Abstract

Jesus Teran Peredo was the plenipotentiary representative of the Mexican Republic to the European nations, a mission entrusted to him by President Benito Juarez during the confrontation with Maximilian of Habsburg, head of the Second Mexican Empire. His main objective was to seek recognition for the Republic and undermine the legitimacy of the French military intervention. As a freemason and former governor of the state of Aguascalientes, Teran Peredo enlisted the support of the Spanish Freemason Juan Prim y Prats to arrange a meeting with the prince of the Habsburg dynasty, in hopes of dissuading him from pursuing his imperial project. However, this attempt was unsuccessful. There are accounts suggesting that Teran Peredo relied on freemasonry for his confidential diplomatic work, a matter that is further discussed in the present article.

Keywords: Freemasonry; diplomacy; Jesus Teran; Benito Juarez; Maximilian; Juan Prim; Mexico.