ELECTIONEERING IN MEXICO.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 41, 3 October 1911, Page 2

ELECTIONEERING IN MEXICO.

RIOTS AND BLOODSHED

GENERAL REYES STONED

1 lie Presidential election in Mex ico, now just getting fairly started, seems iMy to develop into civil war, says i San Francisco correspondent, under .late September 6th. The opening if the campaign of one of the candidates, General Bernardo Reyes, the most formidable adversary of Fraud sio Madoro, leader of the revolution, .vas marked by serious rioting and iloodahod in the streets of Mexico Jity, during wliich live men were cilled and many hurt. General Reyes is a grey-haired veteran of the wars. He was an idol of the crowd prior ■;o the .revolution, and was feared by i)iaz as a rival. The fickle Mexicans nave turned against their old favourite, and the election of Maderp seems assured ...... It was Madero’s announcement that honest opposition■ would be welcomed, and that equal . protection would be afforded all parties in the campaign, that led General Reyes to attempt to deliver a speech in the capital, in front of the £2,000,000' National Thertre in course of construction. Kaiiv in the morning partisans of Mauler, o congregated at ' the sit, and there were many encounters with the Reyes supporters, who also gathered in force. When General Reyes appeared in his automobile, accompanied hy his son, he was .jeered i and stoned. Stepping From Ids .motor he rebuked the mob, put his words provoked louder jeers •and a rain of stones, some of which sti uck the i aged soldier. He walked several blocks to a building facing the . theatre,, from : the , second storey °f "’hiedi ho attempted to deliver his address. For twenty minutes he stood there, dodging stones and pieces of marble ,'which wrecked the windows and disfigured .the Trout of the building. r Mounted . police charged the mol) with drawn sabres, and a troop of cavalrymen was called out. The political antagonists, however,' continued fighting amongst themselves, and it was more than an hour before a semblance of order was restored. In making their escape Reyes was robbed of £3OO and his son of a gold watclu

While Madcro deplores the,outbreak ol violence, lie probably is secretly pleased with the indication of the unpopularity of his only serious rival. Madcio was nominated by the Convention of the Progressive' Party, consisting of 1500 ■delegates from all parts of Mexico, on August, 30th. There was not a dissenting voice’in the Convention, and this was the only name presented for nomination. The revolutionary leader believes he will receive 75 per centr rnore votes than ’Reyes. His real strength, lie says, 1 lies in the country districts. In many of the smaller towns the people- scarcely know the namet 1 of the 'other candidates. His main! policy is thb''broak■ingiiiip of .the, immense'-hrndeck estates by means of a land tax, thus'fbrcing the owners to develop Their sustain the burden of taxation 1 without return, or dispose of their property. At the • same time, he disclaims any intention of takihg hasty or radical steps. The policy of breaking up the estates is immensely popular throughout theßepublic, and there can be no question as to the wisdom or necessity of such; a policy. The latest statistics with reference to Mexico show that there are 55 proprietors who own more than 50,000 acres each, and who total among them 9,459,767 acres. This is much the huger part of the area held in private ownership within the Republic. Seven of these holdings have an extent of over 250,000 acres, and one of them covers more than 1,000,000 acres. Some of the farm are so largo that each has a little city of its own, inhabited by from 000 to 2,500 .persons.. The relationship ~of those.persons to the landlords is in some, cases practically (hat oi slavery. Madero is also pledged to a plank providing that no monopolies or special privileges shall bo granted; but lie explains that this should, mat be taken To-mean that his adrnimsi ration wil3. be an .enemy to foreign oapi-' tal. The money of the foreigner ,\vi!i bo treated as that of the M.>:<lea 11. and all foreign capital will be given ample protection, he told the nominating Convention., p

Six political' parties have sprung up in Mexico since Diaz was deposed. It seems certain, however, that, but three will have a Presidential candidate in the race. Besides Madero and Reyes, the most prominent candidates, Itmiliano Vasqnez Gomez is i contender for the honour. If the reigning administration, of which Madera is the head and front, keeps its promises, the voters will be untrammelled in casting their ballots. Under the Diaz regime the booths were manned by armed soldiers, and it was a dangerous thing to vote against the dictator. The consequence was that Diaz, despite his great unpopularity, polled more than 90 per cent of the votes cast in the election less than a yoar before lie was driven from the country.