The turbulent times that swept Mexico which eventually toppled Gen. Porfirio Diaz had profound effects for the rest of the century. A one tyrant was replace by many. One ruled many and then several ruled all. Again, it is not the scope of this work to dwell in the history of the revolution and its aftermath. Although some of the deep changes also affected the production of buttons.

As Porfirio Diaz government cemented his position late in the XIX century, he sought to surround himself with a military which started to look less like a Mexican army and more like a European power. The government looked to Europe for the latest styles in military fashions. The gaze of the Mexican government stretch from Paris to Berlin and beyond. The end product was a very well dress army which was not too efficient in the battle field as it was proven in 1910.

The army was supplied by a government own factory. It was called Fabrica Nacional de Vestuario y Equipo or F.N.V.E. for short. The production of buttons was not great before the revolution thus the high amount of European back marks. During this period quite a number of back marks coexisted with F.N.V.E. Evidence shows that the F.N.V.E. produced buttons up about 1935. It seems that production was steady but the types of buttons were limited to a few branches of the military.

Early in 1934 the government of President Lazaro Cardenas pressed for a law to promote the cooperative system of production. The law was passed and the F.N.V.E. was chosen to serve as the jewel of the coop system in Mexico. The government wished to turn this factory into a worker’s utopia. The transformation of collective work took little time. The F.N.V.E was nationalized and given to the workers. The name was changed to Cooperativa de Vestuario y Equipo or C.O.V.E. The experiment was doom to fail due to the endemic corruption and mismanagement common in all aspects of government controlled production. By the time the C.O.V.E. closed in 1945, the place resembled to such a communist utopia that it would have brought Lenin to tears of joy.

During the transition period from factory to coop, the same dies were used and only the back mark was changed. The first buttons are identical from the old factory. As time progressed the old dies were worn out which can be seen in the buttons. Eventually, new dies were made which differ slightly from the originals. The workmanship of the C.O.V.E. was always good. Most of the buttons produced were of excellent quality. How long this transition took is not really known but from examples of buttons it might have taken a few months.

As one reads the records and reports coming out the C.O.V.E. it is really amazing that it kept running and stayed open for such a long period of time. According to records, more than 98% of the production was sold to the Mexican military. There is one report showing that some products were exported. Since no button bearing a foreign army’s seal with a C.O.V.E. back mark has been located, it can be assumed that something else other than buttons were exported. In view of the fact that it was a project of the Mexican government, there was really no need to make a profit. The government poured money into it by ordering buttons for all the branches of the military. The variety of buttons coming out of C.O.V.E. is amazing. There are so many different kinds with so many variations that it has proven quite difficult to discern when they were made. Since C.O.V.E. became almost the sole supplier of buttons to the military, virtually all other buttons disappear. Even the well establish custom of importing fancy buttons for the high military seem to have ceased during this period. Very few buttons of foreign origin made their way onto Mexican uniforms.

Most of the C.O.V.E. buttons are in BU-FS condition and were never issued. It appears that when the factory closed, there was a tremendous amount of inventory left over. There was such an amount that the military could not absorb. By the 1950’s quite a number of buttons were already in use and the C.O.V.E. ones seemed to have been forgotten thus the condition they’re in.

During its peak, the government publicized C.O.V.E. as a worker’s paradise. The facilities were truly amazing for he standards of the period. It had no less than 1,500 employees and even a school. It has proven difficult to reconstruct the factory since very little material is left. Since it was a government founded endeavor, the officials were probably not sad to see the records fade or destroyed after the mandatory retention period. The following is a small reconstruction of the glory of C.O.V.E. Basically, it was divided in four parts: Management, a consul of overseers, laborers, and services for them.

Management made sure the factory run smoothly and took care of most administrative matters. The consul of overseers represented the people of all seven workshops and kept the laborers in line. The services catered exclusively only employees of the factory and their families. All layers of the factory had to change over time. Most of the data and images for this study come from the year of 1936.

