General Rafael E. Melgar Collection The Latin American Library

Rafael E. Melgar was born in the town of Yanhuitlán, in the state of Oaxaca, in 1887. A resident of Mexico City since 1907, he held minor government posts prior to the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. In 1913, he aligned himself with the carrancista forces, and in 1914 he helped lead the movement in Oaxaca to depose the Bolaños Cacho administration, which had recognized the usurper government of Victoriano de la Huerta. Melgar’s military career was now launched and, in 1916, rose to the rank of Brigadier General. In 1924, Melgar was granted permanent leave from the army and began a career in politics. Elected to five consecutive terms (1924-1934) as a diputado from Oaxaca, Melgar quickly ascended to positions of leadership and influence within the federal legislature and the nascent Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR- which would become the PRI). He headed the Oaxaca delegation to the Chamber of Deputies, presided over the Chamber’s Bloque Obregonista (1926-28), and was entrusted during the Portes Gil administration (1928-1930) with carrying out important political and military commissions. He also headed the Oaxaca delegation to the 1929 Convención de Querétaro, which formalized the founding of the PNR, on whose Executive Committee he later served. Melgar’s influence in national politics continued to grow during the administrations of Ortiz Rubio and Abelardo Rodríguez (1930-32, 1932-34). He presided over the Bloque Nacional Revolucionario, a pivotal faction in the Chamber of Deputies, was instrumental in getting the landmark 1931 Ley de Trabajo Federal written into law, proposed and then directed (1931-35) the Campaña Nacionalista, a country-wide movement, designed to combat the economic depression of the early 1930s and to “Mexicanize” the national economy, and led the Grupo Cardenista in the Chamber, which helped organize critical support for the candidacy of Lázaro Cárdenas. Melgar subsequently directed the Cárdenas presidential campaign in the Yucatán and was later appointed by Cárdenas governor of (1934-40), where he helped implement elements of Cardenas’ social and economic program. Unsuccessful in his attempt to win the governorship of Oaxaca, but still active within the orbit of national politics, Melgar was appointed Mexican Minister to the Netherlands in 1946 and served in that capacity until 1949. A confidant of Adolfo Ruiz Cortínes, Melgar helped form and subsequently led (1951-52) the Alianza Nacional de Agrupaciones Revolucionarias (ANAR), which promoted Ruiz Cortínes’ candidacy to the presidency. Melgar’s career in politics was capped by his election from Oaxaca to the national senate in 1952. He held that office until 1958. Rafael E. Melgar died in Mexico City in 1959.

Summary of General Rafael E. Melgar’s reach and influence: Close in varying degrees to a succession of the country’s presidents, and commanding key leadership posts in the federal legislature, Rafael E. Melgar was never far from the axis of political power in Mexico. He typified a new class of “professional” politician, career functionaries who emerged in Mexico following the military phase of the Revolution. Committed ideologically to the left wing of the party, Melgar’s influence was at its zenith in the six years prior to and then during the administration of Lázaro Cárdenas. While the installation of the more conservative Ávila Camacho regime (1940-46) may have seen his influence diminished, it was not extinguished. Melgar remained within the mainstream of the party, a loyal member of the “Revolutionary Family,” able to use his experience and connections to advance his own interests and maintain a public profile. Among the qualities which lent success to his endeavors were a grasp of detail and a keen sense of organization, qualities which are reflected in the scope and depth of his personal papers. Melgar was meticulous about preserving the records and documentation surrounding many of his more notable activities. His papers include extensive primary source material (original correspondence, reports, telegrams, memos, official documents, and photographs) as well as monographs, folletos, newspaper clippings, broadsides, and other printed ephemera. The richness of his archive thus opens research opportunities into important topics in 20th-century Mexican political, socio-economic, and cultural history, which include:

