We explain who Francisco I. Madero was and what his life was like on a personal and political level. Also, the characteristics and death of him.
Francisco I. Madero was president of Mexico from 1911 to 1913.
Who was Francisco I. Madero?
Francisco Ignacio Madero, commonly called Francisco I. Madero, He was a Mexican businessman, politician and revolutionary.opponent of the Porfirio Díaz regime (the “Porfiriato”). He was President of Mexico from November 6, 1911 until his overthrow on February 19, 1913 by a coup d’état led by Victoriano Huerta. He was assassinated three days later.
He played an important role in the opposition against the Porfirio Díaz regime., who ruled Mexico with an iron fist for thirty years. As a consequence of his political activity, Francisco I. Madero suffered imprisonment and exile in 1910.
The opposition movement against the Porfiriato is considered the beginning of the Mexican RevolutionThis was a process of insurrections and civil war that overthrew Porfirio Díaz and pitted various revolutionary factions against each other. It caused the death of more than a million people but also laid the foundations for the construction of contemporary Mexico.
Personal life of Francisco I. Madero
Sara Pérez Romero was his wife and partner in his political activities.
Francisco Ignacio Madero born October 30, 1873 at the “El Rosario” estate, which belonged to his family, located in Parras, in the Mexican state of Coahuila.
His parents were Francisco Madero Hernandez and Mercedes Gonzalez Trevino.. They were a wealthy couple of owners, with mines, farms and businesses of their own.
In 1903 Francisco Madero He married his only wife, Sara Pérez Romero.They had no children. Pérez Romero, also known as “Sarita” or “The First Lady of the Revolution,” played a very important role as an activist and inseparable companion of her husband, to the point of being arrested with him.
During Madero’s presidency, at times He harangued the troops and organized proselytizing events. When the government was overthrown and Madero was assassinated, Pérez Romero went into exile in Cuba and the United States. He returned to Mexico in 1921.
Early years in politics of Francisco I. Madero
Madero openly criticized Porfirio Díaz in his book The presidential succession.
The family’s socioeconomic status allowed Madero to receive a Jesuit education in Saltillo, before going to Maryland, United States, to study agriculture. He later studied commercial appraisal at the School of Advanced Business Studies from Paris, France.
He also studied agriculture in Berkeley, United States, and returned to Mexico to take over one of his father’s farms in 1893.
Its local influence was such that founded the Independent Democratic Party, through which he opposed the re-election of the governor of Coahuila, Miguel Cárdenas. This first step brought him into contact with the Organizing Board of the Mexican Liberal Party, which had the mission of grouping opponents of the Porfiriato. Madero financially supported the relaunch of his newspaper Regeneration.
Later he broke ideologically with said party. In 1908 he published his first book, The presidential succession from 1910This work was very successful and controversial because openly criticized the president Porfirio Diazquestioned the presidential re-election and demanded fair and transparent elections.
Opposition to Porfirio Diaz
After publishing his first book, Madero He recognized himself as a staunch opponent of the Porfiriatowho had governed Mexico for more than 30 years. In 1909 he founded the Anti-Reelection Party and announced his candidacy for president, which earned him enormous popularity.
In the 1910 elections, Porfirio Díaz declared himself reelected while Madero was imprisoned in San Juan Potosí on charges of fomenting rebellion and insulting authority. He then went into exile in the United States. From there he planned and published the San Luis Plan, a call to arms against the government scheduled for November 20, 1910.
This caused uprisings over the months in different parts of the nation, such as those carried out by armed peasants and led by revolutionary leaders such as Pascual Orozco and Pancho Villa, who took Ciudad Juárez in 1911. These events marked the beginning of the Mexican Revolution and forced the resignation of Porfirio Díaz.
Presidency of Mexico
Madero did not know how to satisfy the demands of the revolutionary masses.
The government of Francisco I. Madero succeeded that of the dictator Porfirio Díaz in 1911, as he was forced to resign on May 25. Madero was elected in extraordinary elections in which he presented himself as a candidate for the Progressive Constitutional Party and He assumed office as president on November 6, 1911.
