Freemasonry in Mexico

Early development

Evidence for organized Freemasonry in New Spain before the 19th century is limited, and many accounts of its early activity are difficult to verify. The secrecy of Masonic organizations, the actions of the Inquisition, and the similarities between Masonic lodges and other political or patriotic societies have complicated attempts to reconstruct the movement's early history.

Freemasonry was one of several networks through which political ideas and personal connections circulated during the period of Latin American independence.^[5]

The first lodge commonly identified in Mexican Masonic histories is Arquitectura Moral, established in Mexico City in 1806. The first grand lodge associated with the Scottish tradition was reportedly established in 1813.^[1]

In 1884, liberal politician and Freemason José María Mateos claimed that independence leaders including Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, José María Morelos, and Ignacio Allende had been initiated at Arquitectura Moral. No surviving lodge records have conclusively established those claims, and later historians have treated them cautiously.^[6][5]

The difficulty of establishing the Masonic membership of independence figures is partly connected to the nature of the surviving evidence. Charges of belonging to Freemasonry were sometimes used against political opponents by the Inquisition, while genuine Masonic activity was normally conducted in private. Accusations of membership therefore do not, by themselves, establish that an individual belonged to a lodge.

Early republic

Following independence in 1821, existing lodges became more visible and new Masonic organizations were established. The arrival of United States minister Joel Roberts Poinsett contributed to the growth of York Rite Masonry and to its involvement in Mexican political life.^[1][2]

During the 1820s, York Rite lodges were associated with federalist politicians and groups that favored closer relations with the United States. Scottish Rite lodges were generally associated with centralists and political figures who opposed growing American influence. The terms yorkinos and escoceses consequently came to describe political factions as well as Masonic affiliations.^[1]

Poinsett's involvement became controversial because of accusations that he had interfered in Mexico's internal political affairs. His connection with the York lodges was frequently cited by opponents as evidence of United States influence over Mexican political organizations.^[2]

Politicians and Freemasons who did not identify with either the York or Scottish factions established the National Mexican Rite in 1825. The rite was intended to provide a Masonic system based in Mexico and independent of competing foreign jurisdictions.^[1][6]

The relationship between Freemasonry and politics remained complex. Some lodges participated directly in political organization, while others maintained that political disputes should remain outside lodge meetings. Membership also crossed ideological divisions, and individuals belonging to the same rite did not necessarily hold identical political views.

Nineteenth century

During the 19th century, Freemasonry became closely associated with Mexican liberalism and efforts to reduce the political influence of the Catholic Church. Masonic organizations supported ideas including secular government, public education, freedom of conscience, and the separation of church and state, although the extent of their direct influence remains a subject of historical debate.^[3]

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite expanded during the second half of the century. Charles Laffon de Ladebat, a Freemason connected with the Scottish Rite in the United States Southern Jurisdiction, traveled to Veracruz in 1860 and participated in establishing the Supreme Council of Mexico.^[7][8]

Different Scottish Rite organizations later disputed questions of lineage, recognition, ritual, and jurisdiction. These disagreements contributed to divisions within Mexican Freemasonry and make claims that a particular organization was the sole national authority difficult to present without qualification.^[7]

Antonio López de Santa Anna was among the Mexican presidents identified as Freemasons by historian Karen Racine.^[3]

During the French intervention that established the Second Mexican Empire, French military lodges connected with the Grand Orient de France operated in Mexico. Most disappeared after the withdrawal of French forces.^{[citation needed]}

Women and Freemasonry

During the late 19th century, some Mexican Freemasons supported women's education and the creation of lodges for women. These efforts remained controversial within organizations that limited full Masonic membership to men.

Writer and educator Laureana Wright de Kleinhans participated in debates concerning women and Mexican Freemasonry. She argued that the exclusion of women was inconsistent with Masonic principles of equality and progress. Women's lodges briefly received support from male Masonic organizations but were later excluded amid pressure from organizations seeking recognition from male-only Masonic jurisdictions.^[9]

Wright criticized rules that barred women from membership while presenting Freemasonry as an organization devoted to intellectual and social advancement. Her writings have become a source for the study of women, gender, and Masonic organization in 19th-century Mexico.^[9]

Twentieth century

Freemasonry continued to influence political and civic organizations after the Mexican Revolution. In Oaxaca, Masonic lodges participated in political networks, education, anticlerical movements, and the development of post-revolutionary state institutions between 1920 and 1940.^[4]

The role of Freemasonry was not uniform throughout Mexico. Its political importance varied by region, and local lodges often reflected existing relationships among politicians, teachers, government officials, professionals, and community leaders.^[4]

Historian Karen Racine identified a number of Mexican presidents as Freemasons, including Guadalupe Victoria, Valentín Gómez Farías, Antonio López de Santa Anna, Benito Juárez, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Porfirio Díaz, Francisco I. Madero, Venustiano Carranza, Plutarco Elías Calles, Lázaro Cárdenas, Emilio Portes Gil, Pascual Ortiz Rubio, Abelardo L. Rodríguez, and Miguel Alemán Valdés.^[3]

Claims concerning the Masonic affiliation of political figures vary in reliability. In some cases, membership is supported by lodge records or contemporary correspondence; in others, it rests largely on later Masonic histories or political tradition.