● The Campaña Nacionalista and the rise of Mexican nationalism: Melgar conceived of the Campaña Nacionalista and persuaded Ortiz Rubio to sanction and establish it in 1931. On its surface, the campaign, with Melgar as its president, was simply a movement—organized in the face of the economic depression afflicting urban Mexico after the 1929 crash—to convince Mexicans to consume only Mexican products and goods and stem the perceived flow of resources abroad. To this end, support was mobilized through corporate interests--military, labor, business, and political--and channeled via the press and radio. Nationalist weeks, fairs, and exhibits were organized throughout the country, often centering on the celebration of the charro, or horseman, as the ideal Mexican type and of charrería, or the culture of horsemanship, as the essence of “mexicanidad.” Relevant holdings in the collection on the Campaña Nacionalista include: a) 24 large-format volumes of official correspondence, press releases, and other material documenting the planning, development, and specific activities of the campaign on national, state, and municipal levels during the period 1931-1935; b) several volumes of newspaper clippings related to the campaign; c) commemorative albums of photographs, books, sheet music and ephemera (including original drawings and artwork) generated by the Campaign; and d) numerous additional photographs documenting campaign activities and personalities.

● The history and politics of state building and the development and institutionalization of one-party rule in Mexico: Melgar proved an adept politician and, from the late 1920s on, was close to the inner circle of power within the government and to the efforts and machinations of its leaders to impose and consolidate an effective central authority (PNR to PRI), gaining such proximity either on the basis of personal relationships, or on the strength of successful political maneuvering, or both. He presided over important committees and commissions, helped shepherd key legislation through both houses, and played a central role in the nomination and election of at least three Mexican presidents. Melgar’s papers contain a wide range of material pertinent to this theme. Relevant holdings related to state-building and one-party rule include: a) substantial documentation in the form of newspaper clippings, photographs of the campaign in Yucatán, and other material on the candidacy and election of Cárdenas; b) a number of bound volumes of political documents, correspondence, telegrams, and printed pamphlets related to the PNR and national political affairs during the 1930s; c) primary source material such as letters, telegrams, and official documents involving the activities of the Bloque Nacional Revolucionario; d) personal correspondence, official documents, photographs, and other items documenting the work of ANAR in 1951-52 on behalf of Ruiz Cortí nes’ candidacy and presidential campaign.

● The implementation of cardenismo in a specific regional context: Melgar’s six years (1934-40) as governor of Quintana Roo represented an attempt, successful to a considerable degree, to assert the hand of the state and of central authority against the power of entrenched private and local interests. Melgar’s efforts to implement the cardenista social and economic program in the territory of Quintana Roo concentrated on emancipating the oppressed indigenous peasantry through reforms in land tenure and the creation of cooperatives to harvest and sell chicle, one of the principal natural resources of the region. He left a rich record of his governorship, its day-to-day administration, and its interaction with federal authority, in 26 volumes of private correspondence. This material is complemented by a substantial number of records documenting the formation, operation, and financing of chicle cooperatives (including photographs, pamphlets, business contracts, and newspaper clippings); material relating to the settlement of border issues with (maps, photographs, documents); and additional material (reports, flyers, pamphlets, maps, documents, and photographs) concerning other commercial, technical, and scientific undertakings within and outside the territory that he governed.

● The Mexican Revolution and politics in Oaxaca, 1913-1958: As noted above, Melgar was at the center of military and political events in Oaxaca for more than four decades. The portion of his archive relating to Oaxaca is voluminous, permitting in-depth study of the interplay of state and national politics and the pursuit of regional economic and social development from the 1920s through the 1950s. Relevant holdings relating to Oaxaca include: extensive files of newspaper clippings covering Oaxacan political affairs and party rivalries and activities during the 1920s and 1930s; primary source material (letters and telegrams) documenting the election of federal deputies from Oaxaca; personal correspondence of Melgar related to Oaxaca and to his own political activities as a federal deputy and senator; photos, broadsides, posters, and miscellaneous documents connected to his election campaigns, including his campaign for the governorship of Oaxaca in the mid-1940s. CHRONOLOGY OF THE MAIN EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF GENERAL RAFAEL E. MELGAR.

