Mexico Facing International Arbitration: The Case of El Chamizal

Mexico, throughout history, has proven to be a strong promoter of international law, not only in theory but also in practice. Consistent with this position, on every occasion it has resorted to methods of peaceful settlement of disputes, including arbitration. This vocation for justice and law led Mexico to submit three extremely important cases to arbitration, since two of them were related to territorial integrity: the Pious Fund of the Californias, Isla de la Pasión or Clipperton and El Chamizal. . Of these three cases, only in one was the award favorable. This year marks three decades since the territory of El Chamizal was returned, after 100 years of having been in possession of the United States. Serve this article as a small tribute to all the Mexicans who contributed to the solution of this problem, among whom we find, among others, the presidents Benito Juárez, Porfirio Díaz and Adolfo López Mateos, as well as the jurist Joaquín Casasús and Manuel Tello.