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(Part I) Ref. The Craftsman,VOLUME 1, NUMBER 4, July 2001  
 
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FIRST LODGES  
Freemasonry came to México sometime in the last twenty years of the 18th century. The scarcity of documentation is not surprising if we remember that our early brethren worked under the shadow of the Holy Inquisition. When independence came in 1821, many of the main actors are known or believed to have been Masons, but there was no Grand Lodge organization as such.

 
   

The first Lodge known to exist in México met at the shop of French watchmaker Juan Esteban Laroche, until the Inquisition arrested them while celebrating the Summer Solstice in 1791. The next mention of Freemasonry in Mexico is in 1806. In this year, a Lodge was established in Mexico City in the residence of Don Manuel de Cuevas Moreno de Monroy Guerrero y Luyando in Calle de las Ratas (today Calle Bolívar). Unfortunately, the archives of the Lodge were lost and its "columns" destroyed between 1808 - 1809, and the name of the Lodge and other details are not known. The rite under which the Lodge worked is also not known, and there is no basis for the sometimes held belief that it was the York Rite. With the dissolution of this Lodge, nothing positive is known of Mexican Masonry until 1813, when Spanish military forces were sent to Mexico in aid of her Colonial Dominion. These forces introduced the Scottish Rite, and established the first Lodges under that Rite in Mexico. However, these Lodges were exclusive to Spaniards, and to Mexicans of noble lineage, who adhered to the Spanish cause. For a number of years, these Lodges met only in strict secrecy, but the Order still flourished and, although the number is unknown, several Lodges were established.

The York or American Rite was first introduced in México in 1816 when the Grand Lodge of Louisiana chartered Lodge "Amigos Reunidos No. 8" in Veracruz and, in 1817, "Reunida La Virtud No. 9" in Campeche. Although no exact data are available, it can be assumed that these Louisiana Lodges had a short existence.

In 1821, the Independence of Mexico established, the Lodges were able to meet more freely, and little by little the Mexicans began to withdraw from the Spanish Lodges, forming their own Lodges directed by General Nicolas Bravo.

 
In 1823, New York chartered "Triunfo de la Libertad No. 363", also in Veracruz, and in 1824, Pennsylvania constituted "Hermanos Legítimos de la Luz de Papaloapan No. 191" in Alvarado, which worked until 1837. Due to the geographic distance these three Lodges had no bearing on the introduction of the York Rite in México City.
  
   
In 1821, the Independence of Mexico established, the Lodges were able to meet more freely, and little by little the Mexicans began to withdraw from the Spanish Lodges, forming their own Lodges directed by General Nicolas Bravo. In this manner, the Scottish Rite was propagated throughout Mexico, and within a few years the Spaniards finally were working amicably with the Mexicans.
  
   
Wanting to reform the Masonic Institution, 36 Master Masons held a meeting for the purpose of organizing Lodges under the York Rite, in protest against the political involvement of the other bodies at this time. A commission from this body waited on the U.S. Minister, Mr. Joel R. Poinsett, who eventually obtained Charters from the Grand Lodge of New York for five Lodges: "Rosa Mexicana", "Federalista" and "Independencia" in 1825, and "Tolerancia No. 450" and "Luz Mexicana No. 451" in 1826.
  
   
After the receipt of these Charters, the Lodges were instituted and the officers installed by Brother Poinsett. These Lodges then formed a Grand Lodge that was formed and duly installed in 1825, under the name of "La Gran Logia Nacional Mexicana" with Don Ignacio Esteva as Grand Master. The Grand Lodge issued Dispensations and Charters throughout the country, and in 1828 there were 112 Lodges on the roster of which 90 met regularly, while the others were not active for one reason or another. Among the members were many Generals, Colonels, and other Army Officers as well as Senators, Congressman, Clergymen, and Government Employees and Merchants.
  
   
At the start, these Lodges restricted themselves to ceremonies of the Rite as well as Charity and Benevolence. And, it was not long before they met opposition from other Rites, provoking them into acts of resistance, and before long self-defense, and they took an active and practical part in the politics of the country. Some 10 or 12 of these Lodges were composed of Army Officers who moved about the country, and it appears at this time that little regard was paid to quality of members, quantity being the aim of these Lodges.
  
   
Members of the Scottish Rite also had considerable activity to increase their membership, being afraid the liberal tendencies of the leadership of the York Rite. Accordingly, strong opposition appeared among the two Rites, and both claimed to work for the benefit and uplifting of mankind. Thus, the illusions of the York Rite were lost in controversy. From the strife, a curious incident appears that permits us to discern the character of the times and the strange Masonic spirit of those Brothers. The Scottish Rite members held religious celebrations in honor of the Virgin del Pilar and Santiago de Compostela, and those of the York Rite made demonstrations in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The pulpits were used to cast insults between the two bodies by the clergy, and in the streets of the capital, it was not unusual to see Masonic - Catholic processions in which the bands, aprons and banners of Lodges alternated with candles, processional candle holders, crosses, incensors, etc.
  
   
The charged atmosphere exploded in 1827, when General Nicolas Bravo, Grand Master of the Scottish Rite, rebelled against the Government, and General Vicente Guerrero, Grand Master of the York Rite, marched to fight the rebel. Bravo was beaten at Tulancingo, and this action resulted in the practical extinction of both Rites, because on 25 October 1828, Congress (composed mostly of Scottish Rite Masons) decreed a prohibition against the existence of secret societies in the country. During the next 15 - 20 years, real Masonry reached a low ebb.
  
   
   
   
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