Silencing the Indigenous in Creelman's Document

James Creelman in the excerpts from “Porfirio Díaz, Hero of the Americas” speaks optimistically about the Díaz regime, his efforts and their results. Creelman mentions that Díaz is a hero that stabilized a once "divided and unprepared" country (132). There is constant references to the republic and the indigenous as ignorant. Creelman says with pride, "the nation is emerging from ignorance and revolutionary passion, and that it can choose and change presidents without weakness or war" (130). The idea of ignorance before modernization is tied to the idea of enlightenment. In order to be progressive and enlightened, to be with the times, etc. one had to modernize and move out of the backwards ways of the past and gain knowledge that will aid their future. However, this narrative in the context of Mexico exists because of the enormous silencing of history. Creelman mentions that Díaz sold a million acres of land. He says this as if it were the greatest indicator of progress and stability. However, he clearly neglects to ask where all of this land came from and what used to occupy this space. These lands were not uninhabited and they were not up for grabs. The indigenous had a complex agricultural system in which there were public lands used as the commons. Díaz followed the manual of modernization and broke up the commons, divided them into parcels, and sold them to Mexicans, but mostly foreigners. The indigenous were displaced and were forced to privatize or be marginalized. Another indicator that Díaz himself mentions to be a success was the drawing back of religion. He views this as an accomplishment, saying that it was a part of his plan in ensuring that the government would not be oppressive nor ruled by one entity (ironically he ruled for three decades). The church was the institution of government for campesinos. The modern state threatened their authority and, thusly, threatened their faith. A third example of the silencing occurring in this document is based on economic indicators. Creelman purely views success their economic terms and national ones at that. He enumerates the revenue the new government has conjured for the nation. However, he neglects to delve into how this revenue is spent and who benefits and how those recipients feel about their impacts. Namely, education. The education system clearly is a national project, a modernization project that aims to change the ways of the indigenous to fit the modern state. It is evident that this document is geared towards foreigners and the elite of Mexico. It focuses solely on the national level where the particularities and on the ground impacts of policies are obscured. It is easy to paint a heroic figure through this light.