Mexico 1916-1934

Oct. 1, 1916 (Aug. 22, 1918)-Feb. 5, 1934

Last modified: 2009-06-19 by juan manuel gabino villascán
Keywords: carranza (venustiano) | mexico | eagle (profile) |
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by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, April 6, 2001.
Badge based on [sjs40] and [csm60]

Flag and coat of arms adopted:	Apr. 14, 1823.
Revised:	Decree promulgated: Sept. 20, 1916; published: Sept. 25, 1916; and in effect: Oct. 1, 1916.
Flag first hoisted:	September 15, 1917.
Coat of arms approved:	Aug. 22, 1918.
In use until:	February 5, 1934.
Use:	On land:	Civil, state and war flag.
	At sea:	State, and war ensign. Naval jack (torrotito de proa)

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The flag was first flown on September 15, 1917 [sjs40]. and [csm60]..

Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, April 09, 2001

After defeating Victoriano Huerta, Venustiano Carranza decided to restore the indigenous elements which were originally in the coat of arms, and on September 20th, 1916 decreed that the eagle be represented in profile looking dexter/left, standing on a prickly pear which grows on a water-surrounded rock and with oak and laurel branches beneath.

The flags in the decrees of Presidents Abelardo L. Rodríguez, Gustavo Diaz Ordaz y Miguel de la Madrid were, with some changes the Carranza one.

From http://dyred.sureste.com/club/6febrero/24feb.htm (website no longer available)
summarized and translanted by Santiago Dotor, 29 Dec 1998.

Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, April 6, 2001
Based on [sjs40] and [csm60]

Diario Oficial de la Federación
25 de septiembre de 1916
PODER EJECUTIVO
SECRETARÍA DE ESTADO Y DEL DESPACHO DE INSTRUCCIÓN PÚBLICA Y BELLAS ARTES
REPÚBLICA MEXICANA

(...)

Considering:

That the decree of April 14, 1823 is currently in effect, on which the Sovereign Constituyent Congress stated that national coat of arms shall be the Mexican eagle stood on its left claw over a nopal, that in turn, rises from a stone at a lagoon, and holding with its right claw a snake, simulating tearing the snake to pieces with its beak. The achivement will be surrounded by two branches, one of laurel, and the other of oak (...)

That this decree has been subjected to different interpretations, giving birth to an unending variety on the arms designs, lacking a precise form of the National Coat of arms (...)

I extend the following decree:

Article unique:

The National Coat of Arms, whose model is stored and preserved in the Dirección General de Bellas Artes, is the only that should be used by the civilian authorities and the armed forces of the Republic, and by the diplomatic representatives and consuls accredited abroad. Authorized copies of this model will be distributed among the State governors and the public services subordinate of the Federal Government.

This decree will take effect next October 1. Therefore, I command it be printed, published, and distributed, and be given the correct fulfillment.

(...)

From [csm60]
Quoted and translated by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, April 19, 2001.

It is remarkable that the law did not make any detailed description of the arms, giving birth to serveral variants [csm60].

It has a profiled eagle, looking to the right, with high-expanded wings, and the tail down. It is standing over its left claw on a prickly pear born from a stone, that in turn rises from the water, The eagle is graping with the right claw a rattlesnake which is also hold with the beak. A garland, made up by oak and laurel branches united in the lower part by a ribbon, surrounds the achievement.

Several drafts attempted to fulfill the 1916 decree, most of them featured by its realistic shape and mainly inspired in the Peso de Victoria minted in 1823. The number of stems of the prickly pear varied from 6 to 9 or even more, the number of tunes varied as well. From that time on it became costumary to include the country's official name ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS in an hemicircle above the badge [ban95] and [csm60].

According to Carrera Stampa, the final draft of the coat of arms was officially approved on August 22, 1918 by an official statement reads: "Escudo Nacional Aprobado por el C. Presidente de la República D. Venustiano Carranza. Palacio Nacional, 22 de Agosto de 1918" [National Coat of Arms approved by Citizen President of the Republic Don Venustiano Carraza. National Palace, August 22, 1918] [csm60].

The new design has the same featuring elements of the Mexican emblem: eagle, snake, prickly pear, stone, wreath and ribbon. In this ocassion, the eagle is laying over its right profile [showing its left one], the head is remarkable bowed with the wings expanded but down, while the tail is expanded and rised up and the prickly pear is made up by 9 (nine) stems [csm60].

The Coat of Arms was designed by Antonio Gómez R., at the time, painter of the Department of Archeology of the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Historia y Etnografía (National Museum on Archeology, History and Ethnography) [csm60].

Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, October 6, 2001

Don Venustiano Carranza, in 1916, decreed that the eagle in the national coat of arms was to be depicted in profile and not in front as was used since the end of the XIX century. Its shape is similar to the present coat of arms, but with several differences.

From La Bandera Mexicana (website no longer available)
Translated by Jorge Candeias, 27 Oct 1997,

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• Mexico - Historical flags
• Mexico
• Mexico - General index

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