Management

C.O.V.E.’s general manager in 1936 was Dr. Pascual Landin. Not much is known about Dr. Landin other than he was general manager of the factory in the year of 1936. More than likely he was well connected and was a political appointment. He headed C.O.V.E. for a few years and went on to a higher post later on. No record shows he was a military man nor an elected official.

Directly under Dr. Landin, there was a an accountant. His name was Pedro Zamora Pardo. Again, not much is know about Mr. Zamora or how long he worked there. Not a military man, Mr. Zamora probably was following his political career and had to do time in C.O.V.E.

The consul was composed of nine people. A general secretary, a treasurer, a general legal secretary and seven other people representing the seven workshops. Although records show that there was seven representatives, one for each workshop, only six are pictured for the year of 1936. The fact that the consul had a treasurer points more to a civil association rather than part of the factory. Probably it was to coordinate the activities and events of the 1,500 employees and their families which translates to over 5,000 people with a conservative estimate.

Miguel Cortez represented the mechanics; Francisco Mendoza represented the body shop workers; Juventino Hurtado represented leather workers; Carmen Cesarin represented clothing workers and might have represented the passementerie shop which could explain why only six are pictured; Enrique Salazar represented the foundry workers; Armando Jimenez carpentry workers.

As stated above, it is simply amazing how diverse C.O.V.E. was when it came to the facilities. One can only speculate that Lararo Cardenas used this factory as a blueprint for the oil industry after the expropriation of 1938 or was testing the waters for the future organization of PEMEX. The employees as well as their families seemed to have orbited the factory and it might have serve as a buffer to the real world outside its walls. Inside the factory there was an artificial communist utopian island surrounded by a free market economy.

Mechanical Shops

On the right picture all the way to the back, there's a poster of Lazaro Cardenas which is very interesting.

Body Shop

Tannery Shop

Tannery Lab

Leather Working Shops

Shoe Making Shop          Shoe Sole Cutting Shop

Cap Making Shop             Cap Storage

             
Thread Making Shop          Cloth Making Shop

Cloth Cutting Shop      Cloth Folding Facility

  Cloth Storage Facility        Sewing Shop.        

This picture of Sewing Shop is  by far the most interesting picture of the series.   It shows women workers attaching buttons to uniforms.   

It gives a an overview of the size of the operation.

Uniform Taylor Shop          Shirt Taylor Shop

Notice the rows of uniform jackets hanging on the right and left of the Uniform Taylor Shop.

Retail Store

Another very interesting photograph of the store open to the general public.

It seems this is the only image that has survived.

Notice the button boxes in the background.

According to official records, the factory had several nurseries for the infants and children. It is not clear if there was a day care for older children not of school age. Records show that when a baby was hungry, the working mother would be called to come feed the child and then returned to the factory floor. The service was provided free of charge only to mothers who worked at the factory. There were quite a few nurses on staff for the care of the infants and children

Infant Nursery

Nursery

Notice all children wear the same uniform

The factory had several schools and the children practically grew up in the factory. They were tied to in in just about every way. The records show that there was education from Kinder to middle school as well as trade schools. The following series of pictures illustrates how the new generations grew in and around the factory.

Kinder

Trade School in Mechanic’s Shop

Trade School in Milling Shop

Recess

Children of various ages play in the shadow of the factory.

Interestingly enough, the factory had other activities reserved for the workers. No government facility was complete without a marching band. Records show that two bands were organized. On band was the Banda de Guerra or war band and the other one was a Banda de Gala or parade band. Needless to say, all uniforms were manufactured at the factory

   Banda de Guerra           Banda de Gala

Movie Theatre

This is another interesting picture showing a movie theater. The banner at the front reads:

Sociedad Coperativa de Vestuario y Equipo.

Almacen de Consumo.O

Abarrotes, Ropa, y Calzado

This small series of pictures gives a glimpse to life in the factory. One can only wonder how much money the government poured into it by the size of it.

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