Cinco de Mayo in Mexico

Cinco de Mayo is a date of great importance for the Mexican and
Chicano communities. It marks the victory of the Mexican Army over the
French at the Battle of Puebla. Althought the Mexican army was eventually
defeated, the "Batalla de Puebla" came to represent a symbol of Mexican
unity and patriotism. With this victory, Mexico demonstrated to the world
that Mexico and all of Latin America were willing to defend themselves of
any foreign intervention. Especially those from imperialist states bent on
world conquest.

Cinco de Mayo's history has its roots in the French Occupation of
Mexico. The French occupation took shape in the aftermath of the
Mexican-American War of 1846-48. With this war, Mexico entered a
period of national crisis during the 1850's. Years of not only fighting
the Americans but also a Civil War, had left Mexico devastated and
bankrupt. On July 17, 1861, President Benito Juarez
issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for
a brief period of two years, with the promise that after this
period, payments would resume.
The English, Spanish and French refused to allow president
Juarez to do this, and instead decided to invade Mexico and get
payments by whatever means necessary. The Spanish and English
eventually withdrew, but the French refused to leave. Their intention
was to create an Empire in Mexico under
Napoleon III. Some have argued that the true French occupation was
a response to growing American power and to the Monroe Doctrine
(America for the Americans). Napoleon III believed that if the
United States was allowed to prosper indescriminantly, it would
eventually become a power in and of itself.

In 1862, the French army began its advance. Under General Ignacio
Zaragoza, 5,000 ill-equipped Mestizo and Zapotec Indians
defeated the French army in what came to be known as the "Batalla
de Puebla" on the fifth of May.

In the United States, the "Batalla de Puebla" came to be known as
simply "5 de Mayo" and unfortunately, many people wrongly equate it with
Mexican Independence which was on September 16, 1810, nearly a fifty year
difference. Over, the years Cinco de Mayo has become very commercialized and many people see this holiday as a time for
fun and dance. Oddly enough, Cinco de Mayo has become more of Chicano
holiday than a Mexican one. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on a much larger
scale here in the United States than it is in Mexico. People of Mexican
descent in the United States celebrate this significant day by having parades, mariachi music, folklorico dancing and other types of festive
activities.

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