• Born in Yanhuitlán, in the Mixteca Alta of the State of Oaxaca in 1887. Orphaned by his father at early age, he only completed primary school and worked in commercial houses in the City of Oaxaca. • In search of a better life, he moved to Mexico City in 1907, where he worked as administrator of the newspaper El economista mexicano. From 1910 on he also worked in an accounting position (pagador) in the Secretarìa de Fomento. • In 1913, after the murder of President Madero and Vice President Pino Suárez and once Carranza headed the revolutionary movement against Huerta, the , Bolaños Cacho recognized Huerta’s administration. He sent to prison, in Mexico City, Oaxaca Congressman Guillermo Meixueiro, Onésimo González and José Inés Dávila. Rafael E. Melgar visited them in prison and participated with them in preliminary plans to overthrow Governor Bolaños Cacho. • Rafael E Melgar’s participation in the Revolution started in 1913 when elected by the people of the district of Nochistlan (Oax) as Captain, function in which he joined the forces of Meixueiro and Dávila. • On December 8, 1913, he became Major for merits in campaign, for the same reason he was named colonel lieutenant and military commander of the district of Nochistlan. In June 1915, due to his having organized two battalions (the “Batallòn de voluntarios de la Mixteca” and the “Montaña de Nochistlan” Batallion, he was named Colonel. • In August 1915 he was ordered to go with his troops to Oaxaca City and paraded in front of Governor and general in chief of the State Forces, Guillermo Meixueiro. His troops were gathered in the Soledad Military Quarters and Colonel Melgar was given the degree of Brigadier General. • General Melgar was elected Deputy of the XVth Electoral Circle(Teposcolula), in which he served briefly as he devoted his time completely to the military campaign. • In November 1915, General Melgar was ordered to take his troops to Nochistlan where he arrested and sent to prison General Guillermo Cruz and officers and troops who had deserted the ranks of the Malpica division and were looting the Mixteca region • The military commander named by Venustiano Carranza, General Jesús Carranza, declared all Oaxaca generals outlaws as the Oaxaca State revolutionary administration had decreed on June 3 1915 that Oaxaca would not recover its sovereignty until the constitutional order had been reestablished. General Melgar was included in this action, which intensified existing tensions among the revolutionary factions operating in Oaxaca. Following orders by Governor Meixueiro, Rafael E. Melgar and other generals attacked Miahuatlan. This action led to his becoming General of Brigade and being named Military Commander of the Center Region.

