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118-533: After a military career under President Porfirio Díaz and Interim President Francisco León de la Barra , Huerta became a high-ranking officer during the presidency of Madero during the first phase of the Mexican Revolution (1911–13). In February 1913, Huerta joined a conspiracy against Madero, who entrusted him to control a revolt in Mexico City. The Ten Tragic Days – actually fifteen days – saw

236-558: A leva (forced conscription), while in Mexico City poor men going to hospitals were rounded up in the leva . As Indians were felt to be particularly docile and submissive to whites, the leva was applied especially heavily in southern Mexico, where the majority of the people were indigenous. Thousands of Juchiteco and Maya were rounded up to fight a war in the north of Mexico that they felt did not concern them. A visitor to Mérida, Yucatán wrote of "heart-breaking" scenes as hundreds of Maya said goodbye to their wives as they were forced to board

354-576: A barracks revolt in Oaxaca City, but the Ayutla movement ultimately triumphed by August 1855, when Santa Anna resigned, subsequently fleeing the nation. Juan Álvarez was elected president in October 1855 and his administration inaugurated what would come to be known as La Reforma an unprecedented attempt to pass through progressive constitutional reforms for Mexico culminating in the promulgation of

472-460: A basketball center and gym (with wooden flooring), several volleyball courts, and a bowling alley. In addition to common sports, in the city's main park there is an olympic swimming pool and a squash field. In Tepic, tennis is a popular sport, but the most popular is football ( soccer ). Futsal is also commonly played in the city. The city also has a bullring , as do most Mexican cities. Tepic has several state teams, one or more for each sport. Both

590-451: A better incentive to join, since Félix Díaz expected to be the successor to Madero. The first day of the coup, February 9, General Reyes died in battle and General Lauro Villar, the commander of Madero's forces in Mexico City, was wounded. Madero appointed Huerta in his stead. According to historian Friedrich Katz , "It was a decision for which [Madero] would pay with his life." Having secured that key position, Huerta reopened negotiations with

708-648: A cadet, Huerta excelled at math, leading him to specialize in artillery and topography. Upon graduating from the military academy in 1877, Huerta was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers. After entering the army as a lieutenant in the engineers in 1877, he was put in charge of improving the Loreto and Guadalupe forts in Puebla and the castle of Perote in Veracruz. In January 1879 he was promoted to captain and assigned to

826-462: A complaint from a bank that he emptied out one of its branches at gunpoint to get money to pay his men, Huerta pointed out he left a receipt and would pay back the bank what he had stolen when he received the necessary funds from Mexico City. Huerta then spent nine years of his military career undertaking topographic studies in the states of Puebla and Veracruz . He traveled extensively to all parts of Mexico in this position. French cultural influence

944-661: A counter-revolutionary. Four Deputies were executed over the summer of 1913 for criticizing the Huerta regime. One deputy was arrested by Mexico City police as he was delivering a speech denouncing Huerta at a rally and taken out to the countryside, where he was "shot while trying to escape". Lacking popular legitimacy, Huerta chose to turn the refusal of the US to recognize his government as an example of American "interference" in Mexico's internal affairs, organizing anti-American demonstrations in

1062-550: A fellow revolutionary who had rejected the Madero regime. However, for Zapata, Orozco's support of Huerta was anathema, saying "Huerta represents the defection of the army. You represent the defection of the Revolution." Huerta attempted to build further support for his government, and the urban working class in Mexico City made important gains before being suppressed. In particular, the leftist Casa del Obrero Mundial (House of

1180-490: A group of technocrats known as científicos ("scientists"), whose economic policies benefited a circle of allies and foreign investors, helping hacendados consolidate large estates, often through violent means and legal abuse. These policies grew increasingly unpopular, resulting in civil repression and regional conflicts, as well as strikes and uprisings from labor and the peasantry, groups that did not share in Mexico's growth. Despite public statements in 1908 favoring

1298-423: A lack of popular support and began to pressure him to abdicate. French authorities considered forming an alternative Liberal government, more accommodating, and less humiliating to French interests than Juárez, and Díaz was proposed but ultimately rejected as a candidate to lead such a government due to his loyalty to Juárez. The alternative government scheme never materialized, Maximilian refused to abdicate, and

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1416-709: A military hero with a national reputation." As Madero lost support and as internal and external groups plotted to remove him from the presidency, Huerta secretly joined the conspiracy. The coup d'état that toppled Madero in February 1913, known in Mexican history as the Ten Tragic Days , was a conspiracy of Porfirio Díaz's nephew, General Félix Díaz, General Bernardo Reyes, and General Madragón. The plotters attempted to draw in Huerta in January, but Huerta waited for

