Cinco De Mayo Case

Cinco de Mayo means the fifth of May. As the name indicates, the battle celebrated by Cinco de Mayo took place on May 5th of 1862 in the state of Puebla [Lovgren: May 2006]. It is not an independence day for Mexico as many people misunderstand it. Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on the 15th of September. [El Chicano Weekly: 2010, Apr 29]. "Far to the south of Tennessee, the soldiers in the battle were Mexican troops fighting an invading army from France. On 5 May 1862, the Mexican forces won a smashing victory that is today remembered in the famous Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo"[Norris: 40: April/May2013].

In 1846, the Mexican government, under the dictator Santa Anna, went to war with the United States. As an outcome of that war, Mexico lost a large amount of land--the land we now know as Texas. In 1854, Juan Alvarez and his troops led a successful revolt to drive Santa Anna out of power. One of Alvarez's strongest supporters was a man by the name of Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian leader. Mexicans were victorious against the invading French in one of many battles that were won and lost. [Conde, D. 2005, May 04] Cinco de Mayo is a regional holiday to celebrate the victory over a battle of a Mexican army over French army. Cinco de Mayo became a "band and parade day" for the military in Mexico [Conde, D. 2005, May 04]. The battle was significant enough to be designated as a holiday because the Mexican soldiers were greatly outnumbered by the French soldiers, 4,000 to 8,000. The French army was known to be unbeatable at the time, holding the record of 50 years without any defeat (Philadelphia News).

Contrary to its popularity in U.S.A., Cinco de Mayo is not a federal holiday of Mexico. It is not widely celebrated throughout Mexico, neither. Rather, it is a regional holiday that is celebrated especially in the State of Puebla where the battle took place (National Geographic). In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated not only to celebrate the Battle of Puebla, but rather to celebrate the Mexican culture (Southern California Quarterly). In 1855, Juarez became the minister of Justice under the new regime and issued two new controversial laws. One denied the right of the church and military courts to try civilian cases and the other made the sale and distribution of church lands legal. Many people disagreed with these laws and for three years a civil war raged between the two sides. Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday. Mexico and the United States savor this holiday because it is the day where Mexican peasants/ commoners defeated the French and Mexican traitor army that double them in size in Puebla, Mexico one hundred miles away from Mexico city on the 5th of May, 1862.

The French had landed in Mexico along with Spanish and English troops five months earlier to collect unpaid debts. In 1855Benito Juarez (minister of justice) issued reforms called by Ley Juarez when he took control of the capitol in 1861 and created a national debt. On July 17, 1861 he issued a statement that all foreign debts would temporarily be stopped for two years, then payments would resume. The English, Spanish, and French were unhappy with this gesture and went to Mexico to make them pay. The English and Spanish negotiated with the Mexicans and then left. But the French stayed because they wanted to create an empire in Mexico under Napoleon the Third. It is also said that Napoleon wanted to check the powers of the United States before it got too powerful.

Napoleon also brought in a new Hapsburg prince who he thought would help him rule the Mexican Empire. His name was Maximilian and his wife's name was Carolota. Napoleon's army hadn't been defeated in over 50 years.

The French army invaded Mexico with the finest and most modern day armory and ammunition. They also had a newly