Cinco de Mayo: La Batalla

''FRANCE IS NOT AT WAR WITH YOU, BUT THE EMPIRE.

''YOU AND I ARE FIGHTING AGAINST THE EMPIRE,

''YOU, IN YOUR COUNTRY, I, IN EXILE.

''BRAVE MEXICAN MEN, RESIST.

''THE ATTACK AGAINST THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO

''IS A CONTINUATION OF THE ATTACK AGAINST THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.''

VICTOR HUGO

Firing squad, ready!

Aim!

Fire!

AFTER LONG YEARS OF FIGHTING, ''THE WAR OF REFORM'' IS OVER,

AS BENITO JUAREZ AND HIS LIBERAL ARMY

DEFEAT THE CONSERVATIVE FORCES.

THE COUNTRY IS DEVASTATED AND IN BANKRUPTCY.

PRESIDENT JUAREZ IS FORCED TO SUSPEND

THE PAYMENT OF THE EXTERNAL DEBT.

THE CONSERVATIVE LEADERS FLEE TO EUROPE

LOOKING FOR SUPPORT TO THEIR CAUSE,

MEANWHILE, IN MEXICO, THEY TRY TO REGROUP THEIR ARMY...

PARIS, FRANCE, 1861

Is it your first time in France?

Yes, indeed. We came here because the Emperor invited us.

-Mr. Juan Nepomuceno AImonte? -Yes.

Mr. Gutierrez Estrada,

and Mr. Jose Maria HidaIgo?

His ImperiaI Majesty NapoIeon III,

Emperor of France, wiII receive you now.

I have been informed about your project

to estabIish a French monarchy in Mexico.

Interesting.

President Juarez has announced the suspension

of payments of the externaI debt.

This is the perfect excuse.

Spain and EngIand are very annoyed, too.

One way or another, we have their support.

I wiII send my troops, commanded by Count of Lorencez.

It is a great honor, Your Highness.

Give him your support in Mexico.

Wise decision, Your ExceIIency.

-Thank... -Enough.

This way, gentIemen.

Remember, GeneraI,

our victory must be fast and bIunt.

Your Highness,

Mexico wiII be no rivaI for us. In a month, it wiII be ours.

After that, take the troops to our aIIies of the U.S. Confederate Army.

As we agreed.

With our support,

they wiII defeat LincoIn's army, without a doubt.

GeneraI, one step at a time.

Mexico wiII be ours,

and the United States wiII be divided.

The future beIongs to the French Empire.

VERACRUZ HARBOR, MEXICO, 1862

CorporaI.

Artemio?

-Wake up! -What's going on?

Look.

We have to inform Captain Leon. You wait here.

France, EngIand and Spain.

-Those are battIeships. -BattIeships?

-Captain, what is going on? -Don't you see?

They're invading us.

-What are we going to do? -What do you think?

-We won't Iet them in aIive. -Are you crazy? Put that down!

You wiII get us in troubIe, Iike you aIways do.

They are stiII far, you idiot. Don't be a coward.

We have already protested and invaders have stopped.

Minister DobIado,

begin dipIomatic negotiations immediateIy.

I wiII, Mr. President.

We are confident that the weapon of reason wiII avoid

a greater bIoodshed.

Don't expect a country

to move its troops to another continent and come back empty-handed.

We have to get ready for the worst.

Our miIitary forces are inferior.

Mr. President, we don't have the resources to transport and feed our troops.

ExactIy. That is why

we have to use reason

and strategy,

not in order to attack them,

but to defend ourseIves.

Let's hope we don't have to fight against those three countries.

That

wiII depend mostIy on you, Minister.

You wiII be the right hand of this nation.

However, we must get the Ieft hand ready as weII.

I don't understand, Mr. President.

I sent the generaI in charge of the defense his designation.

-Who is he? -Our war secretary.

General Lgnacio Zaragoza.

Ignacio.

You have to go.

I wiII be fine.

I wiII Iook out for you from there.

For whatever you may need.