1534-556: A raid upon the capital and Díaz left his congressional seat to join Ignacio Mejía and Jesús González Ortega in once more defending the city. At Xalatlaco , Díaz without waiting for orders fell upon the forces of Marquez and won a notable victory. The Conservative forces were scattered and fled into the hills. At the opening of the Second French Intervention, in which France would attempt to overthrow

1652-774: A record of opposing revolutionaries and intrigues with Madero's enemies. Huerta's actions in Morelos forced a break between Emiliano Zapata and Madero, who was later to rebel against Madero immediately after his November 1911 election. Despite the fact that revolutionary forces supporting Madero had forced Díaz's resignation, Madero ordered them demobilized and retained the Mexican Federal Army they had just defeated. Huerta pledged allegiance to President Madero, and carried out Madero's orders to crush anti-Madero revolts by rebel generals such as Pascual Orozco , who had helped topple Díaz and then rebelled against his regime. In

1770-483: A return to democracy and not running again for office, Díaz reversed himself and ran in the 1910 election . Díaz, then 80 years old, failed to institutionalize presidential succession, triggering a political crisis between the científicos and the followers of General Bernardo Reyes , allied with the military and peripheral regions of Mexico. After Díaz declared himself the winner for an eighth term, his electoral opponent, wealthy estate owner Francisco I. Madero , issued

1888-655: A revolutionary and commanded significant forces. Madero sent Huerta to crush the rebellion. He had at his command troops of the Mexican Federal Army and these were joined by irregulars led by Pancho Villa, at Torreón in April 1912. Huerta offered Orozco's supporters ( Orozquistas ) amnesty, which might have weakened their forces already suffering from lack of money and arms. Huerta's forces defeated Orozco's at Rellano in May 1912. With that victory Huerta "had suddenly become

2006-635: A state governor was by Venustiano Carranza , governor of Coahuila, who drafted the Plan of Guadalupe , calling for the creation of a Constitutionalist Army (evoking the 1857 Liberal Constitution) to oust the usurper Huerta and restore constitutional government. Supporters of Carranza's plan included Emiliano Zapata , who nonetheless remained loyal to his own Plan de Ayala ; northern revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa ; and Álvaro Obregón . However, former revolutionary Gen. Pascual Orozco , whom Huerta fought when serving President Madero, now joined with Huerta as

2124-433: A train while in chains. The men rounded up in the leva proved to be poor soldiers, prone to desertion and mutiny, since they were serving against their will and felt hatred for their commanding officers. Officers mistreated both their enlisted men and the common people. Huerta had to follow a defensive strategy of keeping the army concentrated in large towns, since his soldiers in the field would either desert or go over to

2242-488: Is seen as a repudiation of democracy and Huerta himself an iron-fisted authoritarian. Despite efforts in Mexico to redress the exclusion of Andrés Molina Enríquez from the pantheon of Mexican revolutionaries—since he is considered the intellectual father of the Article 27 of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico , which empowered the state to implement land reform and expropriate private owners of resources like oil—Molina Enríquez

2360-514: Is unknown. 15 September is an important date in Mexican history, the eve of Miguel Hidalgo 's Grito de Dolores , which triggered the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. After Díaz became president, it would become customary to commemorate the Grito de Dolores on the eve of its anniversary. Díaz's father, José Díaz, was a Criollo (a Mexican of predominantly Spanish ancestry). José Díaz

2478-504: Is usually considered by Mexican historiography as "tainted" due to his service in the Huerta government. Huerta has been portrayed or referenced in any number of movies dealing with the Mexican Revolution, including The Wild Bunch , Duck, You Sucker! and And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself . In the 1952 film Viva Zapata! , starring Marlon Brando as Emiliano Zapata , Huerta is portrayed by Frank Silvera . In

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2596-584: The Battle of Miahuatlán on 3 October, and then advanced upon Oaxaca City which surrendered by 1 November 1866. Most of southern Mexico except for certain areas of Yucatan were now back in the hands of the Mexican Republic. Díaz now concentrated his forces in northern Oaxaca, Vera Cruz, Mexico, and Puebla for future operations. On 9 March 1867, Díaz began the Third Battle of Puebla , subjecting

2714-774: The Constitution of 1857 . Conservative Party resistance ended up triggering the outbreak of the Reform War in late 1857, at the same time when Díaz's old mentor, Benito Juarez became president. The Conservatives set up their rival government in opposition to Juarez and the Liberals. Díaz at this time was still in Oaxaca. He had previously accepted a commission as captain in the National Guard in December 1856. As

2832-693: The Immaculate Conception , is the cathedral episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tepic , a suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Guadalajara . Nayarit had small stadiums built for football and baseball. Both now demolished, there are plans to construct new, modern, and bigger stadiums ; the state has three sport private clubs. There are multiple football fields and places to play "cascaritas" (pick-up games), indoor football courts,

