Edward L. Doheny: Petroleum, Power, and Politics in the United States and Mexico

[Xipe Totec]

Known in Mexico as "Doheny el Cruel" (Doheny the Cruel), this is the man most responsible for precipitating the expropriation of Petroleum in Mexico during the Cardenas Administration.


If there had been a "Life Styles of the Rich and Famous" in the 1920s, the notorious oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny would surely have been featured. For at the peak of his powers, between 1904 and 1927, this L.A. hometown boy was one of the most important men of his times and, in fact, one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. As the first to discover oil in Los Angeles--which sparked an oil boom there--this multi-faceted entrepreneur profoundly influenced the growth of both Los Angeles and the state of California. Then, as one of its earliest developers, Doheny helped put Beverly Hills on the map. On an international scale, he established vast oil fields in Mexico and virtually controlled that country's oil industry. This "petroleum state" that Doheny created and ruled extended over Veracruz, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Patosi and was defended by a Doheny-financed army of 6,000 men. The oil baron's opposition to the various revolutionary governments is legendary and some historians believe that Doheny was responsible for the murder of Mexican President Carranza. Finally, Doheny played a major role in the Teapot Dome Scandal, the greatest political impropriety in U.S. history up to that time."

http://www.amazon.com/Edward-L-Doheny-Petroleum-Politics/dp/027593599X/sr=8-1/qid=1168997148/ref=sr_1_1/105-7227944-8656462?ie=UTF8&s=books

[EFerrari]

1. Thank you.

What a strange negotiation, Doheny and Cardenas.