A date that passed largely under the radar this week was the 70th anniversary of Mexico’s entry into World War II.
While not a significant event in the nation’s historical memory bank, given that only one unit saw action, the war gave a significant boost to the Mexican economy, spurred a modernization drive and went some way to repairing broken relations with its northern neighbor.
Mexico declared itself neutral at the outset of the war in September 1939, and both the allies and the axis were keen to get Mexico on their side. A large German community, especially in Mexico City, worked hard to influence the Mexican people and take advantage of the anti American and British sentiment that lingered in the country. It was only 18 months since President Lazaro Cardenas had nationalized the nation’s oil sector, expropriating mainly U.S. and British companies. At the onset of the war all three nations were still bitterly arguing over the compensation payments.
Nonetheless, the Mexican government generally sympathized with the allies, increasing its supply of oil to the United States. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mexico cut diplomatic relations with Japan, Germany and Italy and authorized U.S. tankers to enter Mexican waters to transport oil.
At the beginning of May 1942, Germany warned Mexico of the “dire consequences” if it continued to supply oil to the Americans. Within the space of a week, German submarines torpedoed two Mexican vessels, the Potrero del Llano (May 13) and the Faja de Oro (May 20).
On May 28, President Manuel Avila Camacho declared war on Germany, Italy and Japan.
The Germans sunk four more ships in Mexican waters that year as the country moved, albeit slowly, on to a war footing.
Civil defense measures were wracked up, military service was made obligatory and the properties and businesses of all Germans, Italians and Japanese in the country were put into public administration.
Rather than send ground troops into the European conflict, where there might be language problems, Avila Camacho decided to contribute an airborne squadron.
In March 1944, the president announced that the 300-strong Air Force Squadron 201 had been selected to go to the United States for a year of training before joining in the conflict. The Mexican pilots and mechanics departed from San Francisco, California on March 27, 1945 and arrived in Manila, Philippines on April 30 – only four and a half months before the war in the Pacific ended.
Though overseas for a brief period, the 201 Squadron flew 42 missions in P-47 Thunderbolts. Five died while flying in these missions.
After a six-month tour of duty in the Philippines, the squadron returned to Mexico on November 18, 1945. Every year on that date Mexico’s military authorities hold a ceremony in the capital to honor the squadron. The Fallen Eagles (Aguilas Caidas) monument in the capital’s Chapultepec Park is dedicated to the pilots who died while serving their country.
Unlike Europe, Mexico came out of the war relatively unscathed. The political stability during the conflict was notable, perhaps because many of the socialist policies favored by Avila Camacho’s predecessor Lazaro Cardenas del Rio were thrown out.
Although Mexico’s GNP grew at a rhythm of 7.3 recent between 1940 and 1945, development was limited as protectionism flourished. This lack of free competition helped create the country’s “industrial elite” that to a great extent still predominates today.
Avila Camacho, who was often referred to as the “gentleman president,” retired to his luxurious ranch in 1946 and spent the rest of his life receiving international celebrities, including Rita Hayworth, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Dolores de Rio, Eleanor Roosevelt and Harry Truman. He died in 1955.