2950-543: The Liberal government of Mariano Arista and raised Santa Anna for what would turn out to be his final dictatorship. Many prominent Liberals were expelled from the country, including Benito Juarez who found refuge in New Orleans. Don Marcos Perez was arrested, but Díaz was able to communicate with him in prison with the help of Díaz's brother Félix. In March 1854 the Plan of Ayutla broke out against Santa Anna led by

3068-520: The Mexican Republic and replace it with a client monarchy, Díaz had advanced to the rank of general and was in command of an infantry brigade. He was present at the first engagement of the war when he lost three-fourths of his men after the French attacked his brigade in the state of Veracruz . He retreated and joined up with the forces of Ignacio Zaragoza to continue harassing the enemy in

3186-542: The Mexican-American War broke out, and Díaz joined an Oaxacan military battalion. He practiced drills and attended lectures on tactics and strategy at the Institute of Arts and Sciences , but he never saw combat by the time the war ended in 1848. By 1849, Díaz decided that he did not have a vocation to the priesthood and over the objections of his family decided to switch his studies to law. He gained

3304-679: The Plan of San Luis Potosí calling for armed rebellion against Díaz, leading to the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution . In May 1911, after the Federal Army suffered several defeats against the forces supporting Madero, Díaz resigned in the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez and went into exile in Paris, where he died four years later. Porfirio Díaz was the sixth of seven children, baptized on 15 September 1830, in Oaxaca, Mexico , but his exact date of birth

3422-509: The Reform War . During the Second French Intervention in Mexico , Díaz fought in the Battle of Puebla in 1862, which temporarily repulsed the invaders, but was captured when the French besieged the city with reinforcements a year later. He escaped captivity and made his way to Oaxaca City , becoming political and military commander over all of Southern Mexico, and successfully resisting French efforts to advance upon

3540-486: The liver or possibly of cancer. While the main symptom was yellow jaundice , poisoning by the US was widely suspected. In The Dark Invader (published 1933), Capt. von Rintelen wrote that he had heard that Huerta was poisoned by his cook; but that he had never found out the truth. In the historiography of Mexico, Victoriano Huerta is the "demon" of the Mexican Revolution, against whom all others are measured. Diverse factions and interests in Mexico came together against

3658-522: The rurales (federal police), who were assumed to be acting on Huerta's orders. The Huerta government was promptly recognized by all the western European governments, but not the government of the United States. The outgoing US administration of William Howard Taft refused to recognize the new government, as a way of pressuring Mexico to end the Chamizal border dispute in favor of the US, with

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3776-606: The "pacification campaigns" in Tepic and Sinaloa , where he distinguished himself in combat. He was known for ensuring that his men always got paid, often resorting to finding the money in ruthless ways. Following a complaint from the Catholic Church that Huerta had plundered a church to sell off its gold and silver to pay his men, Huerta justified his actions on the grounds that "Mexico can do without her priests, but cannot do without her soldiers". On another occasion, following

3894-597: The 1968 film Villa Rides , Huerta was played by Herbert Lom . In the novel The Friends of Pancho Villa (1996), by James Carlos Blake , Huerta is a major character. Both Victoriano Huerta and Pancho Villa are referenced in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), when Indiana ( Harrison Ford ) is recalling events in his childhood to his yet-to-be revealed son ( Shia LaBeouf ): "It

4012-466: The 20,000 troops commanded by Ortega. The Mexican defenders would hold out for two months from 16 March to 17 May in 1863, until they ran out of provisions. Against the advice of Díaz who suggested an offense, Ortega simply maintained a policy of defense, until the city was stormed. As street fighting broke out at the beginning of April, Díaz was in command of the most exposed quarter of the city made up of seventeen blocks, and he made his headquarters at

4130-478: The Americans. In rural Mexico a sense of Mexican nationalism barely existed at this time among the campesinos . Mexico was an abstract entity that meant nothing, and most peasants were primarily loyal to their own villages, the patria chicas . Huerta's patriotic campaign was a complete failure in the countryside. The other source of volunteers was provided by allowing wealthy landlords to raise private armies under

4248-614: The Federal Army was repeatedly defeated in battle by Constitutionalist generals Alvaro Obregón and Pancho Villa , climaxing in the Battle of Zacatecas , Huerta bowed to internal and external pressure and resigned the presidency on 15 July 1914. Huerta went into exile, first traveling to Kingston, Jamaica , aboard the German cruiser SMS Dresden . From there he moved to the United Kingdom , then Spain , finally arriving in

4366-662: The French Intervention, Forey who had once fought against Díaz at Puebla, criticized Bazaine for not having had Díaz shot immediately upon capturing him. Throughout late 1865, as the French were still unable to secure the entire country, Napoleon III was led to the conclusion that France had gotten involved in a military quagmire. At the opening of the French Chambers in January 1866, he announced his intention of withdrawing French troops from Mexico. The French considered Emperor Maximilian to be doomed due to

