 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a dictator who ruled Mexico from 1876 until 1911 (with the exception of one single four-year period).
Diaz was born in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. He was a Mestizo, of Mixtec Indian and Spanish ancestry. An army officer with humble rural roots, he became something of a hero due to his participation in the war against the French, where he won several important victories. He led the cavalry in the celebrated Battle of Puebla of 1862.
In 1876 he overthrew the government of President Sebastián Lerdo de TejadaSebastian Lerdo de Tejada ( April 24, 1823 April 21, 1893) was a Mexican politician. He was born in Xalapa, Veracruz ( Mexico). His brother Miguel Lerdo de Tejada is also a notable Mexican political figure. He became known as a liberal leader and a suppor. Initially, he advanced a platform of reform, using the slogan "No Re-election" (for the President). After appointing himself President on November 29November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 32 days remaining. Events 1777 San Jose, California, is founded as el Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe''. It is the first civilian settlement, or pueblo, 1876, he served one term and then dutifully stepped down in favor of Manuel GonzálezManuel Gonzalez ( June 18, 1833 1893) was a Mexican military officer, politician, and President of Mexico ( 1880 1884). He was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and served under the troops of Porfirio Diaz when he was fighting against Maximilian of Habsburg., one of his underlings. The four-year period that followed was marked by corruption and official incompetence, so that when Díaz stepped up in the next election he was a welcome replacement, and there was no remembrance of his "No Re-election" slogan. During this period the Mexican underground Political newspapers spread the new ironic slogan for the Porfirian times, based on the slogan "Sufragio Efectivo, No Reelección" (Effective votes, no re-election) and changed it to "Sufragio Efectivo No, Reelección" (Effective votes no, Re-election). In any case Díaz had the constitution amended, first to allow two terms in office, and then to remove all restrictions on re-elections.
He maintained power through manipulation of votes, but also through simple violence and assassination of his opponents, which consequently were small in number. He was a cunning politician and knew very well how to manipulate people to his advantage.
In 1899Events January events January 1 End of Spanish rule in Cuba. January 1 Queens and Staten Island merge with New York City. January 3 The first known use of the word " automobile", in an editorial in the New York Times''. January 6 Lord Curzon becomes a vic he faced some small opposition from Bernardo ReyesBernardo Reyes (born in Guadalajara, Mexico, August 1850) was a General in the army of Mexico under Porfirio Diaz, governor of Nuevo Leon and father of the writer Alfonso Reyes. Reyes, Bernardo., an official in his government, who decided to run for president after Díaz gave an interview in which he said he would allow the next election to be freely contested. In the end the attempt failed and Díaz forced Reyes into exile.
Díaz embarked on a program of modernization, attempting to bring Mexico up to the level of a modern state. His principal advisers were of a type called cientificos, akin to modern economists, because they espoused a program of "scientific" modernisation. These included the building of railroad and telegraph lines across the country, including the first Mexican railway between Veracruz and Mexico CityMexico City ( Spanish: Ciudad de Mexico known in Pre-Columbian times as Tenochtitlan is the capital of Mexico; it geographically spans both the Mexican Federal District and part of the state of Mexico, to the north of the Federal District. Mexico City is. Under his rule the amount of track in Mexico increased tenfold; many of these rails remain in operation today without remodeling. He introduced the idea of steam machines and technological appliances in industry and invited and welcomed foreign investment in Mexico. He also encouraged the construction of factories in Mexico City. This resulted in the rise of an urban proletariat and the influx of foreign (principally United States) capital.
The growing influence of U.S. businessmen, already a sore point in a Mexico that had lost much land to the United States, was a constant problem for Díaz. His modernisation program was also at odds with the owners of the large plantations (haciendas) that had spread across much of Mexico. These rich plantation owners wanted to maintain their existing feudal system ( peonage), and were reluctant to transform into the capitalist economy Díaz was pushing towards because it meant competing in a global market and contending with the monetary influence of businessmen from the United States.
Though he wished to modernise the country, Díaz by no means opposed the existence of the haciendas, and in fact supported them strongly throughout his rule. He appointed sympathetic governors and allowed the plantation owners to proceed with a slow campaign of encroachment onto collectively-owned village land, and enforced such theft through his well-equipped rural police (rurales).
In 1910 elections were held. Francisco I. Madero ran against Díaz for president. Madero quickly gathered much popular support, but when the official results were announced by the government, Díaz was proclaimed to have been reelected almost unanimously, with Madero gathering only a minuscule number of votes. This undisputable case of massive electoral fraud aroused widespread anger. Madero called for revolt against Díaz, and the Mexican Revolution began. Díaz was forced from office and fled the country in 1911.
In 1915, Díaz died in exile in Paris; he is buried there in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.
See also: History of Mexico
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |
|