Bucareli Treaty

The Treaty of Bucareli (Spanish: Tratado de Bucareli), signed on 1923, was an agreement between countries of México and United States. Officially called "Convención Especial de Reclamaciones" (English: Special Convention of Claims), for losses sustained by citizens or companies of the United States of America because of the Mexican Revolution.^[1][2][3][4]

The treaty sought to channel the demands of U.S. citizens for alleged damage to their property caused by internal wars of the Mexican Revolution during the period between 1910 and 1921.^[2][3][4] The meetings were held in Mexico City and were conducted in a federal government owned building located on the street Bucareli #85. Negotiations began on May 15, 1923 and ended on August 13 of that year. The treaty was signed by President Alvaro Obregon primarily to obtain diplomatic recognition from the U.S. government led by President Warren G. Harding, but were never formally approved by the congresses of both countries.^[5] The Treaty of Bucareli was canceled shortly after by the President Plutarco Elías Calles.^[6]

The situation of Mexico in which the treaty was signed was marked by political instability and constant military revolts. Part of the relative weakness of government of Álvaro Obregón came from the fact that the United States had not recognized its post-revolutionary regime. The Constitution of 1917, with a strong socialist and nationalist influence had hurt many U.S. interests,^[4] therefore, President Warren G. Harding refused to recognize as the legitimate the government of President Álvaro Obregón, and also demanded the repeal of several articles of the new constitution or at least were not applied to United States.^[3] For Obregón, recognition of his government by the United States was a priority, because that way avoided the constant threat of an armed conflict with that country (that barely nine years before, had invaded the port of Veracruz) and also weakens his internal enemies, who also sought the support of United States.^[7][2]

Due to the devastation and disorder caused during the civil war, Obregon considered that were necessary the Foreign investments to rebuild the economy of Mexico.^[8] United States conditioned the recognition of Obregon, if a treaty was established between the two countries, in which Mexico would guarantee the rights of property of americans living in Mexico and its oil companies into Mexican territory.^[8][2][3][4] The oil problem stems from Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution, which states that corresponds to the nation the direct control of everything on Mexican soil. That affected the possession of oil from U.S. and European oil companies^[6]

The conditions demanded to the Mexican government were:^[2][3][4][9]

• Specify in the content of Article 27 of the Constitution the legal situation of oil industry and agricultural properties of foreigners.
• Resume payment of external debt, suspended during the government of President Venustiano Carranza.
• Pay compensation to foreigners for damages to their persons or property incurred during the revolutionary struggle.

The Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (English: Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation), granted and determined that Article 27 would not be retroactive for the oil industry. Regarding the resumption of external debt payments, Obregón tried to obtain funds through new taxes on oil but the oil companies opposed to the increase, stopped production and that forced the government to repeal the tax.

The Treaty of Bucareli was signed by Álvaro Obregón the August 13, 1923 reached the following agreements:^[2][8][10]

• The agricultural properties expropriated from U.S would be paid with bonds, if it weren't greater than 1755 hectares.
• The properties that exceed that length, the payment would be immediate and in cash.
• It would create a commission to be responsible for reviewing the claims pending since 1868, claims arising out of the Revolution would be solved separately.
• Regarding to oil, article 27 was not retroactive to the Americans who had acquired their leases before 1917, allowing them to continue exploiting the oil freely.

Claims must be met for a period of two years and had to be processed for five years from the signing of the treaty. However, the treaty lacked legal validity because it wasn't approval by the congresses of the two signatory countries, being in a "gentleman's agreement", which involved only to Obregón but not their successors, despite of this, the government of Obregon was recognized by the U.S. government.^[8] the amount of money paid to Americans during the presidential term of Obregon is unknown to date.

Former interim president Adolfo de la Huerta, who was on the Obregon's cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury, assumed that the treaty violated the national sovereignty and subjected Mexico to humiliating conditions".^[10] De la Huerta accused Obregón of treason against the nation, and at the same time, he was accused of incompetence in the performance of his duties and he was made responsible for financial plight. De la Huerta resigned and moved to Veracruz, from where he launched a manifesto that set off the Rebelión Delahuertista on December, 1923.

A common urban legend in Mexico says that the treaty forbade the country to produce specialized machinery (engines, aircraft, etc.), so presumably, Mexico delay many years the development of its economy.^[11] The fact is that during the period between 1910 and 1930, civil wars, multiple military coups and rebellions devastated the industries in Mexico and stopped higher education, research and technological development, while social and political instability drove off the Foreign investments.^[12] The full text of the Treaty of Bucareli, verify the absence of prohibitions on technology or anything similar.

When Plutarco Elías Calles took office on December 1st, 1924, one of the main points of contention between the U.S. and Mexico still was oil. Calles quickly rejected the Treaty of Bucareli since 1923 and began drafting a new oil law that strictly fulfill the Article 27 of the Constitution.^[6] The U.S. government's reaction was immediate, U.S. ambassador in México, James Rockwell Sheffield called Calles a "communist", and the U.S. Secretary of State Frank Billings Kellogg issued a threat against México on June 12, 1925.^[6] never considered himself as communist, but considered the revolution as a form of government rather than an ideological position.

Public opinion in United States turned against Mexican politics when the first embassy of the Soviet Union in the world, was opened in México;^[13] time that the Soviet ambassador said that no country in the world shows more similarities to the Soviet Union and México. After this, members of the U.S. government considered to Mexico was the second bolshevik country on earth, and they began to call it "Soviet México." .^[6][14]

The debate on the new oil law was in 1925, with U.S. interests opposed to any initiative. On 1926, the new law was enacted. On January, 1927, the Calles government canceled permits to oil companies that don't meet the law.^[6] México managed to avoid the war through a series of diplomatic maneuvers. Shortly after, a direct telephone hotline was established between President Plutarco Elías Calles and President of the United States Calvin Coolidge, U.S. Ambassador in Mexico, James Sheffield was replaced by Dwight Morrow.^[6] On March 18, 1938, after a series of contempt for foreign oil companies, President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río decreed the mexican oil expropriation, creating PEMEX.^[15]

• Moreno Suarez. Los Tratados de Bucareli: Traicion y Sangre Sobre Mexico. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |co-author= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |name= ignored (help)
• Trujillo Herrera (1966). Adolfo de la Huerta y los Tratados de Bucareli. Librería de Manuel Porrúa. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |name= ignored (help)

• Alvaro Obregón, El Vértigo de la Victoria. Dir. Arturo Pérez Velasco, 1999.
• México: Revolution and Rebirth. History Channel, 1999.