute highlighted the many problems that the native Tejano and Tejana population had with American rule. Tejanos and Tejanas felt bitter toward the colonial system that favored Anglos at their expense. Cortina's challenge also brought to center stage the sensitive issue of race relations, which shaped interaction between the two communities in Texas long after. Land conflicts and economic differences also lay behind Cortina's action, as he had seen firsthand the way Anglo lawyers and speculators questioned the legitimacy of old land grants or simply acquired Mexican lands by paying delinquent taxes.
Beyond these several implications, the Cortina Wars of 1859–1860 became literally the stuff of legends. For decades after, common people in South Texas spoke of Juan Cortina as the very embodiment of a community fancying an uprising against the insensitive rule of callous Anglos. For many, “Cheno” possessed the bold courage and temerity to do what others only dared to scheme about. No wonder that he became the central figure in corridos sung by those in Mexican American communities wont to extol the heroic exploits of great men.
The Juan Cortina episode has also intrigued modern scholars. For almost a century after 1859, Texas historiography tended to see Cortina as had his Anglo contemporaries in 1859–1860: as a Mexican opportunist, bandit, and cattle rustler who issued proclamations to justify his lawlessness. Not until the late 1940s did the first scholarly defense of Cortina appear, and since then several other historians have advanced interpretations favorable to the man. During the 1970s revisionists portrayed him as a “social bandit” representing the discontented community of Mexicans challenging an oppressive social order. Other writings, while acknowledging his defense of Mexicans, portray him as a product of the Rio Grande region during midcentury, where similar Anglo figures intrigued to amass power and fortune. The full story of Juan “Cheno” Cortina no doubt will fascinate future generations of Texans, for controversial figures seldom fade from history's pages.

Bibliography and More Information about Juan Cortina

• Goldfinch, Charles W. “Juan N. Cortina, 1824–1892: A Re-Appraisal.” In Furia y Muerte: Los Bandidos Chicanos, edited by Pedro Castillo and Albert Camarillo, 85–112. Los Angeles: Aztlán Publications, UCLA, 1973.
• Larralde, Carlos, and José Rodolfo Jacobo. Juan N. Cortina and the Struggle for Justice in Texas. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 2000.
• Thompson, Jerry D., ed. Juan Cortina and the Texas-Mexico Frontier, 1859–1877. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1994.

See also Criminal Justice System.

Arnoldo De León

Read more: Juan Cortina Biography - (1824–1894), The Cortina Wars, 1859–1860, Ramifications, corridos, Furia y Muerte: Los Bandidos Chicanos - Texas, Mexican, Anglo, Anglos, Mexicans, and Rio - JRank Articles http://www.jrank.org/cultures/pages/3757/Juan-Cortina.html#ixzz1aQNHqbDe

Pronunciamientos de Juan N Cortina y su Revolution de Rio Grande (Rio Bravo)

Documents on the Brownsville Uprising of Juan Cortina

I. Juan Cortina, Proclamation to Texans, September 1859
II. Juan Cortina, Proclamation to the Mexicans of Texas, November 1859

I.
PROCLAMATION

Juan Nepomuceno Cortina to the inhabitants of the State of Texas,
and especially to those of the city of Brownsville.

An event of grave importance, in which it has fallen to my lot to figure as the principal actor since the morning of the 28th instant; doubtless keeps you in suspense with regard to the progress of its consequences. There is no need of fear. Orderly people and honest citizens are inviolable to us in their persons and interests. Our object, as you have seen, has been to chastise the villainy of our enemies, which heretofore has gone unpunished. These have connived with each other, and form, so to speak, a perfidious inquisitorial lodge to persecute and rob us, without any cause, and for no other crime on our part than that of being of Mexican origin, considering us, doubtless, destitute of those gifts which they themselves do not possess.
To defend ourselves, and making use of the sacred right of self-preservation, we have assembled in a popular meeting with a view of discussing a means by which to put an end to our misfortunes.
Our identity of origin, our relationship, and the community of our sufferings, has been, as it appears, the cause of our embracing, directly, the proposed object which led us to enter your beautiful city, clothes with the imposing aspect of our exasperation.
The assembly organized, and headed by your humble servant, (thanks to the confidence which he inspired as one of the most aggrieved,) we have careered over the streets of the city in search of our adversaries, inasmuch as justice, being administered by their own hands, the supremacy of the law has failed to accomplish its object.
Some of them, rashly remiss in complying with our demand, have perished for having sought to carry their animosity beyond the limits allowed by their precarious position. Three of them have died - all criminal, wicked men, notorious among the people for their misdeeds. The others, still more unworthy and wretched, dragged themselves through the mire to escape our anger, and now, perhaps, with their usual bravado, pretend to be the cause of an infinity of evils, which might have been avoided but for their cowardice.
They concealed themselves, and we were loth to attack them within the dwellings of others, fearing that their cause might be confounded with that of respectable persons, as at last, to our sorrow, did happen. On the other hand, it behooves us to maintain that it was unjust to give the affair such a terrible aspect, and to represent it as of a character foreboding evil; some having carried their blindness so far as to implore the aid of Mexico, alleging as a reason that their persons and property were exposed to vandalism. Were any outrages committed by us during the time we had possession of the city, when we had it in our power to become the arbiters of its fate? Will our enemies be so blind, base, or unthinking, as to deny the evidence of facts? Will there be one to say the he was molested, or that is house was robbed or burned down.
The unfortunate Viviano Garcia fell a victim to his generous behavior; and with such a lamentable occurrence before us on our very outset, we abstained from our purpose, horrified at the thought of having to shed innocent blood without even the assurance that the vile men whom we sought would put aside their cowardice to accept our defiance.
These, as we have said, form, with a multitude of lawyers, a secret conclave, with all its ramifications, for the sole purpose of despoiling the Mexicans of the lands and usurp them afterwards. This is clearly proven by the conduct of one Adolph Glavecke, who, invested with the character of deputy sheriff, and in collusion with the said lawyers, has spread terror among the unwary, making them believe that he will hang the Mexicans and burn their ranches, &c., that by this means he might compel them to abandon the country, and thus accomplish their object. This is not a supposition - it is a reality; and notwithstanding the want of better proof, if this threat were not publicly known, all would feel persuaded that of this, and even more, are capable such criminal men as the one last mentioned, the marshal, the jailer, Morris, Neal, &c.
The first of these, in his history and behavior, has ever been infamous and traitorous. He is the assassin of the ill-starred Colonel Cross, Captain Woolsey, and Antonia Mireles, murdered by him at the rancho de las Prietas, the theatre of all his assassinations. It is he who instigated some, and aiding others, has been the author of a thousand misdeeds; and to put down the finger of scorn that ever points at him, and do away with the witnesses of his crimes, he has been foremost in persecuting us to death. The others are more or less stamped with ignominy, and we will tolerate them no longer in our midst, because they are obnoxious to tranquillity and to our own welfare.
All truce between them and us is at an end, from the fact alone of our holding upon this soil our interests and property. And how can it be otherwise, when the ills that weigh upon the unfortunate republic of Mexico have obliged us for many heart-touching causes to abandon it and our possessions in it, or else become the victims of our principles or of the indigence to which its intestine disturbances had reduced us since the treaty of Guadalupe? When, every diligent and industrious, and desirous of enjoying the longed-for boon of liberty within the classic country of its origin, we were induced to naturalize ourselves in it and form a part of the confederacy, flattered by the bright and peaceful prospect of living therein and inculcating in the bosoms of our children a feeling of gratitude towards a country beneath whose aegis we would have wrought their felicity and contributed with our conduct to give evidence to the whole world that all the aspirations of the Mexicans are confined to one only, that of being freemen; and that having secured this ourselves, those of the old country, notwithstanding their misfortunes, might have nothing to regret save the loss of a section of territory, but with the sweet satisfaction that their old fellow citizens lived therein, enjoying tranquillity, as if Providence had so ordained to set them an example of the advantages to be derived from public peace and quietude; when, in fine, all has been but the baseless fabric of a dream, and our hopes having been defrauded in the most cruel manner in which disappointment can strike, there can be found no other solution to our problem than to make one effort, and at one blow destroy the obstacles to our prosperity.
It is necessary. The hour has arrived. Our oppressors number but six or eight. Hospitality and other noble sentiments shield them at present from our wrath, and such, as you have seen, are inviolable to us.
Innocent persons shall not suffer - no. But, if necessary, we will lead a wandering life, awaiting our opportunity to purge society of men so base that they degrade it with their opprobrium. Our families have returned as strangers to their old country to beg for an asylum. Our lands, if they are to be sacrificed to the avaricious covetousness of our enemies, will be rather so on account of our own vicissitudes. As to land, Nature will always grant us sufficient to support our frames, and we accept the consequences that may arise. Further, our personal enemies shall not possess our lands until they have fattened it with their own gore.
It remains for me to say that, separated as we are, by accident alone, from the other citizens of the city, and not having renounced our rights as North American citizens, we disapprove and energetically protest against the act of having caused a force of the national guards from Mexico to cross unto this side to ingraft themselves in a question so foreign to their country that there is no excusing such weakness on the part of those who implored their aid.
JUAN NEPOMUCENO CORTINA
Rancho Del Carmen,
County of Cameron, September 30, 1859

