President Diaz, according to all versions, was a brave and untiring
soldier, who fought valiantly for his beautiful country. He was born
of humble parents, his father being a horse dealer, or something of
that sort; but he was ambitions, and gaining an education entered the
field as an attorney-at-law. Although he mastered his profession,
all his fame was gained on the battlefield. Perfirio Diaz is
undoubtedly a fine-looking man, being what is called a half-breed,
a mixture of Indian and Spaniard. He is tall and finely built, with
soldierly-bearing. His manners are polished, with the pleasing Spanish
style, compelling one to think--while in his presence--that he could
commit no wrong; the brilliancy of his eyes and hair is intensified by
the carmine of cheek and whiteness of brow, which, gossip says, are
put there by the hand of art. Diaz has been married twice--first to
an Indian woman, if I remember rightly, who left him with one child,
and next to a daughter of the present Secretary of the Interior,
Manuel Romero Rubio. She is handsome, of the Spanish type, a good
many years younger than the president, and finely educated, speaking
Spanish, French and English fluently. Mrs. Diaz has no children, but
is step-mother to two--a daughter and a son of the president. The
president, so far as rumor goes, follows not in the footsteps of his
countrymen, has no more loves than one, and is really devoted to Mrs.
Diaz.
There are two political parties, a sort of a Liberal and Conservative
concern, but if you ask almost any man not in an official position
he will hesitate and then explain that there are really two parties;
that he has almost forgotten their names, but he has never voted, no
use, etc. Juarez, who crushed Maximilian, while a good president in
some respects, planted the seeds of dishonesty when he claimed the
churches and pocketed the spoils therefrom. Every president since then
has done what he could to excel Juarez in this line. When Diaz first
took the presidency he had the confidence and respect of the people
for his former conduct. They expected great things of him, but praise
in a short time was given less and less freely, and the people again
realized that their savior had not yet been found. When his term drew
near a close, his first bite made him long for more, and he made a
contract with Manuel Gonzales to give him the presidency if he would
return it at the end of his time, as the laws of Mexico do not permit a
president to be his own successor, but after the expiration of another
term (four years) lie can again fill the position.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account