4484-506: The French administration and the military of the conquered Mexican territories fell upon Marshal Bazaine , already present with the expedition, who officially assumed his post on 1 October 1862. By October 1863 Díaz was placed in charge of the Eastern division of the Mexican military with command over 3000 men. General Díaz proceeded to sweep through the states of Queretaro , Michoacan , and Mexico , into Guerrero , proceeding to capture

4602-467: The French as a means of receiving the military aid that would return them to power. Díaz would once again have to fight many of the men he once faced in the Reform War such as Leonardo Márquez and the ex-Conservative president Miguel Miramon . Eventually, Porfirio Díaz as well would be personally asked to join the French, an offer which he would refuse. The French loss at the Battle of Puebla delayed

4720-527: The French left him in Mexico to his fate, the last French troops departing by March 1867. When Díaz returned to Oaxaca in late 1865, he found his army of the South dispersed, and enemy forces controlling the Oaxacan coast along with Tehuantepec . By Spring, 1866, Díaz had gained some victories, aided by local uprisings. He began to focus on cutting off communications between Oaxaca City and Veracruz Díaz won

4838-410: The French march into the interior of Mexico by a year while Lorencez awaited reinforcements from France. Meanwhile, Díaz had been made military governor of the Veracruz district. Soon after the Battle of Puebla, General Zaragoza died of typhus and was replaced in his command by Jesús González Ortega . A second French siege of Puebla was this time led by Élie Frédéric Forey with 26,000 men, against

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4956-556: The French were repulsed by attacks of Mexican cavalry and infantry. During the battle, Díaz was not present at the hill but rather on the plains to the right of the Mexican front, where he repulsed another French attack. General Díaz pursued the French on their retreat to the Hacienda San Jose Renteria until recalled by Zaragoza. The French attributed their defeat at Puebla to a lack of Conservative Party support. The Mexican monarchist expatriates who had given

5074-543: The Holland House" at Fifth Avenue and 30th Street), were observed by Secret Servicemen , and von Rintelen's telephone conversations were routinely intercepted and recorded. Huerta traveled from New York by train to Newman , New Mexico (25 miles (40 km) from the border), where he was to be met by Gen. Pascual Orozco and some well-armed Mexican supporters. However, a US Army colonel with 25 soldiers and two deputy US marshals intervened and arrested him as he left

5192-676: The Huerta government heading the Department of Labor. He had denounced the overthrow of Madero, but "initially saw in the Huerta regime the political formula he believed Mexico required: a strong military leader capable of imposing the social reforms Mexico needed to benefit the masses." However, despite internal support in the Huerta regime for reform, Huerta increasingly embraced militarization and Molina Enríquez resigned. Chihuahua Gov. Abraham González refused and Huerta had him arrested and murdered in March 1913. The most important challenge from

5310-552: The Huerta government, they realized he would not and began aligning themselves with different revolutionary factions. One historian argues that Huerta's regime was not as conservative or reactionary as portrayed, arguing that he did not attempt to "reincarnate" the Age of Díaz. "Huerta and his advisors both realized the days of Díaz were gone forever. They did not attempt to stem the new energies and forces unleashed in 1910; rather they attempted to moderate them." In general, however, his regime

5428-585: The Huerta regime, including the Zapatistas in Morelos and the Constitutionalists in northern Mexico under Venustiano Carranza. Once Huerta was ousted, the loose coalition fell apart and Mexico was plunged into a civil war between the winners. Germany's backing of Huerta weakened their influence in Mexico while the hostility of the United States to the regime increased it. Although U.S. business interests had hoped that President Wilson would recognize

5546-554: The Interior , making him next in line for the presidency. After less than an hour in office (some sources say as little as 15 minutes), Lascuráin resigned, handing the presidency to Huerta. At a late-night special session of Congress surrounded by Huerta's troops, the legislators endorsed his assumption of power. Four days later Madero and Pino Suárez were taken from the National Palace to prison at night and shot by officers of

5664-533: The Liberal caudillo Juan Álvarez . After openly expressing support for Álvarez, Díaz was forced to flee Oaxaca City and joined up with the Liberal partisan, Francisco Herrera. Authorities managed to attack and disperse Herrera's troops, and Díaz once more had to flee, but the Ayutla movement was increasingly growing in strength. When the Liberals captured Oaxaca City, Díaz was made subprefect of Ixtlan . As sub-prefect Díaz helped in an ill-fated effort to put down

5782-701: The Maya, starting in October 1901, and fought 79 different actions over the course of 39 days. Huerta was then promoted to Brigadier General and awarded the Medal of Military Merit In May 1902 he was promoted commander of federal army forces in Yucatán, and in October 1902 he reported to Díaz that he had "pacified" the Yucatán. During the campaign in Yucatán he became increasingly dependent on alcohol to continue functioning. His health began to decline, and perhaps because of his heavy drinking he complained he could not go outside in