PROCLAMATION II

County of Cameron,
Camp in the Rancho del Carmen,
November 23, 1859

Compatriots: A sentiment of profound indignation, the love and esteem which I profess for you, the desire which you have for that tranquillity and those guarantees which are denied you, thus violating the most sacred laws, is that which moves me to address you these words, hoping that they may prove some consolation in the midst of your adversity, which heretofore has borne the appearance of predestination.
The history of great human actions teaches us that in certain instances the principal motive which gives them impulse is the natural right to resist and conquer our enemies with a firm spirit and lively will; to persist in and to reach the consummation of this object, opening a path through the obstacles which step by step are encountered, however imposing or terrible they may be.
In the series of such actions, events present themselves which public opinion, influenced by popular sentiment, calls for deliberation upon their effects, to form an exact and just conception of the interests which they promote; and this same public opinion should be considered as the best judge, which, with coolness and impartiality, does not fail to recognize some principle as the cause for the existence of open force and immutable firmness, which impart the noble desire of cooperating with true philanthropy to remedy the state of despair of him who, in his turn, becomes the victim of ambition, satisfied at the cost of justice.
There are, doubtless, persons so overcome by strange prejudices, men without confidence or courage to face danger in an undertaking in sisterhood with the love of liberty, who, examining the merit of acts by a false light, and preferring that of the same opinion contrary to their own, prepare no other reward than that pronounced for the "bandit," for him who, with complete abnegation of self, dedicates himself to constant labor for the happiness of those who suffering under the weight of misfortunes, eat their bread, mingled with tears, on the earth which they rated.
If, my dear compatriots, I am honored with that name, I am ready for the combat.
The Mexicans who inhabit this wide region, some because they were born therein, others because since the treaty Guadalupe Hidalgo, they have been attracted to its soil by the soft influence of wise laws and the advantages of a free government, paying little attention to the reasoning of politics, are honorably and exclusively dedicated to the exercise of industry, guided by that instinct which leads the good man to comprehend, as uncontradictory truth, that only in the reign of peace can he enjoy, without inquietude, the fruit of his labor. These, under an unjust imputation of selfishness and churlishness, which do not exist, are not devoid of those sincere and expressive evidences of such friendliness and tenderness as should gain for them that confidence with which they have inspired those who have met them in social intercourse. This genial affability seems as the foundation of that proverbial prudence which, as an oracle, is consulted in all their actions and undertakings. Their humility, simplicity, and doility, directed with dignity, it may be that with excess of goodness, can, if it be desired, lead them beyond the common class of men, but causes them to excel in an irresistible inclination towards ideas of equality, a proof of their simple manners, so well adapted to that which is styled the classic land of liberty. A man, a family, and a people, possessed of qualities so eminent, with their heart in their hand and purity on their lips, encounter every day renewed reasons to know that they are surrounded by malicious and crafty monsters, who rob them in the tranquil interior of home, or with open hatred and pursuit; it necessarily follows, however great may be their pain, if not abased by humiliation and ignominy, their groans suffocated and hushed by a pain which renders them insensible, they become resigned to suffering before an abyss of misfortunes.
Mexicans! When the State of Texas began to receive the new organization which its sovereignty required as an integrate part of the Union, flocks of vampires, in the guise of men came and scattered themselves in the settlements, without any capital except the corrupt heart and the most perverse intentions. Some, brimful of laws, pledged to us their protection against the attacks of the rest; others assembled in shadowy councils, attempted and excited the robbery and burning of the houses of our relatives on the other side of the river Bravo; while others, to the abusing of our unlimited confidence, when we intrusted them with our titles, which secured the future of our families, refused to return them under false and frivolous pretexts; all, in short, with a smile on their faces, giving the lie to that which their black entrails were meditating. Many of you have been robbed of your property, incarcerated, chased, murdered, and hunted like wild beasts, because your labor was fruitful, and because your industry excited the vile avarice which led them. A voice infernal said, from the bottom of their soul, "kill them; the greater will be our gain!" Ah! This does not finish the sketch of your situation. It would appear that justice had fled from this world, leaving you to the caprice of your oppressors, who become each day more furious towards you; that, through witnesses and false charges, although the grounds may be insufficient, you may be interred in the penitentiaries, if you are not previously deprived of life by some keeper who covers himself from responsibility by the pretense of your flight. There are to be found criminals covered with frightful crimes, but they appear to have impunity until opportunity furnish them a victim; to these monsters indulgence is shown, because they are not of our race, which is unworthy, as they say, to belong to the human species. But this race, which the Anglo-American, so ostentatious of its own qualities, tries so much to blacken depreciate, and load with insults, in a spirit of blindness, which goes to the full extent of such things so common on this frontier, does not fear, placed even in the midst of its very faults, those subtle inquisitions which are so frequently made as to its manners, habits, and sentiments; nor that its deeds should be put to the test of examination in the land of reason, of justice, and of honor. This race has never humbled itself before the conqueror, though the reverse has happened, and can be established; for his is not humbled who uses among his fellow-men those courtesies which humanity prescribes; charity being the root whence springs the rule of his actions. But this race, which you see filled with gentleness and inward sweetness, gives now the cry of alarm throughout the entire extend of the land which it occupies, against all the artifice interposed by those who have become chargeable with their division and discord. This race, adorned with the most lovely disposition towards all that is good and useful in the line of progress, omits no act of diligence which might correct its many imperfections, and lift its grand edifice among the ruins of the past, respecting the ancient traditions and the maxims bequeathed by their ancestors, without being dazzled by brilliant and false appearances, nor crawling to that exaggeration of institution which, like a sublime statue, is offered for their worship and adoration.
Mexicans! Is there no remedy for you? Inviolable laws, yet useless, serve, it is true, certain judges and hypocritical authorities, cemented in evil and injustice, to do whatever suits them, and to satisfy their vile avarice at the cot of your patience and suffering; rising in their frenzy, even to the taking of life, through the treacherous hands of their bailiffs. The wicket way in which many of you have been often-times involved in persecution, accompanied by circumstances making it the more bitter, is now well known; these crimes being hid from society under the shadow of a horrid night, those implacable people, with the haughty spirit which suggests impunity for a life of criminality, have pronounced, doubt ye not, your sentence, which is, with accustomed insensibility, as you have seen, on the point of execution.
Mexicans! My part is taken; the voice of revelation whispers to me that to me is entrusted the work of breaking the chains of your slavery, and that the Lord will enable me, with powerful arm, to fight against our enemies, in compliance with the requirements of that Sovereign Majesty, who, from this day forward, will hold us under His protection. On my part, I am ready to offer myself as a sacrifice for your happiness; and counting upon the means necessary for the discharge of my ministry, you may count upon my cooperation, should no cowardly attempt put an end to my days. This undertaking will be sustained on the following bases:
First. A society is organized in the State of Texas, which devotes itself sleeplessly until the work is crowned with success, to the improvement of the unhappy condition of those Mexicans resident therein; extermination their tyrants, to which end those which compose it are ready to shed their blood and suffer the death of martyrs.
Second. As this society contains within itself the elements necessary to accomplish the great end of its labors, the veil of impenetrable secrecy covers "The Great Book" in which the articles of its constitution are written; while so delicate are the difficulties which must be overcome that no honorable man can have cause for alarm, if imperious exigencies require them to act without reserve.
Third. The Mexicans of Texas repose their lot under the good sentiments of the governor elect of the State, General Houston, and trust that upon his elevation to power he will begin with care to give us legal protection within the limits of his powers.
Mexicans! Peace be with you! Good inhabitants of the State of Texas, look on them as brothers, and keep in mind that which the Holy Spirit saith: "Thou shalt not be the friend of the passionate man; nor join thyself to the madman, lest thou learn his mode of work and scandalize thy soul."
Juan N. Cortina

[TEXT: U. S. Congress, House, Difficulties on the Southwestern Frontier, 36th Congress;
1st Session, 1860, H. Exec. Doc. 52, pp.70-82.]