National Mexican Rite

The National Mexican Rite was established in 1825 as an alternative to the York and Scottish Rite factions. Its organizers sought to create a national Masonic organization that was not controlled by a foreign grand lodge or supreme council.^[1][6]

The rite became connected with Mexican liberalism and later supported secularization and political reform. It developed its own system of degrees and administration while retaining elements derived from other Masonic traditions.^{[citation needed]}

It includes six degrees beyond the degree of Master Mason:

1. Approved Master
2. Knight of the Secret
3. Knight of the Mexican Eagle
4. Perfect Architect
5. Grand Judge
6. Grand Inspector General

The rituals used in these degrees were largely adapted from the Scottish Rite.^{[citation needed]}

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite became one of the principal Masonic systems practiced in Mexico. It includes a sequence of degrees administered above the three symbolic lodge degrees of entered apprentice, fellow craft, and master Mason.

The Supreme Council of Mexico traces its establishment to December 21, 1860, when Charles Laffon de Ladebat arrived in Veracruz and worked with Mexican Freemasons to organize a supreme council. The organization later transferred its activity to Mexico City.^[7][8]

James C. Lohse, a former grand master of the Grand Lodge Valle de México, was later elected sovereign grand commander. For several years, the Supreme Council shared its headquarters on Donceles Street with the Grand Lodge Valle de México.^{[citation needed]}

The Supreme Council administers the fourth through thirty-third degrees for its affiliated bodies and grants charters to philosophical bodies of the rite. Statements concerning exclusive authority or universal recognition reflect the system of Masonic recognition and are not accepted by every Masonic organization.

Scottish Rite history in Mexico includes several competing organizations and ritual traditions. During the late 19th century, groups associated with Albert Pike, Vicente Antonio de Castro, and other Masonic writers used different rituals and disputed questions of legitimacy and recognition.^[7]

York Rite

The York Rite became politically prominent in Mexico during the 1820s. Its growth was encouraged by Joel Roberts Poinsett and by Mexican federalists who viewed York Masonry as an alternative to established Scottish Rite lodges.^[1][2]

York Rite organizations are generally divided into separate bodies administering Royal Arch Masonry, Cryptic Masonry, and the Masonic Knights Templar. Their administration differs from the Scottish Rite's sequence of numbered degrees.

The principal York Rite bodies represented in Mexico have included:

• The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons Unified of Mexico
• The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the United States of Mexico
• The Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of Mexico
• The Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Mexico

A Master Mason normally enters through the Royal Arch degrees before seeking membership in the Cryptic or commandery bodies. The latter bodies may be joined separately, subject to the rules of their jurisdictions.^{[citation needed]}

Confederation of Regular Grand Lodges of the United Mexican States

The Confederation of Regular Grand Lodges of the United Mexican States, known in Spanish as the Confederación de Grandes Logias Regulares de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, has brought together participating grand lodges since the 1930s. It is governed through a national council composed of representatives of its member grand lodges.^[10]

Recognition of individual Mexican grand lodges is not uniform. A grand lodge recognized by one foreign jurisdiction may not be recognized by another.

The confederation has included grand lodges associated with the following states:^[10]

• Aguascalientes, "Profesor Edmundo Games Orozco"
• Baja California
• Baja California Sur
• Campeche
• Chiapas
• Chihuahua, "Cosmos"
• Coahuila, "Benito Juárez"
• Colima, "Sur-Oeste"
• Durango, "Guadalupe Victoria"
• Guanajuato
• Guerrero
• Hidalgo
• Jalisco, "Occidental Mexicana"
• Estado de México
• Michoacán, "Lázaro Cárdenas"
• Morelos
• Nayarit
• Nuevo León
• Oaxaca, "Benito Juárez García"
• Puebla, "Benemérito Ejército de Oriente"
• Querétaro
• Quintana Roo, "Andrés Quintana Roo"
• San Luis Potosí, "Soberana e Independiente del Potosí"
• Sinaloa del REAyA
• Sonora, "Pacífico"
• Tabasco, "Restauración"
• Tamaulipas
• Veracruz, "Unida Mexicana"
• Yucatán, "La Oriental Peninsular"
• Zacatecas, "Jesús González Ortega"

Federal grand lodges

Grand Lodge Valle de México

The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge Valle de México is based in Mexico City and primarily administers symbolic lodges working within the Scottish Rite tradition. Its institutional history dates its establishment to February 5, 1862.^[13]