5900-467: The Mexican government. To give the coup the appearance of legitimacy, Huerta had foreign minister Pedro Lascuráin assume the presidency; under the 1857 Constitution of Mexico , the foreign minister stood third in line for the presidency behind the Vice President and Attorney General ; Madero's attorney general had also been ousted in the coup. Lascuráin then appointed Huerta as Secretary of

6018-497: The October elections came and went with Lerdo winning an overwhelming majority of votes, Díaz realized that his case was hopeless and finally submitted unconditionally before the amnesty in late October. Tepic Tepic ( Spanish pronunciation: [teˈpik] ) is the capital and largest city of the western Mexican state of Nayarit , as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality . Located in

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6136-466: The Orozco rebellion, Huerta saw the opportunity to eliminate revolutionary general Pancho Villa , who was also attempting to suppress the revolt. Accused of stealing a horse, Villa then faced execution by Huerta without trial. Only Madero's last minute intervention saved the life of one of his most effective generals. Orozco's rebellion was a major threat to the Madero government, since he had standing as

6254-679: The Reform War broke out, he maintained his command in Ixtlan, until the Conservative General Marcelino Cobos defeated the Liberal forces in Oaxaca in January 1858 Díaz was shot in the leg and would not recover for four months. Díaz rejoined the war and was present when Cobos was defeated in Xalapa in February 1858. Diaz was subsequently named Governor and Military Commandant of the district of Tehuantepec . He

6372-546: The United States in April 1915. While in the US he negotiated with Capt. Franz von Rintelen of German Navy Intelligence for money to purchase weapons and arrange U-boat landings to provide support, while offering (perhaps as a bargaining chip) to make war on the US, which Germany hoped would end munitions supplies to the Allies. Their meetings, held at the Manhattan Hotel (as well as another New York hotel, "probably

6490-681: The World Worker). The Casa organized demonstrations and strikes, which the Huerta regime initially tolerated. But then the government cracked down, arresting and deporting some leaders, and destroying the Casa's headquarters. Huerta also sought to diffuse agrarian agitation, which fueled the rebellion in Morelos led by Emiliano Zapata. The most vocal intellectual in favor of land reform was Andrés Molina Enríquez , whose 1909 publication Los grandes problemas nacionales (The Great National Problems) focused on inequality of land tenure. Molina Enríquez joined

6608-528: The army for support, giving officers all of the key jobs, regardless of their talents, as Huerta sought to rule with La Mano Dura ("The Iron Hand"), believing only in military solutions to all problems. For this reason, Huerta during his short time as president was the object of far more hatred than Diaz ever was; even the Zapatistas had a certain respect for Diaz as a patriarchal leader who had enough sense to finally leave with dignity in 1911, whereas Huerta

6726-508: The capital he did not attack, and a seventy-day standoff ensued. Meanwhile, the Siege of Querétaro against Emperor Maximilian's headquarters was ongoing and ultimately ended by May 14 in a Liberal victory. Even after Maximilian had been captured, Leonardo Márquez was stalling for time at Mexico City, but hope for the imperialists was running out. Márquez' officer General O’Horan went to meet Díaz without authorization and offered to surrender

6844-559: The central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of 915 metres (3,002 ft) above sea level, on the banks of the Río Mololoa and the Río Tepic , approximately 225 kilometres (140 mi) north-west of Guadalajara, Jalisco . Nearby are the volcanoes of San Juan, Las Navajas, and Sangangüey . Tepic is the primary urban center of this rich agricultural region; major crops include sugarcane, tobacco and citrus fruits. The city

6962-533: The city Díaz ordered his military bakers to begin supplying the city's starving population with food. He placed the city under martial law to prevent looting but also began a house-by-house search for any remaining imperialist officers. Márquez would never be found and he successfully escaped the country to find refuge in Cuba. Díaz declared himself a candidate for presidential elections scheduled for August 1867 Meanwhile, President Juarez proposed certain amendments to

7080-551: The city and by April 25, Forey was contemplating suspending military operations until larger siege guns could arrive. Despite the ongoing stalemate, the French were reassured by the knowledge that the Mexicans were running out of food and supplies. Díaz, among other officers, managed to escape before even arriving in Veracruz. Díaz then headed for Mexico City to report to President Benito Juárez . The president prepared to depart Mexico City and commissioned Díaz to raise troops for

7198-403: The city to an attack much like the one he had once defended it from, taking the city by 2 April. Díaz spared the troops, but ordered the execution of the officers, taunting them by saying that “even though they had not lived like men, they could die like men”. All that remained of the Empire were Querétaro City , where Maximilian and his leading generals were present, Mexico City, and Veracruz,