Juan N Cortina y the Cortina Revolution

Juan Nepomuceno Cortina, El Chino

En 1848, cuando México fue despojado por Estados Unidos de sus territorios del Norte, surgió un personaje mexicano, rebelde, que simbolizó la resistencia ante el invasor angloestadounidense y la lucha por la dignidad en peligro de perderse. Éste fue Juan Nepomuceno Cortina, a quien las autoridades estadounidenses llamaron "bandido" y el pueblo mexicano consideró héroe.
Tal como Cortina, aparecieron decenas de personajes en Califomia, Nuevo Mtxico y Texas, a lo largo de la línea fronteriza. Al rededor de ellos se creó un verdadero mito, una leyenda revestida de un halo romántico que corrió de boca en boca: todos eran hombres jóvenes, fisicamente atractivos y, sobre todo, valientes. Antes de tener que enfrentarse a las autoridades angloestadounidenses eran personas pacíficas, que vivían en armonía con su familia y la comunidad. Casi todos se vieron empujados a la marginalidad por situaciones semejantes, entre las que destacaban la urgencia de disparar a un "ranger" o a un policía cuando maltrataban a algún miembro de su familia o a sí mismo, o la necesidad de defender su rancho o sus parcelas cuando eran invadidas por los anglos, que Ilegaron a los territorios que habían sido mexicanos para apoderarse de enormes extensiones agrícolas.
Cuando los periódicos mostraban simpatía hacia estos hombres, publicaban historias fantásticas de aventuras y de escapatorias realizadas por ellos; quienes los repudiaban les atribuían cuanto crimen era cometido en esas regiones y les presentaban como inadaptados dispuestos a matar en cualquier circunstancia. Estos personajes eran protegidos por sus connacionales, por lo cual las autoridades prometían cuantiosas recompensas a quienes los capturaran, con la esperanza de que pudieran ser víctimas de algún cazarrecompensas. Siempre eran perseguidos por numerosos destacamentos de "rangers", que con la esperanza de encontrarlos solos, o con desventaja numérica, recorrían los nuevos territorios estadounidenses.
Juan Nepomuceno Cortina, de quien hablamos en esta ocasión, cumple todas las caractenísticas señaladas en los rebeldes, pero ofrece dos condiciones adicionales: era un hombre muy rico y su lucha era esencialmente política.
Juan Nepomuceno Cortina, apodado EI Chino, nació en Camargo, Tamaulipas, en el año de 1824, tres años después de que México había logrado su independencia de España. Era miembro de una familia prominente en la zona fronteriza de los ríos Grande y Nueces. Sus abuelos fueron los primeros colonizadores de esa región. Eran dueños de grandes extensiones de tierra cultivable y tenían enormes cantidades de ganado; vale la pena señalar que en esas regiones se originaron los vaqueros, antecesorios de los conocidos "cowboys". Pero aunque Juan N. Cortina pertenecia a la alta sociedad, debió enfrentarse a las nuevas autoridades para defender sus propiedades. Esta situación le generó, naturalmente, enemistades y enfrentamientos con cierto número de nuevos colonizadores que pretendían apoderarse de sus tierras.
En 1847, a los 23 años de edad, se entregó al ejército del general Mariano Arista, quien llegó a la ciudad de Matamoros, Tamaulipas, para enfrentar la avanzada del general estadounidense Zachary Taylor que se disponía a invadir territorio mexicano, dando con ello inicio a la guerra México-Estados Unidos. Cortina organizó a los vaqueros que trabajaban para é1 y para otros ranchos vecinos, quienes ingresaron a las filas del Ejército mexicano.
Al finalizar esa guerra hubo que trazar una nueva línea fronteriza, lo que causó que las propiedades de la familia Cortina quedaran divididas entre los dos países: gran parte en el lado texano y el resto en Tamaulipas.
Entonces se dedicó a trabajar en su rancho San José, ubicado en la nueva población fronteriza, del estado de Texas, llamada Brownsville, en donde logró desarrollar grandes hatos de ganado. A pesar de las constantes agresiones que sufrió por parte de quienes ambicionaban su propiedad, cotinuaba siendo un hombre economicamente poderoso. Sin embargo, en el aspecto político, esto no era así, pues aunque se permitía votar a los mexicanos que permanecieron del lado texano, se les negó cualquier posibilidad de ocupar algún puesto político o militar.
Juan N. Cortina no se conformó con tener una posición de segundo nivel y decidió ingresar al Ejército mexicano en Tampico, Tamaulipas, aunque siguió viajando continuamente a Brownsville para vigilar sus prósperos negocios. En 1850, junto con un grupo de mexicanos de Texas le pidió al Congreso de los Estados Unidos la creación del territorio del Róo Grande, que se ubicaróa en la región sur de Nuevo México para formar ahí una república propia de los ahora mexicanosestadounidenses. Por supuesto que su petición fue denegada.
En 1859 Cortina organizó un ejército cuyo objetivo era garantizar la igualdad de los mexicanos en Texas. Cuando llegaba a difundir las propiedades de un mexicano el grito de batalla era: "¡Mueran los gringos! iViva Cortina!"
Ese año, durante una de sus estancias en Brownsville, presenció la golpiza que el "marshal" del lugar propinaba a un trabajador del rancho de su madre. Le pidió que dejara de azotarlo porque él se haría cargo de solucionar el problema que pudiera existir; al contestarle el estadounidense con un insulto Cortina le disparó, montó en la grupa de su caballo al peón y salió huyendo del lugar. Ninguno se atrevi6 a detenerlo.
El 16 de septiembre Cortina celebraba con una fiesta la Independencia de México. Ahí surgió entre amigos la idea de enfrentar y acabar con los maltratos y asesinatos que estadunidenses cometían con mexicanos. Salieron del lugar y pistola en mano llegaron a la cárcel, en donde liberaron a los mexicanos presos. El contigente que llegó se hizo en pocos minutos más numeroso; entonces se dirigieron a la oficina del "marshal", quien, avisado de lo que estaba sucediendo, había logrado huir.
El grupo encabezado por Cortina no asaltó casas particulares ni tiendas; éste tenía el suficiente dinero para armar a todo su ejército. Las armas con que proveyó a su gente las compró a un mexicano dueño de una tienda de armamento, a quien llegó a despertar esa misma noche.