• After several military actions, Governor José Inés Dávila moved the State powers seat to Tlaxiaco where he settled accompanied by Generals Eguía Liz, Ferrer, Juan Andrew Almazán, Córdoba and Melgar. General Melgar was named Military Commander of the districts of Nochistlan, Teposcolula and Coixtlahuaca. He organized the Morelos Brigade, belonging to the Mixteca Division and participated in various armed actions in 1916. • Following Governor Dávila’s orders, he was commissioned to the United States to obtain arms for Oaxaca troops. He went to Tucson, where the Consul helped him find a job in a St. Louis, Missouri hardware company. Later, he became the manager of the Latin American Division of this company where he stayed two years. • He returned from exile with Obregón (Plan de Agua Prieta) after a two year stay in the U.S. • In April 1920, when Sonora also recovered its sovereignty, the forces of Oaxaca to which General Melgar belonged, supported this movement and were recognized as belligerent parties. • In December 1922, he entered the 1st Reserve of the Army, in 1924 he requested license to leave the army and work in politics as he accepted his candidacy as federal Deputy for Tlaxiaco and Nochistlan. • As a member of the XXXI Legislature he headed the War Budget Commission and the Administration Commission. Head of the deputies of Oaxaca • Reelected to the XXXII Legislature, he presided over the Administration Commission, the Finance Main Accounting Commission and was again Head of the Deputies of Oaxaca. • In the XXXIII Legislature, he was named President of the Bloque Nacional Revolucionario of the Chamber of deputies and was a founding member of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR)). He headed again the Oaxacan Deputies. The Confederación de Partidos Socialistas named him head of the 98 delegates who attended the PNR convention in which Pascual Ortíz Rubio was nominated to the Presidency. In March 1929, he requested a leave of absence from congress in order to head the Oaxaca Defenses while the army fought against the troops of General Aguirre in , and returned to his seat in Congress. As head of the Bloque Nacional Revolucionario in Congress, Gral Melgar presented an initiative to engrave the names of Venustiano Carranza and Emiliano Zapata on the walls of the Chamber, which was approved. • As head of the Bloque Nacional Revolucionario en la Cámara, General Melgar submitted to Congress his project to organize a Nationalist Campaign in order to face the terrible economic crisis affecting Mexico and other countries as a consequence of the 1929 Depression. The aim of this campaign was to promote the consumption of national products by organizing Nationalist weeks, fairs, and exhibits in the main cities of the country. When the campaign was approved General Melgar became President of this campaign whose motto was “Consuma lo que el país produce”, later adopted by PEMEX. The Nationalist Campaign was extremely successful at no cost to public finances. • Also during this Legislative period, Melgar named a special commission to study the Federal Labor Law Project and another for the Defense of the Mexican Worker. He also headed the study of the Monetary Law. • In the following Legislative period, he headed the War Commission, was vice-president of the Permanent Commission of Congress and headed the Oaxacan Deputies for the 4th time. He also acted as Press and Propaganda Secretary of the Executive National Committee of PNR and while presiding over the General Committee of the Nationalist Campaign which held the 3rd Nationalist Parade. He also headed the Bloque during the second year of this legislative period • While presiding the Nationalist Campaign, and due to his promotion of charrería, he was named President of the Asociación Hípica Nacional. He co-founded the first Asociación Nacional de Charros. • As President of the Nationalist Campaign and in representation of President Abelardo Rodríguez, Congressman Melgar organized the first commercial business mission to Central America • As the next campaign for the presidency approached, Melgar initiated a meeting and actions in support of Lázaro Cárdenas. A Manifesto to the Nation was signed by him and other deputies and senators and published in newspapers, against the will of General Plutarco Elías Calles who supported General Pérez Treviño. For this reason, Melgar was named President of the Bloque Cardenista of the Camara de Diputados. • In January1935, under the Cárdenas administration, Melgar was named Governor of the territory of Quintana Roo (not a state at the time), a position he held until January 1st, 1941. There he organized the national and social life of its inhabitants. Many towns and settlements bordering British Honduras, for example, used the British flag. He changed the English or Catholic names of towns to native or historical names, such as Chetumal, Puerto Juárez, Carillo Puerto, Leona Vicario, Puerto Morelos and other towns to promote Mexican identity. • Having fought the Cristero movement, since there were no priests in Quintana Roo when he arrived, he did not encourage or bring them to the territory. • Based on the tequio practices of Oaxaca, he organized and participated in collective works in order to provide public services such as water for Chetumal and other towns. His main action was the comprehensive organization of a cooperative system in production and consumption. He forbade the sale of alcoholic beverages to prevent abuses suffered by the chiclero workers (only beer was allowed). • He administered and developed contracts and business relations with the Wrigley Company for the direct export of chicle from the chiclero workers cooperatives. Under his administration, the first airports were built; also, large schools, hospitals and promenades by the sea in Cozumel and Chetumal. Streets were paved for the first time. • In 1938, he was named president of the cooperatives gathered at the First Cooperatives Congress. In that same year he distributed two large latifundia belonging to the Banco Nacional de México and the Banco de Londres y México. • He created programs and plans that built roads, hotels and hospitals. He was the first to ask the national congress to organize and develop Tulum. • He was responsible for the construction of the Cozumel wharf, as well as Puerto Morelos and Puerto Juárez. • As a patron of Francisco Sarabia he sponsored Sarabia’s famous flight to New York. • Melgar purchased a state run boat to compete with the Garabanas family monopoly of goods shipped from the only boat route between Verazcruz to Chetumal. • He created the first newspaper in Quintana Roo (“En Marcha”) as well as the first radio station. • On 26 December 1939, the National Senate unanimously sent Governor Melgar “its most sincere applause” for the achievements of his administration, a distinction not granted to any other governor. • From 1945 to 1949, Melgar acted as Extraordinary Envoy and Plenipotentiary Minister to the Netherlands, named by President Avila Camacho and ratified by President Alemán. Together with Isidro Fabela he represented Mexico in the International Court of Justice in the Hague • He represented President Alemán at the crowning of Queen Juliana and was later decorated by her. • During this period, Rafael E. Melgar furthered his studies on cooperativism and international affairs and later published many articles on these topics in the newspaper El Universal- He also contributed to the agreements leading to the first trips of PEMEX oil tankers to Rotterdam, and also organized a very successful fair of Mexican products. • In 1951, Gral Melgar organized and headed the“ALIANZA NACIONAL DE AGRUPACIONES REVOLUCIONARIAS”, the first political group which nominated Adolfo Ruiz Cortines as presidential Candidate. • From 1952 to 1958 he belonged as Senator to XLII and XLIII Legislatures, where he presided various Commissions, such as the one for Public Works. • A key figure in recommending the acquiring of additional land in Pedregal to create a patrimonial fund for Ciudad Universitaria (UNAM). • In 1953, in agreement with President Ruiz Cortines, he organized and headed the “FRENTE REVOLUCIONARIO DE ACCION SOCIAL”, which aimed at attracting politicians and military men who had supported the candidacy of Gral Henriquez, against Ruiz Cortines, as PRI candidate. • During his period in the Senate, Senator Melgar presented the initiative to institute the Senate Medal of Honor “Belisario Domínguez”, a distinction that is still granted every year. • Melgar was involved, created, or organized at least 10 different political parties during his lifetime, all in the line of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. • General Rafael E Melgar died in Mexico City on March 21, 1959. Coincidentally, March 21st commemorates the birth of President Juárez. Every year, during his political life, Melgar led the Masonic organizations to perform “guards” at the Monument of President Juárez in Mexico City.

