Avila Camacho's difficult first year: December 1940-December 1941 -- Increasingly tenuous "neutrality": December 1941-May 1942 -- Mexico enters the global conflict: May-June 1942 -- "Orienting" the public: June 1942-July 1943 -- Toward direct participation: July 1943-July 1944 -- Preparing for peacetime: July 1944-November 1945.