Al llegar una patrulla estadounidense procedente del poblado vecino, la banda de mexicanos se dispersó y huyó a Matamoros, pero poco después regresaron a Brownsville y tomaron posesión de la oficina del "marshal", en donde Cortina hizo ondear permanentemente una bandera mexicana. A pesar de las súplicas que sus amigos y su familia le hicieron para que desistiera de su plan, no lograron convencerlo. A los dos días de tener bajo su control la ciudad, emitió una proclama en donde presentaba a todo el pueblo sus razones por las que habían organizado la asonada. Ahí exigía que los estadounidenses que habían asesinado a mexicanos fueran castigados, y a continuación presentó una larga lista de los nombres de los que habían sido muertos.
Llegó a Brownsville un pelotón del Ejército de Estados Unidos proveniente de San Antonio, Texas, y en un enfrentamiento capturaron a uno de los hombres de Cortina, de nombre Tomás Cabrera, precisamente cuando el mexicano consideraba que había dado una demostración de fuerza y organización suficiente para lograr la igualdad de los mexicanos, por lo que había preparado su retirada a Matamoros; pero ante tal acción decidió no abandonar a su suerte a su compañero y permaneció en Brownsville. Volvió a reunir a su gente y les pidió a las autoridades del lugar liberaran a Cabrera o quemaría el poblado.
Al principio el grupo de Cortina se componía de mil 500 elementos contra 100 de los estadounidenses, aunque éstos fueron ayudados por un pelotón del Ejército de Tamaulipas. Cortina volvió a resultar vencedor y pidió la libertad de Cabrera a cambio de dejar libre la ciudad. La respuesta fue colgar al prisionero en una plaza pública, aprovechando que para entonces ya habían llegado a Brownsville los temidos "rangers."
Entonces comenzó lo que se conoció como la "guerra de Cortina" contra un ejército estadounidense reforzado, pero con el control de los mexicanos sobre la ciudad, quienes combatían al grito de "¡Mueran los gringos! ¡Viva la Repiiblica Mexicana!" Cortina emitió una segunda proclama en donde pedía que se cumpliera con lo pactado en el tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo, en donde se reconocían los derechos de los mexicanos. Hablaba en nombre de los "sagrados derechos de nuestra preservación" y terminaba diciendo: "Estoy listo para ofrecerme yo mismo en sacrificio para que ustedes obtengan su felicidad y les aseguro que no tendrán nuestras tierras sino hasta que las rieguen con su propia sangre".
El control sobre toda la parte del bajo Río Grande duró siete meses, tiempo en el cual el ejército texano continuó reforzándose. Cortina estuvo a punto de ganarles la última batalla pero la superioridad numérica de aquéllos se impuso. Entonces se refugió en Matamoros, en donde era considerado como un verdadero héroe. Dos años después los "rangers" buscaban cualquier pretexto para atrapar al que llamaron el "bandido rojo de la frontera norte". Invadieron suelo mexicano varias veces pero nunca pudieron capturarlo.
En 1861, durante la Guerra Civil de Estados Unidos, Cortina se incorporó como enganchador - Union Agent - contra los estados confederados del sur, pues se oponía a la esclavitud en cualquier lugar donde se diera.
En 1864, cuando la invasión francesa contra México se sometió al Imperio de Maximiliano, causó desconcierto en el presidente Benito Juárez, quien lo había nombrado gobemador y comandante militar del estado de Tamaulipas. Sin embargo al siguiente año defeccionó y se declaró contra el Imperio, volviendo a ser aliado de Juáez. Logró reunir un gran ejército y enfrentó a las fuerzas intervencionistas que desembarcaron en el puerto de Tampico. En estas batallas se distinguió por su valentía y conocimiento militar.
La actitud de los estadounidenses de Texas hacia él cambió de manera radical cuando combatió contra los franceses. Debido a que Estados Unidos apoyaba a México, Cortina fue considerado en el mismo Brownsville como un gran personaje, llegando a ser el invitado especial del 4 de julio y recibiendo honores y distinciones de carácter oficial.
Al mismo tiempo, por acuerdo presidencial, al batallón más grande del estado de Tamaulipas se le denominó "Batallón Cortina". A partir de entonces se le designó general de brigada y se unió al mando de su propio ejército al general en jefe de las fuerzas armadas de Juárez, Mariano Arista.
Ante la expulsión de los franceses permaneció en su estado natal, hasta que en 1871 se pronunció contra el gobierno de Juárez. Como continuara siendo un personaje respetado por una gran parte de la población mexicana, comenzó a formar un ejército fuerte a ambos lados de la frontera. Por tal motivo, y con el pretexto de culparlo del delito de abigeato, fue consignado a la ciudad de México en el año de 1875, cuando era presidente Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, sucesor de Juárez. Ante tal acción, la sociedad de trabajadores Miguel Hidalgo, de San Antonio, Texas, inició una colecta para apoyar su defensa.
Y es que Cortina tenía un fuerte motivo: apoyaba a un querido amigo que se había levantado contra el presidente Lerdo de Tejada y quien se había refugiado en Brownsville para reforzarse y desde ahí someter a todos los estados del Norte de México: él era el futuro presidente de México que gobemaría los siguientes 33 años, Porfirio Díaz.
Después de ser liberado volvió a su estado en 1876. Empezó a formar, una vez más, un ejército de más de mil hombres, según é1 mismo le confía a su amigo, además le asegura que había sido difícil.
Cuando Díaz tomó el poder, lo mantuvo por muy poco tiempo en Tamaulipas y, sin ningún cargo que pesara sobre é1 lo confinó en la unidad de México, de donde por ningún motivo podía salir. Díaz conocía bien su inteligencia y su arraigo en aquella zona y, a diferencia de Juárez y Lerdo de Tejada, no quiso arriesgarse.
Cortina volvió a la frontera trece años después, en 1890, en donde fue recibido como héroe y regresó a la ciudad de México, en donde murió pocos años después.
Juan Nepomuceno Cortina, El Chino, el "bandido rojo de la frontera Norte", fue el primer "bandido" a quien se le compuso un corrido, esa historia oral musicalizada que permite mantener vivas las acciones heróicas de los hermanos:

"Ese general Cortina es muy libre y soberano han subido sus honores porque salvó a un mexicano. "Viva el general Cortina que de su prisión salió, vino a ver a sus amigos que en Tamaulipas dejó. "Los americanos hacían huelga, borracheras en cantinas, de gusto que había muerto ese general Cortina".

por José Ledezma Reyes, Nuevo Aztlán, Nov. 01, pp 50-52

Juan N Cortina y the Cortina Revolution

CORTINA, JUAN NEPOMUCENO

CORTINA, JUAN NEPOMUCENO (1824–1894). Juan Nepomuceno (Cheno) Cortina (Cortinas), Mexican folk hero, was born on May 16, 1824, in Camargo, Tamaulipas, the son of Estéfana and Trinidad Cortina. His aristocratic mother was one of the heirs of a large land grant in the lower Rio Grande valley, including the area that surrounded Brownsville. The family moved to that land when Cortina was still young. In the Mexican War Cortina served as a part of an irregular cavalry during the battles of Resaca de la Palma and Palo Alto under Gen. Mariano Arista of the Tamaulipas Brigade. After the war he returned to the north bank of the river, where he was indicted at least twice by a Cameron County grand jury for stealing cattle. Although Cortina frequently appeared in public, his political influence among Mexicans prevented him from being arrested.

In the decade following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Cortina came to hate a clique of judges and Brownsville attorneys whom he accused of expropriating land from Mexican Texans unfamiliar with the American judicial system. He became a leader to many of the poorer Mexicans who lived along the banks of the river. The incident that ignited the first so-called Cortina War occurred on July 13, 1859, when Cortina saw the Brownsville city marshall, Robert Shears, brutally arrest a Mexican American who had once been employed by Cortina. Cortina shot the marshall in the impending confrontation and rode out of town with the prisoner. Early on the morning of September 28, 1859, he rode into Brownsville again, this time at the head of some forty to eighty men, and seized control of the town. Five men, including the city jailer, were shot during the raid, as Cortina and his men raced through the streets shouting "Death to the Americans" and "Viva Mexico." Many of the men whom Cortina had sworn to kill, however, escaped or went into hiding.

