Editing Porfirio Díaz (section)

==Becoming president and first term, 1876–1880==
[[File:Portrait_of_president_Porfirio_Díaz.jpg|thumb|Díaz wearing the presidential sash]]
Díaz did not take formal control of the presidency until the beginning of 1877, putting in General [[Juan N. Méndez]] as provisional president, followed by new presidential elections in 1877 that gave Díaz the presidency. Ironically, one of his government's first amendments to the liberal 1857 constitution was to prevent re-election.<ref>{{Harvp|Garner|2001|p=247}}</ref>

Although the new election gave some air of legitimacy to Díaz's government, the United States did not recognize the regime. It was not clear that Díaz would continue to prevail against supporters of ousted President Lerdo, who continued to challenge Díaz's regime by insurrections, which ultimately failed. In addition, cross-border Apache attacks with raids on one side and sanctuary on the other were a sticking point.{{Sfn|Schell|1997|p=1112}} Mexico needed to meet several conditions before the U.S. would consider recognizing Díaz's government, including payment of a debt to the U.S. and restraining the cross-border Apache raids. The U.S. emissary to Mexico, [[John W. Foster]], had the duty to protect the interests of the U.S. first and foremost. Lerdo's government had entered into negotiations with the U.S. over claims that each had against the other in previous conflicts. A joint [[American-Mexican Claims Commission|U.S.-Mexico Claims Commission]] was established in 1868, in the wake of the fall of the French Empire.<ref>Feller, A.H. ''The Mexican Claims Commissions, 1823–1934: A Study in the Law and Procedure of International Tribunals''. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1935, p. 6</ref> When Díaz seized power from Lerdo's government, he inherited Lerdo's negotiated settlement with the U.S. As Mexican historian [[Daniel Cosío Villegas]] put it, "He Who Wins Pays."<ref>Cosio Villegas, Daniel. ''The United States Versus Porfirio Díaz'', translated by Nettie Lee Benson. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 1963, p. 13.</ref> Díaz secured recognition by paying $300,000 to settle claims by the U.S. In 1878, the U.S. government recognized the Díaz regime, and former U.S. president and Civil War hero [[Ulysses S. Grant]] visited Mexico.<ref>{{Harvp|Garner|2001|pp=247–248}}</ref> ''See also: [[Lerdista Uprising of 1878]]''

During his first term in office, Díaz developed a pragmatic and personalist approach to solving political conflicts. Although a political liberal who had stood with radical liberals in Oaxaca (''rojos''), he was not a liberal ideologue, preferring pragmatic approaches towards political issues. He was explicit about his pragmatism. He maintained control through generous patronage of political allies.<ref>{{Harvp|Garner|2001|p=70}}</ref> In his first term, members of his political alliance were discontented that they had not sufficiently benefited from political and financial rewards. In general, he sought conciliation, but force could be an option. "'Five fingers or five bullets,' as he was fond of saying."{{Sfn|Schell|1997|p=1112}} Although he was an authoritarian ruler, he maintained the structure of elections, so that there was the façade of liberal democracy. His administration became famous for the suppression of civil society and public revolts. One of the catchphrases of his later terms in office was the choice between "pan o palo", ("bread or the bludgeon")—that is, "benevolence or repression".<ref>{{Harvp|Krauze|1997|p=212}}</ref> Díaz saw his task in his term as president to create internal order so that economic development could be possible. As a military hero and astute politician, Díaz's eventual successful establishment of that peace (''Paz Porfiriana'') became "one of [Díaz's] principal achievements, and it became the main justification for successive re-elections after 1884."<ref name="Garner_69">{{Harvp|Garner|2001|p=69}}</ref>

Díaz and his advisers' pragmatism about the United States became the policy of "defensive modernization", which attempted to make the best of Mexico's weak position against its northern neighbor. Attributed to Díaz was the phrase "so far from God, so close to the United States." Díaz's advisers [[Matías Romero]], Juárez's emissary to the U.S., and [[:es:Manuel María de Zamacona y Murphy|Manuel Zamacona]], a minister in Juárez's government, advised a policy of "peaceful invasion" of U.S. capital to Mexico, with the expectation that it would then be "naturalized" in Mexico. In their view, such an arrangement would "provide 'all possible advantages of annexation without ....its inconveniences'."<ref>quoted in Schell, {{Harvnb|Schell|1997|p=1112}}</ref> Díaz was won over to that viewpoint, which promoted Mexican economic development and gave the U.S. an outlet for its capital and allowed for its influence in Mexico. By 1880, Mexico was forging a new relationship with the U.S. as Díaz's term of office was ending.