Francisco Madero

President of Mexico (1912-1913)

• Born: October 30, 1873
• Birthplace: Parras, Coahuila, Mexico
• Died: February 22, 1913
• Place of death: Mexico City, Mexico

Madero ushered in the first phase of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Through his book, political organizing, and his campaign of opposition, he provided the leadership for the opposition to the dictator Porfirio Díaz. When Díaz fell, Madero became the president of Mexico.

Early Life

Francisco Madero (frahn-SEES-koh mah-DAY-roh), the oldest of the fifteen children of Francisco Madero and Mercedes González Treviño, came from a wealthy and distinguished landowning family of northern Mexico. The Madero family was large, close-knit, paternalistic, and patriarchal. Grandfather Evaristo began the family fortune by operating wagon trains between northern Mexico and San Antonio, Texas, during the American Civil War. He broadened the family economic interest to include cotton and guayule (rubber) haciendas, textile factories, wine distilleries, copper mines, and refineries with rolling mills in Monterrey, Tampico, and Mérida. He founded the first bank in northern Mexico. By 1910, Evaristo had amassed one of the ten largest fortunes in Mexico.

Madero was educated at home until the age of twelve. In 1886 he and his brother Gustavo enrolled in St. Mary’s College in a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland, and from 1887 to 1892 they continued their education in France, first at the Lycée of Versailles and then at the School of Advanced Commercial Studies in Paris. Madero’s courses were primarily commercial and business. He was impressed with the equality accorded foreigners in the French schools. In Paris, Madero was introduced to spiritism and later to Asian religions. He accepted spiritism because he believed it promoted the welfare and progress of the human race. He later became a vegetarian and a practitioner of holistic medicine.

Madero returned to Mexico, and, after summer vacation, he and Gustavo went to California to attend the University of California, Berkeley. For eight months he studied agriculture, and he also became an admirer of U.S. democracy. Now twenty years old, his formal education had ended, and he returned to Mexico to manage family properties. His father assigned him properties in the semiarid Laguna area near San Pedro de las Colonias. Madero introduced modern machinery, American cotton seed that produced a much higher yield, and a more efficient irrigation system. He was recognized as a modern agriculturalist and earned a fortune for himself at the same time. He also provided the laborers on the Madero properties with fair treatment, good housing, higher wages, schooling, and medical attention.

In 1903 Madero married Sara Pérez, daughter of a large landowner. Shortly afterward, Madero began his political career. Sara was a faithful supporter of his political activities and accompanied him on his campaigns.

Life’s Work

In nearby Monterrey, a peaceful demonstration in favor of an opposition candidate was broken up by agents of the government using gunfire. The public outcry against the actions of the state government convinced Madero that public spirit and democracy were not dead. He and some of his friends decided to organize a political club called the Benito Juárez Democratic Club. The stated purpose was to exercise their right at the state level with the objective of eliminating tyranny.

The club’s candidate for the municipal elections in San Pedro in 1904 was defeated by another candidate. Undiscouraged, the club began preparing for the 1905 gubernatorial election. Madero traveled around the state organizing other political clubs, wrote articles, and subsidized a weekly newspaper but was again defeated. For three years he organized political clubs all over Mexico, encouraged independent journalists, and corresponded with other dissidents. The two objectives of Madero were effective elections and one-term limits. The Porfirio Díaz administration felt that Madero was unimportant and did not molest him.

In 1908, Díaz, dictator since 1876, stated in an interview that he would not be a candidate in the next election and that he would accept an opposition party. Although the interview was published in the United States, it was soon known in Mexico. The reaction was widespread. Political literature critical of the administration poured forth, and political organization began on a major scale. Madero published a book, La sucesion presidencial en 1910 (1908; The Presidential Succession in 1910 , 1960), that summarized the history of Mexico, discussed the tyranny of absolute power with a description of the accomplishments and faults of the Díaz regime, and proposed the formation of a democratic party to include all independents. Although the book had no literary, social, or intellectual merit, it did propel Madero into national prominence and enabled him to assume leadership of the opposition movement he was advocating.

Opposition parties were organized in 1909, the most important of which supported General Bernardo Reyes. When President Díaz exiled Reyes, Madero became the undisputed leader of the opposition, and he traveled around Mexico promoting his book and gaining support for his party. To crystallize popular sentiment and attract independent support, Madero published a booklet, El partido nacional Antireeleccionista y la proxima lucha (1910; the antireelectionist party and the next electoral struggle), in which he described the program and goals of the party and the democratic reform needed to permit the people to accomplish the changes they wanted. During the nominating convention in April, 1910, the party nominated Madero. The platform contained planks for one-term limits, impartial justice, education, and social programs.

Although he was not an impressive campaigner, Madero demonstrated courage, sincerity, and good faith. As Madero attracted more and more support, Díaz became concerned. In June of 1910, Madero was arrested along with other leaders of the party, and the opposition press was closed. Madero and his running mate were imprisoned. The presidential elections were held, and Díaz was declared the victor. On October 6, Madero escaped and fled into exile in Texas, where he began to prepare for revolution. Even though he felt that revolutions did more harm than good, he stated that only through revolution could Díaz be overthrown and democracy be established. Madero called the elections fraudulent and proclaimed himself provisional president.

