Mexico: This Is Now Being Done

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A battalion of frock-coated military-academy cadets stood ramrod straight; eight mariachi bands and two brass bands took their positions. Fifteen thousand people milled around expectantly. Across the airport roof stretched a sign etched in blue flowers: "Francia y México par la Paz del Mundo—Viva Francia." Then out of a warm, clear sky whistled the white-and-blue-trimmed Caravelle carrying Charles de Gaulle. Down the steps he lumbered, over to a red dais, and to the first crack of a 21-gun salute, France's towering (6 ft. 4 in.) President leaned low and bussed 5-ft. 9-in. President Adolfo López Mateos on both cheeks. The crowd roared its delight.

And so began the long-heralded Mexican visit of le grand Charles, to be followed this fall by a tour of possibly ten other Latin American countries. For those who felt that De Gaulle's primary aim was simply to play on latent anti-U.S. feelings throughout Latin America, the two leaders had quick reassurance. What Mexico seeks, said López Mateos at the airport, "is an alliance that is informal and without protocol and against no one." On Mexico's insistence, De Gaulle agreed in advance not to bait the U.S.

"Hand in Hand." On the five-mile ride into Mexico City, some 200,000 people lined the streets (v. 1,500,000 who turned out for Jack and Jackie Kennedy in 1962). Standing in his black Mercedes convertible, De Gaulle was showered with vivas and confetti. Everywhere, in shop windows, in newspapers, on billboards, portraits of De Gaulle beamed back at the visitor. They ranged from thumbnail-size De Gaulles on 1,000,000 commemorative stamps to a five-story likeness hung in Mexico City's Plaza de la Constitución.

Wearing his brigadier general's uniform and two-star kepi, De Gaulle addressed a curiously subdued crowd of 200,000 from the balcony of the National Palace—the first visiting dignitary ever accorded that honor. "Mexicanos," he proclaimed, during a three-minute speech memorized in precise Spanish, "I bring to Mexico France's salute. Let us walk hand in hand." After laying a memorial wreath at Mexico City's Independence Column, De Gaulle ducked his guards and plunged into a sea of outstretched hands. At city hall, he received the keys to the city; at a joint session of the Mexican Congress, a standing ovation. His most enthusiastic reception came at Mexico's national university, where exuberant students swept aside his aides and crashed through a glass door for a closer look at the fabled visitor. Arriving early for Mass at the venerated Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, near the capital, the general was met by Mexico's primate, Archbishop Miguel Darió Miranda, who extended his crucifix for the kneeling visitor to kiss. "Do it again!" cried slow-starting photographers; to their amazement, De Gaulle did, with a scowl.