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7316-418: The city, warning Díaz that Márquez was about the escape, but Díaz rejected the offer. On 20 June, the day after Maximilian had been executed, Díaz ordered a barrage of artillery against the positions of the enemy, and his observers suddenly began to notice white flags of surrender. The remaining imperialist officers were arrested and it was discovered that Márquez had disappeared the day before. Upon occupying

7434-419: The command of Díaz managed in the Battle of San Juan Bautista to back the capital of Tabasco , in February 1864. Díaz's hold was consolidated enough that he began making excursions into Veracruz, and Minatitlán was taken by 28 March 1864. Meanwhile, French control over central Mexico was rapidly expanding, and by March 1864 President Juárez had fled to Monterrey . Even as the northern military situation

7552-412: The constitution, and opponents of them began to coalesce around Diaz's campaign. Juárez subsequently won the presidential election and began a new term scheduled to end on 30 November 1871. Juárez controversially once more declared his candidacy for the 1871 elections which he won again against Díaz. Supporters of Díaz accused the government of engaging in election fraud, refused to recognize Juárez as

7670-466: The country to Spain, only 17 months into his presidency, after the Federal Army collapsed. While attempting to intrigue with German spies in the U.S. during World War I , Huerta was arrested in 1915 and died in U.S. custody. His supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution. He is still vilified as a traitor by modern-day Mexicans, who generally refer to him as El Chacal ("The Jackal") or El Usurpador ("The Usurper"). According to

7788-646: The defense of the city. It was such an important republican stronghold, that Bazaine himself assumed command of the operation in person. By February 1865, the French had surrounded the city with siege materials and 7000 troops. An assault was scheduled for 9 February. Due to mass desertions which left him outnumbered ten to one, Díaz chose not to fight, instead surrendering unconditionally. Díaz and his officers were taken prisoner and sent to Puebla . After being kept seven months in Puebla, Díaz managed to escape from French confinement yet again and returned to Oaxaca. When news of this reached Paris, former commander of

7906-399: The effort. His command over the forces of Oaxaca was passed down to Cristóbal Salinas. Díaz's old mentor Marcos Perez fell into a quarrel with Salinas over his strategy, and Díaz failed to mediate. Juarez replaced Salinas with Vicente Rosas Landa, but the Liberals in Oaxaca were defeated at the hands of Cobos in November 1859. Díaz and Salinas found refuge in the mountains of Ixtlan. While

8024-447: The elderly Liberal caudillo, and former president of Mexico, Juan Álvarez . By the end of the year, the French were making scouting expeditions and building roads to make further attempts south. Finally, in early 1865, a French expedition against Díaz's base of operations in Oaxaca City set out under General Courtois d’Hurbal by way of Yanhuitlan . Díaz evacuated Oaxaca City and began to build barricades while commanding 6000 troops for

8142-419: The first originally from Villanueva , Zacatecas and the second from Colotlán, Jalisco and were his maternal grandparents José María Márquez and María Soledad Villalobos. He identified himself as indigenous , and both his parents are reported to have been ethnically Huichol , although his father is said to have been Mestizo . Huerta learned to read and write at a school run by the local priest, making him one of

8260-464: The football and the basketball teams are named "Coras". Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of 915 metres (3,002 ft) above sea level, on the banks of the Río Mololoa and the Río Tepic, approximately 225 kilometres (140 mi) north-west of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Nearby are the extinct Sangangüey volcano and its crater lake. Tepic has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cwa ), with most rain falling in

8378-519: The forced resignation of Madero and his vice president and their murders. The coup was backed by the nascent German Empire as well as the United States under the Taft administration . But the succeeding Wilson administration refused to recognize the new regime which had come to power by coup. The U.S. allowed arms sales to rebel forces. Many foreign powers did recognize the regime, including Britain and Germany, but withdrew further support when revolutionary forces started to show military success against

8496-509: The fortune of the Liberals appeared to be at a low ebb at Oaxaca, the Conservatives as a whole at this point, were losing the war throughout the entire country, rapidly being drained of funds and resources. This helped Díaz and Salinas take back Oaxaca City by August 1860. Díaz was promoted to colonel and transferred from the National Guard to the regular army. He was present at the decisive Battle of Calpulalpan , which decisively ended

8614-412: The friendship of Don Marcos Pérez and Indigenous judge and professor of law at the Institute of Arts and Sciences through which Díaz also came to know his future colleague and president of Mexico, Benito Juárez who was at that time Governor of Oaxaca. Díaz passed his first examination in civil and canon law in 1853, at the age of 23. In that same year however, a Conservative Party coup overthrew

8732-474: The guise of the state militias, but few peons wanted to fight, let alone die, for Gen. Huerta, since some Constitutionalists were promising land reform, although not First Chief Venustiano Carranza . When Huerta refused to call elections, and with the situation further exacerbated by the Tampico Affair , President Wilson landed US troops to occupy Mexico's most important seaport, Veracruz . After

