The Cry of Dolores is a political tradition in Mexico in which the President of the Republic, before thousands of citizens, launches praises and cheers in the main Zócalo (square) before ringing a bell, as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla did in 1810 to launch the Mexican War of Independence. The political ritual is of great significance in Mexican political life, not only because of its symbolic anti-colonial imprint but also because it is usually seen as a gauge of the president’s popularity with the masses.
After six years of a government that maintains high levels of popularity (over 70%) and has also created many enemies, this was the last Cry of Dolores of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO). The ceremony, as always, was marked by solemnity and brevity, something characteristic of Mexican political rituals. It is the discretion of each president to celebrate and condemn some of the political values that his government seeks to show before public opinion, and AMLO’s address was no exception. Before many thousands of people in the crowded Zócalo, AMLO decided to show himself as the heir (although not the only one) of a popular struggle in favor of the majority interests of the Mexican nation, and of the interests of the minorities excluded from political life.
After stepping out onto one of the presidential balconies, adorned with a green, white, and red flag, the President of the Republic, with the Mexican flag in one hand and holding the rope that operates the bell in another, said: “People of Mexico! Long live Independence! Long live Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla! Long live Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez! Long live Ignacio Allende! Long live Leona Vicario! Long live José María Morelos y Pavón! Long live Vicente Guerrero! Long live the anonymous heroes! Long live freedom! Long live equality! Long live justice! Long live democracy! Long live our sovereignty! Long live universal fraternity! Mexicans! Death to corruption! Death to greed! Death to racism! Death to discrimination! Long live love! Long live our migrant brothers and sisters! Long live the Indigenous peoples! Long live the cultural greatness of Mexico! Long live Mexico! Long live the people of Mexico!”
El movimiento, nuestros compañeros y compañeras, el pueblo de México, el presidente @lopezobrador_, la presidenta @Claudiashein y nuestra historia.
¿Cómo no estar orgullosas de ser mexicanas y mexicanos? Inevitable no sentir un alto honor de vivir este gran momento de nuestra… pic.twitter.com/ZcAwGxWOaV
— Citlalli Hernández M (@CitlaHM) September 16, 2024
Afterward, a visibly moved AMLO repeatedly rang the bell, sang the national anthem with his fellow citizens, and waved the Mexican tricolor flag before thousands of cheers and applause that the president was able to thank with a smile, a look, and a shout that will resonate for years to come in the political life of the country. Indeed, it can be said that this is one of the last emblematic moments of a president who will go down in the history of Mexico as the first progressive ruler of the 21st Century and one of the most progressive in Mexican history.
The historical and anti-colonial origin of the Cry of Dolores
In the early morning of September 16, 1810, Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, together with the military men Ignacio Allende and Juan Aldama, summoned the inhabitants of the town of Dolores to start an armed struggle against the Spanish viceroyalty troops that then controlled the territory we now know as Mexico.
According to the story, Hidalgo and his comrades went to the town’s parish church and rang the bell, which was heard by most of the people near the church in a religious celebration. There the priest Hidalgo called the people to fight with arms against the viceroyal troops and to defend the legacy of Ferdinand VII, who was in an extremely complicated situation as a consequence of the Napoleonic wars.
It will never be known exactly what words made up “The Cry of Dolores”. Some historians say it was shouted in favor of Ferdinand VII and the Virgin of Guadalupe; others say it was in praise of America and diatribes against bad government. Regardless of how it happened, the Cry of Dolores started an armed political struggle that ended with the military defeat of Spain in Mexico and the establishment of one of the largest countries in the history of mankind.
