Rurales
The rurales, the national rural police during the regime of
Porfirio Díaz,
have been the subject of mythology. Supposedly, they were an elite and fierce
police force which tamed the Mexican countryside. Not only bandits but everyday
peones lived in fear of them.
Paul J. Vanderwood, "Mexico's Rurales: Reputation versus Reality," The
Americas 34:1 (July 1977), 102-112, paints a quite different picture of
them. Using biographical data based on 2,000 personnel folders of ex-rurales
found in the Archivo General de la Nación,
Ramo de Gobernación,
Vanderwood found that the majority of rural policemen came from urban areas and
few were accomplished horsemen. Many of their horses were unserviceable. Their
marksmanship records showed that they were only average to poor marksmen. They
suffered a high incidence of alcoholism. The desertion rate ran 20%. Unit
ledgers were frequently juggled to defraud the government; a few officers even
held local political office instead of attending to their police functions. They
rarely caught their men; instead, bandits frequently chided them for inability
to capture them. Their effectiveness was overstated; interior Mexico never free
of serious crime. In fact, there were less than 2,500 rurales and they were
concentrated in central regions of the republic, the area on which all Mexican
governments focus because it includes the national capital where the national
political elite lives.
The rural police corps headquarters was normally in state capital and
contained a nucleus of 50 men; the rest were organized in detachments of 5-8
men. There were 10 corps 200 men each. Although 80% had horses, these were used
for transportation around town. The corps detachments were distributed over
several states to prevent the corps commander from acquiring prestige and power.
Being in the corps was advantageous. The rurales’ salary was twice that of
factory workers and four times that of farm laborers.
Don Mabry