Despite his intentions to please the common people, His moderate reforms were in line with liberal ideas and constitutionalists of his party but provoked the discontent of the most radical sectors of the Mexican Revolution who did not see their demands for social change satisfied.
This discontent It was especially evident among the rural masses., who expressed their disagreement with the non-compliance with the agrarian reform and the return of land to the peasants and led various uprisings. Among them, those led by Emiliano Zapata and Pascual Orozco stood out. In any case, the person who managed to overthrow Madero was the military man Victoriano Huerta through a conspiracy that was successful on February 19, 1913.
Victoriano Huerta’s coup d’état
Victoriano Huerta, who had served Madero’s government, overthrew him in 1913.
Madero’s mandate culminated on February 19, 1913 following a coup d’état led by Victoriano Huerta. This military leader, who had been loyal to the Porfirista regime, served with the rank of general in Madero’s democratic government.
When Madero had to face an uprising in Mexico City led by military officers allied to the overthrown Porfiriato on February 9, 1913, Huerta was sent to suppress the uprising but ended up joining the conspiracy. The American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson had shown his dissatisfaction with Madero’s decision to tax oil exploitation and supported a pact between the rebels with the aim of placing Huerta in the presidency.
This uprising It is known as the “Tragic Ten”: a period of ten days at the end of which Huerta, together with Generals Félix Díaz (one of the leaders of the rebellion) and Aureliano Blanquet, forcibly deposed Madero. In exchange for his resignation, they offered him protection and the possibility of leaving for Cuba.
On February 19 The coup plotters assassinated Gustavo Madero, the president’s brotherand various nations spoke out in favor of preserving the life of the ousted president. Some ambassadors interceded and finally both the president and the vice president (José María Pino Suárez) signed their resignation.
Assassination of Francisco I. Madero
After Madero’s resignation, The provisional government fell to Pedro LascuráinMinister of Foreign Affairs. Lascuráin governed for 45 minutes, during which he appointed Huerta as Secretary of Government and submitted his resignation, making Huerta the new President of the Republic.
The first measure taken by Huerta in his position was to order the execution of Madero and Pino Suárez. The execution took place on February 22, 1913. in front of the Lecumberri Palace in Mexico City, where they were being escorted as detainees and were shot by their own escort.
To simulate that it had been the result of an assault, several shots were fired. The news was announced the next day, and the plot was discovered several years later.
Historical importance of Francisco I. Madero
Madero was a key piece in the fall of the Porfiriato, since his initiatives, his alliances and his political activism They promoted the organization of various social sectors that called for changeFurthermore, his Plan of San Luis motivated the revolutionary uprisings that began the Mexican Revolution.
His government was characterized by the insistence on democratic and constitutional foundations of the republic, which is why he dedicated many efforts to the pacification of the Mexican nation. These efforts were unsuccessful due to disagreements with those who wanted to restore the Porfiriato and, above all, with the revolutionaries who did not see their expectations for social change fulfilled, especially around the distribution of land.
After being overthrown and assassinated by the coup d’état that placed Victoriano Huerta in the presidency of Mexico, he became a symbol of democratic and constitutional values. Onwards, He was given the nickname “apostle of democracy.”.
Quotes from Francisco I. Madero
- “Suffrage. No re-election.”
- “Those who, with absolute power, maintain moderation and do not give free rein to their passions are rare.”
- “Public power cannot have any other origin or base than the national will.”
- “I am more proud of the victories obtained in the field of democracy than of those achieved on the battlefields.”
- “Peoples, in their constant effort to ensure the triumph of the ideals of freedom and justice, are forced at certain historical moments to make the greatest sacrifices.”
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References
- von Wobeser, G. (2014). Mexico history. Fund of Economic Culture.
- “Francisco Madero” at https://www.britannica.com.
- “The rise of Francisco Madero. The Mexican Revolution and the United States.” at https://www.loc.gov/ (sf)
- “Francisco I. Madero” in Wikipedia (nd).