When several of the town's leading citizens appealed to Mexican authorities in Matamoros, the influential José María Carbajal crossed the river to negotiate with Cortina. Cortina agreed to evacuate the town and retreated to the family ranch at Santa Rita in Cameron County, where, on September 30, 1859, he issued a proclamation asserting the rights of Mexican Texans and demanding the punishment of anyone violating these rights.

In the ensuing days, tensions remained high in Brownsville. A town posse captured Tomás Cabrera, one of Cortina's men. About twenty citizens of the town formed a group called the Brownsville Tigers, and, assisted by a militia company from Matamoros, moved against Cortina, who was reported to be at his mother's ranch some six miles upriver. With two cannons the Brownsville-Matamoros force launched a half-hearted attack, which Cortina easily repulsed; the "Tigers" lost their cannons and retreated in complete disarray. Cortina was idolized by many of the poorer Mexicans on both sides of the river, and his small army grew as recruits joined his ranks. He demanded that Cabrera be released and threatened to burn the town. In the first part of November an undisciplined company of Texas Rangers commanded by Capt. William G. Tobin arrived. Cabrera was hanged the next day, and an unsuccessful attack was launched against Cortina. Cortina issued a second proclamation on November 23 asking Governor Sam Houston to defend the legal interests of Mexican residents in Texas.

By early December a second company of rangers, commanded by John Salmon (Rip) Ford, arrived, as did Maj. Samuel P. Heintzelman with 165 regulars. Cortina, who was reported to have over 400 men by this time, retreated upriver, laying waste to much of the lower Valley. On December 27 Heintzelman engaged Cortina in the battle of Rio Grande City; Cortina was decisively defeated, losing sixty men and his equipment. He retreated into Mexico and next appeared at La Bolsa, a large bend on the Rio Grande below Rio Grande City, where he attempted to capture the steamboat Ranchero, owned and operated by two of his antagonists, Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy. With the approach of the steamboat, Major Ford and his rangers crossed into Mexico, secured the south bank, and forced Cortina to retreat. Col. Robert E. Lee, now in command of the Eighth Military District, arrived in the lower Valley determined to restore peace and threatening to invade Mexico if necessary. Cortina, however, had retreated into the Burgos Mountains, where he remained for more than a year.

With the secession of Texas from the Union, Cortina appeared on the border again and started the second Cortina War. In May 1861 he invaded Zapata County and attacked the county seat, Carrizo. He was defeated by Confederate captain Santos Benavides and retreated into Mexico; Cortina lost seven men in the fray, while eleven others were captured by Benavides and hanged or shot.

On May 5, 1862, during the period of French intervention in Mexico, Cortina helped to defend San Lorenzo at Puebla. He saw action at Matamoros and, envisioning himself as an independent and powerful caudillo, briefly cooperated with the imperialists. Later he fought in central Mexico and was at Querétaro at the execution of Maximilian. In 1863 Cortina proclaimed himself governor of Tamaulipas and was promoted to general of the Mexican Army of the North by President Benito Juárez. Cortina appointed himself governor again in 1866 but immediately relinquished the office to General Tapia. Cortina returned to the border in 1870, and forty-one residents of the Valley, including a former mayor of Brownsville, signed a petition asking that he be pardoned for his crimes because of his service to the Union during the Civil War. The petition failed in the Texas legislature on its second reading, in 1871. In subsequent years, stockmen in the Nueces Strip accused Cortina of leading a large ring of cattle rustlers. Subsequent American diplomatic pressure was largely responsible for his arrest in July 1875 and his removal to Mexico City. He died in Atzcapozalco on October 30, 1894.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Rodolfo Acuña, Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (2d ed., New York: Harper and Row, 1981). Arnoldo De León, They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitudes Toward Mexicans in Texas, 1821–1900 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983). Charles W. Goldfinch and José T. Canales, Juan N. Cortina: Two Interpretations (New York: Arno Press, 1974). J. Fred Rippy, "Border Troubles along the Rio Grande, 1848–1860," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 23 (October 1919). Paul Schuster Taylor, An American-Mexican Frontier, Nueces County, Texas (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1934). Jerry Don Thompson, Sabers on the Rio Grande (Austin: Presidial, 1974).

Jerry Thompson

rubensolisgarcia

Catarino E Garza Internationalist

GARZA, CATARINO ERASMO (1859–1895). Catarino Erasmo Garza Rodríguez, journalist, revolutionary, and folk hero, was born near Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on November 24, 1859, to J. Encarnación and María de Jesús Rodríguez de la Garza. He was educated at Gualahuises, Nuevo León, and San Juan College, Matamoros, and served in the National Guard at Port Plaza. On June 19, 1880, he married Carolina Connor of Brownsville, Texas; they had two daughters and were divorced in 1889. In 1890 Garza married Concepción González, the daughter of a Duval County rancher, with whom he had a daughter. Garza moved to Brownsville in 1877 to work for Blowmberg and Raphael's Casa de Comercio. Between 1877 and 1886 he lived in Brownsville, Laredo, and San Antonio and visited Mexico City. In 1882 he was employed by the Singer Sewing Machine Company as a traveling agent and lived in Tamaulipas and Nuevo León. He also lived in St. Louis, where around 1885 he was appointed Mexican consul, a post he held for a short time. In St. Louis he worked on La Revista Mexicana and served as delegate to the National Convention of Wool Industries in 1886. He promotedsociedades mutualistas and helped found them in Brownsville, Laredo, and Corpus Christi in 1880, 1884, and 1888, respectively. He was a skilled orator. In 1879 he and León Obregón founded El Bien Público in Brownsville, and on June 20, 1886, Garza published the first issue of El Comercio Mexicanoin Eagle Pass. In 1887 he and Gabriel Botello published El Libre Pensador to publicize abuses by the Mexican government under President Porfirio Díaz and Coahuila governor José María Garza Galán. Mexican authorities threatened his Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras readers and encouraged them not to buy or read El Libre Pensador. Because of its contents, the newspaper and Garza's equipment were confiscated; Garza was prosecuted for criminal libel and jailed for thirty-one days. He was afraid of extradition, so he moved after December 19, 1887, to Corpus Christi, whence Botello had fled and where they resumed publishing El Comercio Mexicano in March 1888. In 1888 Garza was arrested by Texas Ranger captain John R. Hughes, charged with libel for criticizing former Texas Ranger Victor Sebree for killing Abraham Reséndez, and taken to Rio Grande City. There he was wounded by Sebree in a shooting match, and the Rio Grande City Riot of 1888 ensued. The same year, Garza began writing his autobiography, La Lógica de los Hechos, which described the last twelve years of his life in the United States and the particularly difficult situation that Mexicans faced in Texas. While his revolution was directed against Mexican president Porfirio Díaz, much of his work formingmutualistas and writing for Spanish-language newspapers was aimed at defending the interests of Mexicans in Texas.

