De masonería, diplomacia y otras lealtades fraternales: el rescate de Porfirio Díaz por un hermano masón

Abstract

This article explores the role that Porfirio Díaz played in Freemasonry and his relationship with such an institution, analyzing one of the stories that proves that Díaz benefited from his Masonic affiliation before he was president of Mexico. This story tells how Díaz managed to smuggle himselfinto Mexico with the help of a brother Mason in 1876, after his brief exile in New Orleans aboard the steamship, "City of Havana". At first, it was widely believed that such a story was simply a legend, part of the folklore that surrounds Freemasonry. However, two witnesses, both Masons, who were in the same boat with Díaz, confirm the veracity of the tale that even William Deslow, the historian of American Freemasonry,, cataloged as a, "not verified" incident.

In addition, it studies how Díaz promoted the unification of the Scottish Rite lodges in an institution called The Symbolic Grand Diet. The primary reason why Díaz promoted such unification, as stated in this article, was to carry out his plan of national reconciliation. Díaz knew he had to gain control of Freemasonry to avoid future confrontations and trouble. He didn’t want anybody to interfere with his governmental policy of order and progress. Therefore, the dictator always made sure that neither masonry nor any other institution that had substantial influence in society were out of his control.