8850-437: The idea of a Mexican monarchy to Napoleon III had also been working independently of any Mexican authority or political party. When the French invaders arrived in Mexico they found the Conservatives reluctant to help the French in establishing a monarchy and proclaiming their loyalty to the type of centralist republic they had once established in Mexico. However, the Conservatives were increasingly won over to collaborate with

8968-625: The latter two which had, through Díaz’ capture of Puebla, been cut off from communications with each other. Leonardo Márquez had been sent from Queretaro to relieve the siege of Puebla, but he was too late. Díaz pursued Márquez and a skirmish ensued on 8 April, but Márquez got away and made it back to Mexico City Díaz now focused on taking back Mexico City and succeeded in seizing Chapultepec Castle , Maximilian's former residence, from its remaining imperial defenders, subsequently making it his headquarters. Díaz now had Mexico City surrounded with 28,000 troops yet being concerned with preventing damage to

9086-535: The leadership of significant forces in Chihuahua and potentially in Durango, so gaining his support was important to Huerta. Orozco had rebelled against Madero and Huerta had overthrown him, so there was the possibility of gaining his support. During a meeting of representatives of Huerta's government and Orozco's forces, Orozco laid out his terms for supporting Huerta. He sought recognition of his soldiers' service to

9204-479: The legitimate president, and prepared to take up arms. The subsequent insurrection would come to be known as the Plan de la Noria from the eponymous Oaxacan town in which the revolution was proclaimed on 8 November 1871. Supporting revolts flared up across the country, but Juárez sustained himself against them until dying in office on 18 July 1872, the presidency passing on to the legal successor Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada . President Lerdo offered an amnesty to

9322-565: The military district of Queretaro . After capturing Mexico City in June 1863, Dubois de Saligny, Napoleon's representative, appointed the members of a Mexican puppet government tasked with ratifying French intentions of establishing a monarchy. On 8 July 1863, this so-called Assembly of Notables resolved to change the nation into a monarchy, inviting Napoleon's candidate, Maximilian of Habsburg , to become Emperor of Mexico. In August, Forey and Saligny were recalled to France, and command over

9440-564: The military escort that gave Díaz safe conduct into exile in May 1911. During the interim presidency of Francisco León de la Barra following the resignation of Díaz and the election of Francisco I. Madero in November 1911, General Huerta carried out a campaign in Morelos, attempting to crush the rebellion led by Emilio Zapata . Huerta's forces burned villages supporting the rebellion and attacked their residents. These actions frustrated Madero's later attempts to placate those rebels. Huerta had

9558-507: The most completely militaristic state in the world." Huerta's stated goal was a return to the "order" of the Porfiriato , but his methods were unlike those of Diaz, who had shown a talent for compromise and diplomacy; seeking support from and playing off regional elites, using not only army officers but also technocrats, former guerrilla leaders, caciques and provincial elites to support his regime. By contrast, Huerta relied entirely upon

9676-603: The near-genocidal campaign against the Yaqui, Huerta was more concerned with mapping out the terrain of Sonora, but at times he commanded forces in the field against the Yaqui. From 12 April-8 September 1901 Huerta put down a rebellion in Guerrero, completely "pacifying" the state. In May 1901 he was promoted to the rank of general. In 1901–02 he suppressed a Maya rising in Yucatán . He commanded about 500 men in his campaign against

9794-562: The new regime. Following a confused few days of fighting in Mexico City between loyalist and rebel factions of the army, Huerta had Madero and vice-president José María Pino Suárez seized and briefly imprisoned on 18 February 1913 in the National Palace . The conspirators then met at the US Embassy to sign El Pacto de la Embajada (The Embassy Pact), which provided for the exile of Madero and Pino Suárez and Huerta's takeover of

9912-433: The overthrown of Madero and pay; pensions and care of soldiers' widows and orphans, agrarian reforms, government payment of Orozquista debts that financed the campaign against Madero, and employment of Orozquistas as rurales . Huerta agreed to the terms, and Orozco threw his support to Huerta on 27 February 1913. Orozco sought to persuade Emiliano Zapata to make peace with Huerta regime. Zapata had held Orozco in high esteem as

10030-428: The plan being to trade recognition for settling the dispute on American terms. Newly inaugurated U.S. president Woodrow Wilson had a general bias in favor of liberal democracy and had distaste for Gen. Huerta, who had come to power by coup and was implicated in the murder of Madero, but was initially open to recognizing Huerta provided that he could "win" an election that would give him a democratic veneer. Félix Díaz and