After 1888 he continued his collaborations in northern Mexico and South Texas, and by 1891 he and his associates had plotted the overthrow of the Díaz regime, crossed the border in an attack, and issued a manifesto in September 1891 near the Río Bravo in Tamaulipas. Conflict with Mexican, United States, and Texas authorities ensued in the Garza War, which Garcistas continued after Garza left Texas. After leaving the state in 1892, Garza traveled to various places, including Nassau, Jamaica, and possibly Cuba and Florida. By March 28, 1893, he moved to Matina, near Limón, Costa Rica, and a San José press published his pamphlet indicting the Díaz regime, La Era de Tuxtepec en México o Sea Rusia en América. Garza participated in a revolutionary uprising in Colombia. Official sources report that he was killed in storming the jail at Bocas del Toro, Colombia (now in Panama), on March 8, 1895. Following Garza's death he supposedly continued to be sighted, first in Cuba fighting with the independence movement, and later in Ecuador helping the president to reassume power.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Gilbert M. Cuthbertson, "Catarino E. Garza and the Garza War," Texana 13 (1975). Arnoldo De León, Apuntes Tejanos (2 vols., Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International, 1978). María G. Flores, comp., and Laura Gutiérrez-Witt, ed., Mexican American Archives at the Benson Collection: A Guide for Users (General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin, 1981). C. E. Garza, "La lógica de los hechos": O' sean observaciones sobre las circunstancias de los Mexicanos en Tejas, desde el año 1877 hasta 1889, Tomo I (Corpus Christi, n.d.). Agnes G. Grimm, Llanos Mesteñas: Mustang Plains (Waco: Texian Press, 1968). Gabriel Saldívar, Documentos de la rebelión de Catarino E. Garza (Mexico City: Secretaría de Agricultura y Fomento, 1943). Elliott Gordon Young, Crossing Borders: Race, Nation, Class, and Gender on the South Texas Border, 1877–1911 (M.A. thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 1993).

Gilbert M. Cuthbertson

rubensolisgarcia

Plan revolucionario de Catarino Garza 1891 (Tejas)

Plan Revolucionario

Concebido y redactado con el único fin de derrocar la tiranía y el despotismo del General Porfirio Díaz, y volver al país, al orden constitucional.

Los abajo firmados, ciudadanos mexicanos en el pleno goce de nuestros derechos, y haciendo uso del que la naturaleza y las leyes nos conceden para gobernarnos y buscar por si mismo el logro de la felicidad.

Considerando: 1º.- Que el pueblo tiene en todo tiempo el derecho de revocar el encargo de su soberanía, cuando el Ejecutivo se convierte en tirano, y usa el poder para sus ventajas personales.

Considerando: 2º.- Que el General Porfirio Díaz y su Gabinete, ejercen un poder violento, para su provecho particular, teniendo por ley los caprichos de su voluntad, á fin de satisfacer ambiciones ilegítimas, sus venganzas personales, excediendo en crueldad á las más temibles fieras; su avaricia y muchas otras pasiones desordenadas.

Considerando: 3º.- Que para llegar a ese estado de cosas han desmoralizado a la Nación con su sistema de terror y soborno, asesinando á unos y prostituyendo á otros; haciéndolos que en su compañía roben y saqueen los fondos nacionales; teniendo al pueblo bajo el yugo más espantoso, arrebatándoles sus principales derechos, á saber: el derecho a la seguridad personal, el derecho a la libertad individual y el derecho de propiedad.

Considerando: 4º.- Que el General Porfirio Díaz en su ambición de acumular riquezas ha comprometido el porvenir de la Nación, con robos, como el reconocimiento de la deuda inglesa y la española, el arreglo de la deuda interior, la contracción del empréstito alemán y otros que en la actualidad están gestionándose.

Considerando: 5º.- Que la integridad de la Nación peligra tan inminentemente, que en el vecino país ha habido un diputado que ha propuesto al Congreso, que la Unión Americana ocupe sus fondos sobrantes en la compra del terreno de Baja California (lo mismo que si se tratara de una infeliz isla salvaje de la Oceanía) y aduciendo en apoyo de su proposición, la razón de que en su concepto, MEXICO ESTA EN LA ACTUALIDAD GOBERNADO POR OTRO GENERAL SANTA ANA.

Considerando: 6º.- Que tan vergonzosa situación tiene todas las probabilidades de prolongarse tanto, como la vida del Autócrata que se titula Presidente; pues su audacia y cinismo han llegado al extremo de imponer la “Reelección Indefinida,” después de haber derogado el principio de la No reelección.

Considerando: 7º.- y último: Que la obediencia civil tiene sus límites, porque el pueblo, al despojarse, en parte, de su voluntad y de su fuerza, para constituir los poderes sociales, no está obligado al sacrificio completo de esos derechos; es decir, no abdica en los absoluto su voluntad y fuerza, sino en cuanto lo exigen el bien, la prosperidad y la seguridad de los coasociados.

Por todo lo expuesto: hemos convenido en proclamar y sostener el siguiente:

PLAN REVOLUCIONARIO

Para derrocar del poder al General Porfirio Díaz y restablecer en el país la Constitución de 1857.

Art. 1º.- Se desconoce al General Porfirio Díaz como Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, y al ser habido se le juzgará como traidor á la Patria, á la Constitución que protesto guardar y al Plan de Tuxtepec que lo elevó al poder.

