Evening star., 1938-05-31
Cedillo's Flight.


the hills Of San Luis Potosi state, virtu-
/, ally deserted by the bands Of agrarian
followers who were to be the strength
OF his insurrection, appears to put an
end to the first major threat to the
regime of President Lazaro Cardenas.
Until Cedillo is captured, however, 1t
is premature to declare his revolt crushed,
for there always remains the possibility
Of his stirring up friendly groups else
where In the republic, or in the United
States, but for all practical purposes the
sting has been taken out Of the uprising,
and normalcy is being restored to the
former empire Of the dictator of Las
Palomas."
With the insurrectionist movement
petering out, certain facts spring up from
the events of the past two weeks:
First, Cardenas enjoys the answering
allegiance of large masses Of Mexicans
in every part Of the republic, as was
evidenced by the pledges which came to
him from widely scattered districts and
by the eagerness Of militarized labor to
use its new power in his defense.
Second, Cardenas knows how to act
quickly against incipient rebellions and
Is powerful enough to subdue without
difficulty purely regional threats to his
administration. A revolt, to overthrow
Cardenas, must be organized nationally
and must enlist not only wealth from
the disaffected classes, but must recruit
q substantial segment Of the military as
well. Any expectation Of defeating the
army allied with the milftarized labor
confederation is sorely unfounded.
Third, the underlying causes of ulti-
mate reaction have not been removed,
and in fact have been accentuated In
recent weeks. TIE inability to market
any substantial portion of the output of
the appropriated oil wells, the growing
weakness Of the peso, and the rising cost
Of living coupled with the difnculty of
Cardenas with one of the most dis
tressing problems an executive may be
called upon to face. Until they are
solved, the prospect, sooner or later, of
a revolt or q series Of sporadic insurrec-
nons, cannot be abated.
Fourth, and finally, Cardenas is re-
vealing himself as possessed not only Of
q high degree Of political acumen, as is
manifest In his disposition to strike
quickly for advantage over his adver-
saries, but also is guided by instincts Of
q peculiarly human character. He
applies q dramatic technique of char
itableness toward his enemies which is
convincing Mexicans and Americans
alike that his love for the forgotten man"
is genuine and that he can be as mag
unanimous in victory as he is courageous
In dilemma.
The sending Of teachers and engineers
to mop up" Cedillo's former domain by
explaining the social revolution to and
measuring the needs Of the Indian
agrarians, the total absence of firing
squads and punitive killings: and the
permission for Cedillo's surrendered fol-
lowers to retain their arms as recruits In
the Mexican army are no mere gestures.
They are calculated to win the affection
and devotion Of long deluded class,
whose only crime was to follow blindly
man whom they deemed their benefactor.
The renewed evidence Of popular sup
port Is Cardenas' chief hope in lessening
social unrest until he is able, with the
aid Of time and friendly administra-
ton in Washington, to restore Mexico
to the level of prosperity 1t has come to
enjoy In recent years.