Letter to the Editor

OK, it’s Cinco de Mayo. Let’s give Mexico credit for flying the first airplane, splitting the atom and inventing the light bulb.

But your paper owes its readers a better insight into the battle at Puebla in 1862 than that offered by Helena Rodriguez in her May 2 column.

Readers might find it insightful to know that it was Napoleon III (not THE Napoleon) who put Maximilian on the Mexican throne. France’s conquering power had diminished a bit after the defeat at Waterloo.

The United States was not humble in branding the French as interventionists, but their defeat at Puebla (and 50,000 U.S. troops dispatched to the border) led to their departure from Mexico in 1867.

Did the Mexican victory save the U.S. from French and Confederate domination? Hardly.

Maybe Mexico should thank the U.S. for removing the French.

Richard Foster, Portales