The organization identifies Unión Fraternal, Émulos de Hiram, and Eintracht as its founding lodges. These lodges worked in Spanish, French, and German, respectively. They developed from Unión Fraternal Lodge No. 1, whose charter was granted by the Grand Orient Neogranadino of Cartagena, Colombia. James C. Lohse served as the first grand master according to the organization's history.^[13]

On December 25, 1861, members of Unión Fraternal submitted a petition to the Grand Orient Neogranadino. The resulting charter became the basis for the establishment of the Grand Lodge Valle de México.^{[citation needed]}

By a decree dated June 25, 1910, the United Mexican Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Veracruz transferred Masonic jurisdiction over Mexico City and several states to the Grand Lodge Valle de México. The decree identified Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Sonora, Guanajuato, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, and Hidalgo among the transferred territories.^{[citation needed]}

In 1934, the Grand Lodge Valle de México entered an agreement with other Mexican grand lodges to define their respective jurisdictions. The agreement assigned the Federal District to Valle de México and also recognized its jurisdiction in Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Querétaro, Hidalgo, the State of Mexico, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Guerrero, Puebla, and the southern district of Baja California.^{[citation needed]}

In 1944, the Independent Mexican Symbolic Grand Lodge and its 36 symbolic lodges merged with the Grand Lodge Valle de México. Valle de México reportedly had more than 77 symbolic lodges at that time and was led by Grand Master Valentín Rincón. On November 21, 1944, the reorganized body adopted the name Most Worshipful Grand Lodge Valle de México under Decree No. 433. Fernando Benavides García became its first grand master under the reorganized name.^{[citation needed]}

The grand lodges identified as participants in the establishment of the Confederation of Regular Grand Lodges of the United Mexican States included:^{[citation needed]}

• Grand Lodge of the State of Coahuila "Benito Juárez"
• Grand Lodge of the State of Campeche
• Grand Lodge of the State of Chihuahua "Cosmos"
• Grand Lodge of the State of Chiapas
• Grand Lodge of the State of Nuevo León
• Grand Lodge of the State of Tamaulipas
• Grand Lodge "El Potosí" of San Luis Potosí
• Grand Lodge "Guadalupe Victoria" of Durango
• Grand Lodge "Occidental Mexicana" of Jalisco
• Grand Lodge "Unida Mexicana" of Veracruz
• Grand Lodge Valle de México

During the 1990s, the Grand Lodge Valle de México announced its withdrawal from the confederation. The organization stated that the confederation's adoption of a civil-association structure and revised statutes had moved it away from its original purpose.^{[citation needed]}

State grand lodges

The following state grand lodges have operated in Mexico. The list does not establish that all of the organizations recognize one another or belong to the same confederation:

• Grand Lodge of Baja California
• Grand Lodge of Baja California Sur
• Grand Lodge of Campeche
• Grand Lodge of Chiapas
• Chihuahua: Grand Lodge Cosmos
• Coahuila: Grand Lodge Benito Juárez
• Colima: Grand Lodge Sur-Oeste
• Durango: Grand Lodge Guadalupe Victoria
• Grand Lodge of Hidalgo
• Jalisco: Grand Lodge Occidental Mexicana
• Michoacán: Grand Lodge Lázaro Cárdenas
• Grand Lodge of Nayarit
• Grand Lodge of Nuevo León
• Oaxaca: Grand Lodge Benito Juárez García
• Grand Lodge of Querétaro
• Grand Lodge of Quintana Roo
• San Luis Potosí: Grand Lodge El Potosí
• Grand Lodge of Sinaloa REAyA
• Sonora: Grand Lodge del Pacífico
• Tabasco: Grand Lodge Restauración
• Grand Lodge of Tamaulipas
• Veracruz: Grand Lodge Unida Mexicana
• Yucatán: Grand Lodge Oriental Peninsular

The United Grand Lodge of England recognizes several Mexican grand lodges, including the York Grand Lodge of Mexico and grand lodges in Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Baja California, Puebla, Nuevo León, Veracruz, Jalisco, and Coahuila. Its list is a recognition directory rather than a complete list of all Masonic organizations operating in Mexico.^[12]

Durango

The Grand Lodge Guadalupe Victoria, named after Mexico's first president, is a federation of Masonic lodges in the state of Durango. It was established in 1923. Before its establishment, lodges in the state were under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Coahuila. Its lodges practice the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and its headquarters are in Durango City.^[14]

The Grand Lodge Guadalupe Victoria is identified as a founding member of the Confederation of Regular Grand Lodges of the United Mexican States. It has also participated in meetings and seminars involving Mexican grand lodges.^[10]

Le Droit Humain

The International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women, Le Droit Humain, operates in Mexico through a Mexican jurisdiction. Unlike traditional male-only Masonic bodies, Le Droit Humain admits both men and women.^[15]

Its presence reflects the wider diversity of Mexican Freemasonry, which includes male-only, female, and mixed-gender Masonic organizations.