OBSERVATIONS AND POSSIBLE RESEARCH TOPICS

These papers would allow for developing several research projects on Mexican political federal and state life in the 1910’s-1950’s. The most obvious being a political biography of a political leader involved in many of the main political and economic events of the period.

Papers on Quintana Roo may be used to analyze state building or nation and State building in what at the time was a remote region scarcely developed and not integrated to the national territory. They also allow for the study of regional and local history, both in political and economic terms, and especially concerning the cooperative (gum and wood, mainly) movement and border definition.

Documents on the Nationalist Campaign refer to Mexican political, economic, social and cultural history. Newspaper clippings are quite complete as complementary information. Besides, since this was a strategy to surmount economic drawbacks, it should be related to Latin American economic history- Newspaper scraps on the Calles- Cárdenas succession allow to analyze the role of the Bloque Cardenista (congress group which he organized) and Representative R. Melgar in this crucial political circumstance. They compliment the documents on the Cardenista campaign in 1934.

The Senate period correspondence includes documents on Senator Melgar’s initiatives to promote school building and public works in Oaxaca, as well as national issues.

More generally, Melgar’s notes for a book he was writing on the Mexican Revolution, give his own account of important political events such as Oaxaca’s sovereignty movement and the Calles-Cárdenas succession. Finally, his newspaper articles illustrate his thought on political and economic national and international topics, especially his interest in the cooperative movement which he promoted in Quintana Roo and studied until the late 1950’s Included in these papers are also letters to and by well known public figures as well as numerous photographs, all well preserved.