by Sheryl Losser, Mexico News Daily, June 8, 2022
Mexican historians say that Masons have been in Mexico since the 18th century and were instrumental in bringing about its independence. Major independence figures were Mexican Freemasons, according to Jose María Mateos, a 19th-century politician and a Mason himself. There are lodges belonging to different Freemasonry organizations in several Mexican states. One piece of evidence pointing to that influence is the fact that the original Chamber of Deputies was adorned with Masonic symbols. Historians generally agree that Freemasonry arrived in Mexico from Europe in the late 18th century.
Father Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende and José María Morelos were early members of the Arquitectura Moral lodge, which was founded in 1806. Masons moved from house to house for their meetings, in fear of the Inquisition, Mateos says. The first Scottish Rite Grand Lodge of Mexico was established in 1813. From 1821 until 1982, nearly every political leader of Mexico has been claimed by various sources to have been a Mason. A history published in 2017 asserts that many of the political leaders who drew up the 1917 Constitution were Masons.
A Masonic apron and sash believed to have belonged to President Benito Juárez reside in the National Palace. Historians believe Francisco Díaz was the head of Mexico’s Scottish Rite Masons in the late 1800s. Author Jean Meyer believes President Plutarco Calles was a Freemason and that it factored into his 1926 presidential decree. The introduction of the more liberal York Rite brand of Freemasonry into Mexico during the 1820s brought about 50 years of factionalism. The infighting took its toll, and Freemasonry ultimately lost much of its power and influence in Mexico.
