On December 14, 1859, in Veracruz, Benito Juárez and his foreign minister, Melchor Ocampo, signed a treaty with Ambassador Robert Milligan McLane that many historians consider the most shameful concession ever granted by a Mexican president: the so-called McLane-Ocampo Treaty.
In exchange for a mere $4 million (of which only $2 million would reach Mexico, as the other half remained in Washington to pay claims from U.S. citizens), Juárez ceded three perpetual rights of passage across Mexican territory.
The treaty granted perpetual transit across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a strip of land from Guaymas to Nogales, and another from Matamoros to Mazatlán, passing through Monterrey.
U.S. troops could enter Mexican soil at their discretion to “protect” these routes, without requesting permission. The treaty guaranteed free trade without tariffs for goods and troops and obligated the Mexican army to protect U.S. interests.
The signing was unconstitutional: the 1857 Constitution, which Juárez himself defended, required congressional approval to cede territory or allow foreign troops. Juárez ignored it.
José Vasconcelos directly called him a traitor, quoting Justo Sierra, who admitted that Juárez and Ocampo “were deluded.” Francisco Bulnes denounced the sacrifice of sovereignty out of desperation.
At that time, Juárez was losing the War of the Reform against Miramón, who had him besieged in Veracruz. Without money or international recognition, he sold the interoceanic passage to survive. James Buchanan originally wanted to buy Baja California, Sonora, and part of Chihuahua for 10 million dollars.
Mexico was saved by sheer luck or historical chance: the U.S. Senate rejected ratification in 1860, not out of kindness, but because protectionists opposed free trade, doubted Juárez’s authority, and many senators had interests in alternative routes through Nicaragua and Panama.
The American Civil War would soon erupt. Ocampo would be assassinated a year and a half later, accused precisely of treason for this treaty.
Source: Secretaría de Educación de Veracruz – Oficial