The military phase of the revolution began in November, 1911, when several uprisings occurred. Most were in northern Mexico and, with the exception of one in Chihuahua, were easily suppressed. Madero entered Mexico in February, 1912, and assumed leadership of the revolution. Most of the fighting continued to take place in northern Mexico. The federal forces were initially successful, but the tide of battle turned against the government by April. Mexico was in turmoil everywhere, and disturbances broke out in all but five states. By May, the revolutionaries controlled two-thirds of Mexico. Despite strenuous opposition by most of the revolutionaries, Madero accepted an agreement by which the Díaz government would resign and a provisional president would assume control until elections could be held. Díaz resigned on May 25 and left the country. The revolution had succeeded, but the problem of implementing the changes remained.

During the interim period, divisions between the revolutionary leaders emerged and adversely affected Madero. Rural disorders continued in some areas, part of the revolutionary army was undisciplined, and the now-free press showed no restraint or concern for the truth. As expected, Madero was elected president in October of 1912 in one of the most honest elections in Mexican history. He was inaugurated in November. President Madero maintained civil rights in spite of the attacks on him. He moved slowly in implementing a program, and his critics charged him with relying too heavily on former officials of the old regime and on his family. He regarded his victory as a triumph for democracy and said other changes would follow later. However, he failed to see the urgency of reform and lost support.

In preserving civil rights, Madero allowed the conservative opposition to organize against him. Honest elections in the states resulted in opposition candidates winning control of the national senate. Madero refused to do anything to change the elections. During his fifteen months in office, he was challenged by several small and two major rebellions. All were put down, but they required expenditures from the limited federal budget and distracted Madero’s attention away from reform.

On February 9, 1913, a revolt by conservatives began in Mexico City. Against his better judgment, Madero appointed General Victoriano Huerta commander of the federal troops. After ten days of fighting, Huerta revolted, seized Madero and his vice president, and imprisoned them. On February 22, late in the evening, the two prisoners were transferred from the presidential palace to the federal penitentiary, but they were shot before they entered the prison. Huerta then seized power for himself. Although there is no definite proof, almost everyone believed that Huerta was involved in the murders. Madero’s death justified a united war against Huerta that ended with his overthrow. Unity could not be maintained, and violence on a greater scale erupted. However, a revolutionary program eventually emerged out of the chaos.

Significance

Madero had moved from obscurity to leadership of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Through his books, political organizing, correspondence, and campaigning, he awakened the people of Mexico and led them in the drive to achieve democracy. His administration was brief and difficult, perhaps because the people were not yet ready for democracy or because it was not their most pressing need. What they really wanted was economic reform.

In spite of his limitations and the political reality of the times, Madero accomplished some significant gains. Labor enjoyed freedom to organize and strike, agrarian reform was studied, education was promoted, and democratic principles were implemented. These gains were considerable when one considers the difficulties that confronted the administration: a hostile press that exaggerated or invented charges, entrenched conservatives who continued to control the economy, foreigners who distrusted Madera’s program, and revolutionaries who were divided and who demanded special favors. Armed rebellions wasted resources and diminished the creditability of the government. Yet Madero was beginning to surmount the problems and was moving to initiate the programs incorporated in the revolution. In death, Madero accomplished what he had been unable to do while he was alive. As a martyr, his faults, errors, and limitations were forgotten, and his ideals, virtues, and sacrifices were remembered.

Bibliography

Cumberland, Charles C. Mexican Revolution: Genesis Under Madero. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1969. Cumberland covers the life of Madero and the influence of his family, education, and philosophy. The emergence of Madero as a leader of the revolution and the problems of his administration are described. An evaluation of Madero is sympathetic yet recognizes the faults and limitations of the man.

Gonzales, Michael J. The Mexican Revolution, 1910-1940. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 2002. This history of the revolution includes information about the triumphs and failures of Madero and other revolutionary leaders.

Knight, Alan. The Mexican Revolution: Vol 1. Porfirians, Liberals and Peasants. London: Cambridge University Press, 1986. The author devotes approximately one-third of the volume to describing the background and the popular agrarian base of the Mexican Revolution. The remainder describes Madero as the leader of the revolution and as president.

McLynn, Frank. Villa and Zapata: A Biography of the Mexican Revolution. London: Jonathan Cape, 2000. Although this comprehensive, extensively researched chronicle of the Mexican Revolution focuses on Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, it devotes many pages to Madero and other key players.

Meyer, Michael C., and William L. Sherman. The Course of Mexican History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. This one-volume history of Mexico is one of the best available. The brief but excellent background and account of the revolution is highly readable and nicely illustrated.

Meyers, William K. Forge of Progress, Crucible of Revolt: Origins of the Mexican Revolution in La Comarca Lagunera, 1880-1911. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994. The author describes the development of the Laguna area and the leadership of Madero in promoting its agricultural development. He explains the problems that accounted for the dissatisfaction that provided support for Madero and the revolution.

Ross, Stanley R. Francisco I. Madero: Apostle of Democracy. New York: Columbia University Press, 1955. This book is the most widely recognized biography of Madero. It is very well documented and well written. The author gives a complete and unbiased account of Madero’s life and accomplishments. He recognizes the limitations of Madero and places him in perspective in the history of Mexico.