Art.2º.- Igualmente se desconoce á los Secretarios de Estado y Gobernadores, quienes serán juzgados y castigados según los cargos que les resulten.

Art 3º.- Los Jefes militares ó autoridades civiles de cualquier categoría que sean, que llegaren á hacer armas en contra de este Plan, serán tenidos como traidores á la patria y castigados como tales.

Art. 4º.- Desde la circulación y publicación de este Plan, queda la Nación declarada en estado de sitio; y para la debida ejecución se convoca al pueblo mexicano á las armas.

Art. 5º.- Con el mismo fin se solicita la cooperación de toda la prensa independiente.

Art.6º.- Esta reunión armada se denominará Ejército Constitucional, su lema será: CONSTITUCION DE 1857 E INTEGRIDAD NACIONAL.

Art. 7º.- Se reconoce como Jefe supremo al Sr. Catarino E. Garza, que por las persecuciones incansables del Gobierno no aparecerá por algún tiempo a la vanguardia de la revolución.

Art. 8º.- Al tomar posesión de la Capital de la República, el Jefe Supremo, Director de la Guerra, convocará al país á elecciones para una Convención Constituyente que deberá reunirse en México, en el término de cuatro meses, contados desde la ocupación de la Capital.

Art.9.- Esta Convención Constituyente, procederá á revisar la Constitución de 1757 (sic) (1857) adicionando ó reformando lo que estimare conveniente; pero siempre de acuerdo con la mente de los legisladores constituyentes y conforme al sistema liberal democrático federal.

Art.10.- En la revisión constitucional de que habla el artículo anterior, se elevarán á preceptos constitucionales los siguientes principios:

I.- Prohibición absoluta de ser reelectos en el país de los funcionarios públicos.

II.- Dar amplia libertad á todos los partidos políticos, suprimiendo para siempre el odioso asesinato político, conocido con el nombre de la ley fuga.

III.- Quitar toda clase de trabas al comercio y à la industria.

IV.- Dar verdadera soberanía á los Estados e independencia á los Municipios.

V.- Basar todas las adiciones o reformas en los principios democráticos.

Art. 11.Triunfante la revolución y constituido el gobierno, serán deslindados los terrenos baldíos y repartidos entre los mexicanos que se comprometan á cultivarlos.

Art. 12. Los Gobernadores y demás autoridades que reconozcan desde luego el presente Plan, serán conservados en sus puestos, siempre que justifiquen plenamente haberse portado con honradez, durante el periodo funesto de Tuxtepec.

En caso contrario, serán juzgados, sirviéndoles de atenuante, la obediencia y respeto al susodicho Plan.

Así mismo, los militares que á él se adhieran, serán reconocidos en su empleo, grados y condecoraciones.

¡Constitución de 57 é integridad nacional!

¡Sufragio libre y no reelección!

Márgenes del Río Bravo, en el Estado de Tamaulipas, á…. De…. 189 …-Prudencio González, Severiano Saenz, Julián Flores, Eustorgio Ramón, José Peña, Procopio Gutiérrez, Francisco Benavides, Inés Ruiz, Tomás Cuellar, Santos Cadena, Casiano Muñoz, Jesús Guerra, Rafael Ramírez, Antonio Martínez Peña, Pablo Morín, Jesús Briseño, Darío Hernández , Gregorio Hinojosa, Abraham Macgró, Bartolomé Cavazos, Juan Manuel Zarate, Tiburcio Rodríguez, Pablo Gámez, Julián Martínez, Jesús Flores, Antonio González, Casimiro Briseño, Francisco González, Juan Duque, Julio García, Cecilio Echavarría, Manuel Villarreal, Estevan Benavides, Cenovio Ojeda, José María Nombraña, Benigno Garza, Erminio Aguilar, Néstor González, Abel Pruneda, Patricio Ramos, Mateo Arsola, Refugio Gutiérrez, Pablo Garza, Teodoro Garza, Dionisio Salazar, Juan García, Juan Lozano, Rosalio García, Nicasio González, Rafael Valadéz Rafael Reséndes Ramírez, Margarito Martínez, Eugenio González, José María Soto, Narciso Rodríguez, José Piña, Calletano Benavides, Macario Cisneros, Antonio Zapata, Maximiliano Pruneda, Celso Landín, Pablo Vera, Eusebio Martínez, Eusebio Ramírez, Alejandro Quiñones, Juan Peña, Jesús Herrera, Carlos Peña, Manuel Zarate, Eugenio Hinojosa, Blas Ibañes, Juan Garza Vidaurri, Mauricio Ayala, Santiago Ayala, Crescencio Herrera, Pedro Mendoza, Marcos Sandoval, Julián Flores Vela, Alejo Treviño, Andrés Hernández, José María Morales, Valeriano Torres, Abraham Zavaleta, Eugenio Alanís, Gabino Benavides, Lucio Cantú, Juan Tanguma, Gabino Granado, Francisco Arce, Pablo Encina, Espiridión Benavides, Florencio Palacio, Apolonio Cadena, Fernando Salinas, Rómulo Villarreal, Doroteo Gutiérrez, Francisco Barrientos, Juan González, Pablo Salas, Clemente Gutiérrez, Pablo Encina, Espiridión Benavides, Florencio Palacio, Apolonio Cadena, Fernando Salinas, Rómulo Villarreal, Doroteo Gutiérrez, Francisco Barrientos, Juan González, Pablo Salas, Clemente Gutiérrez, Francisco Canales, Fortunato Ríos, Rafael Fuentes, Julián Fuentes, Francisco Solís.

(Archivo Histórico de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Manifiesto de Procopio Gutiérrez, Noviembre de 1892, Estado de Tamaulipas, México y Plan Revolucionario del Ejercito Constitucional cuyo lema es “CONSTITUCION DE 1857 E INTEGRIDAD NACIONAL” Documentos 738 y 739)

Fue el 15 de Septiembre de 1891, cuando Catarino E. Garza procedente de Texas y con 60 hombres armados. Proclamó su Plan Revolucionario en un punto fronterizo llamada Las Lajas, población pequeña y poco resguardada de Ciudad Mier, Tamaulipas.

El objetivo principal de este Plan era “..derrocar la tiranía y el despotismo del general Porfirio Díaz y volver al país al orden constitucional..”

Quien fue Catarino E Garza????

rubensolisgarcia