Don't Iet them take our country from us.

I won't.

I swear.

GeneraI Prim, these conditions are unacceptabIe!

This infernaI weather is breaking our soIdiers!

They throw up aII the time!

We have to order the Mexican government to aIIow us to take our troops

inside the country, where the weather is Iess harmfuI.

We cannot order them, but we couId ask for their permission, as a goodwiII gesture.

We French don't ask for anyone's permission!

-Before our whoIe troops get sick... -I remind you that you are not aIone.

France, Spain and EngIand are aIIies, aII decisions must be made in common.

-We must be carefuI. -CarefuI? About what?

The Mexican government shouId not take our request Iike a menace.

As if our troops were moving forward.

We have to show them our goodwiII.

Let us hope for a decent answer from our Mexican friends.

Friends?

Okay, then. But take us out of this heII, GeneraI Prim!

Give him some water!

Take him to the shade. Dismissed.

-How many do we have? -Sixty, Captain.

So, you are coming with us, ma'am?

Of course!

My husband, God save his souI, was a soIdier,

and now it's our turn to heIp our troops, isn't it?

Maybe the French wiII come to harm us and then what wouId we do?

What are you doing with that cannon?

It's stuck, Captain.

-Don't worry, we are puIIing it out, right? -Yeah!

-Hurry up! -Yes!

-Wait, Juan. -What?

I'II heIp the Iady.

-Here. -Oh, thanks.

Thanks.

Let me heIp you.

Thank you.

You're weIcome.

Here.

Come on, Juan! Hurry!

We need to get the cannon out of the mud!

Wait!

We have to heIp the Iady, right? Wait!

If I wore a skirt, wouId you heIp me with the cannon?

No, I... I'm sorry, Captain!

Hurry up!

-CitIaIi! -Yes?

-What are you doing? -Nothing, aunt.

-Come on, hurry up! -Yes, yes.

Minister Doblado, please understand that we are here to help the Mexican people.

We onIy want your debt with us to be guaranteed.

GeneraI, you are speaking for Mr. SaIigny and Commodore DunIop.

I wouId appreciate it if you sent these words to President Juarez in writing.

Yes, indeed.

We are going to send it to Mexico City immediateIy.

We shouId send our troops instead.

I don't speak French, but I understand it perfectIy.

And I see aII those soIdiers who arrived from so far, with you.

-More than we agreed, GeneraI. -It's just for protection.

For protection?

Or for expIoration?

As you know, our troops are at the port suffering from bIack vomit.

For your peace of mind, we wiII send haIf of them back to Veracruz.

WeII, now that we understand each other Iike the gentIemen that we are,

pIease aIIow me to offer you a cigar.

Now we understand each other.

We don't have whiskey, but we can get you a fine tequiIa.

Mexican beer wiII do. Thank you.

Return to the port?

We wiII take some other route.

Lieutenant Fauvet, those are not SaIigny's orders.

Sergeant Vache,

we are miIitary men and we have to expIore enemy territory.

Those are my orders, are you against them?

Aim!

Fire!

Attention!

TerribIe, gentIemen! You don't act Iike soIdiers!

If you don't want to be one, get out of here!

Ignacio,

I have bad news.

Give me that.

President Juarez aIso sent a statement from GeneraI Prim,

who is in charge of the Spanish deIegation.

According to Prim, they are here to demand satisfaction for our past affronts

and get guarantees for the future.

What affronts?

They are here to get their money the nasty way.

We are not ready to resist an attack.

Take the troops, cavaIry and suppIies to ChaIchicomuIa.

Order Oaxaca Division to move forward.

Here.

GeneraI Porfirio Diaz, too.

They are our best men.

What are you waiting for, MigueI?

Am I not cIear?

I have more bad news.

It's your wife.

RafaeIa died yesterday of pneumonia.

I'm reaIIy sorry, brother.

If there is something I can do for you...

-Maybe you shouId go to... -We have no time.

If we don't take action now, we wiII have more deaths to regret.