Ted Poe: “I rise today in honor of Cinco de Mayo. I rise to recognize and remember the importance of this day and salute the…”

“I rise today in honor of Cinco de Mayo. I rise to recognize and remember the importance of this day and salute the millions of Mexicans and Americans of Mexican descent that will celebrate throughout the Americas this day, this important day. While the War Between the States was raging in the 1860s, at the same time, on May 5 in 1862 an undersized, inadequately armed band of Mexicans determined to defend their land, fought a lopsided contest against their oppressors, those oppressors who were invading their homes. Many people assume that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day from Spain, but that is not correct. Mexico's actual Independence Day is September 16, 1821. Some 40 years after Mexico achieved independence from Spain, their country was once again threatened, this time by the French. And that year, Napoleon III sent a massive, mighty military force to Mexico to unseat President Benito Juarez. The French plan was to overthrow Juarez and take over the country. However, their overconfidence brought about their proudful downfall. They even brought along a Hapsburg prince, Maximilian, to be the new king over the Mexican empire. They were sorely mistaken in their ideal. Napoleon's French army had not been defeated in 50 years and did not expect to lose this battle with these people. This distinguished, well- trained Army marched in with the finest equipment and the arrogance to go along with it.…”