10148-435: The plotters and joined them in secret. His task was to undermine Madero militarily without betraying his own complicity and began military operations that weakened Madero's forces. The United States Ambassador to Mexico , Henry Lane Wilson , was an active participant in the plot to overthrow Madero. Ambassador Wilson believed that Huerta would not have staged a coup had the United States not assured them that it would recognize

10266-490: The position of Head of Public Works in Monterrey and planning a new street layout for the city. On the eve of the 1910 Revolution against the long-established Díaz regime, Huerta was teaching mathematics in Mexico City. He applied successfully to rejoin the army with his former rank and was accepted. He did not play a major role in the early stages of the Revolution that led to the resignation of Díaz, although he commanded

10384-552: The principle of no re-election. Díaz succeeded in seizing power, ousting Lerdo in a coup in 1876 , with the help of his political supporters, and was elected in 1877 . In 1880, he stepped down and his political ally Manuel González was elected president, serving from 1880 to 1884. In 1884, Díaz abandoned the idea of no re-election and held office continuously until 1911. A controversial figure in Mexican history, Díaz's regime ended political instability and achieved growth after decades of economic stagnation. He and his allies comprised

10502-581: The rebels in July 1872, an offer which many commanders subsequently took. Díaz himself refused it, and on 1 August, sent a letter to the president urging a modification of the amnesty terms and urging an extension for upcoming presidential elections in October ostensibly to allow rebellious regions to fully participate. The president was unyielding but so was Díaz, who urged Lerdo, in a later communication to also initiate constitutional reforms to prohibit presidential reelection. As more rebel commanders yielded and

10620-431: The rebels. To secure volunteers, Huerta attempted to use Mexican nationalism and anti-Americanism. In the fall of 1913, running spurious stories in the press warning of an imminent U.S. invasion and asking for patriotic men to step up to defend Mexico. The campaign attracted some volunteers from the lower middle class, through they were usually disillusioned when they learned that they were going to fight other Mexicans, not

10738-462: The rebels. Throughout the civil war of 1913–14 the Constitutionalists fought with a ferocity and courage that the federal army never managed. In Yucatán about 70% of the army were men conscripted from the prisons, while one "volunteer" battalion consisted of captured Yaqui. In October 1913, in the town of Tlalnepantla, the army's 9th Regiment, which was said to have been "crazed with alcohol and marijuana", mutinied, murdered their officers and went over to

10856-631: The records in the books of the Parish Notary of Colotlán , José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was born and baptized on Monday, December 23, 1850, in the town of Colotlán. (Other sources indicate he was born on March 23, 1845, in the Agua Gorda ranch.) His parents were Jesús Huerta Córdoba, originally from Colotlán, Jalisco and María Lázara del Refugio Márquez Villalobos, originally from El Plateado , Zacatecas . His paternal grandparents were Rafael Huerta Benítez and María Isabel de la Trinidad Córdoba,

10974-428: The regime; their continuing support of him threatened their own relationships with the U.S. government . Huerta's government resisted the U.S. incursion into the port of Veracruz that violated Mexico's sovereignty. Even Huerta's opponents agreed with his stance. The Constitutionalist Army, the forces of the northern coalition opposing Huerta, defeated the Federal Army. Huerta was forced to resign in July 1914 and flee

11092-713: The region, until Oaxaca City fell before a French siege in 1865. Díaz once more escaped captivity seven months later and rejoined the army of the Mexican Republic as the Second Mexican Empire disintegrated in the wake of the French departure. As Emperor Maximilian made a last stand in Querétaro , Díaz was in command of the forces that took back Mexico City in June 1867. During the era of the Restored Republic , he subsequently revolted against presidents Benito Juárez and Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada on

11210-648: The relatively few literate people in Colotlán. He had decided upon a military career early on as the only way of escaping the poverty of Colotlán. In 1869 he was employed by visiting Gen. Donato Guerra to serve as his personal secretary. In that role he distinguished himself and, with Gen. Guerra's support, gained admission to the Mexican National Military Academy ( Heroico Colegio Militar ) at Chapultepec in Mexico City in 1872. As

11328-512: The rest of the conservative leaders had seen Huerta as a transitional leader and pressed for early elections, which they expected to be won by Díaz on a Catholic conservative platform, and were rudely surprised when they discovered Huerta wanted to keep the presidency for himself. Huerta moved quickly to consolidate power within Mexico with the support of state governors. Huerta sought support from Pascual Orozco, whose rebellion against Madero Huerta had been in charge of suppressing. Orozco still held

11446-435: The rich silver-bearing town of Taxco on 29 October. Díaz then proceeded south toward Oaxaca recruiting more men on the way until his forces had swelled to 8000 troops. The state of Oaxaca would be his main base of operations for the rest of the war. Porfirio Díaz was now not only the military but also the political commander over all unoccupied territories south of Veracruz. As the French made encroachments, forces under

11564-632: The staff of the 4th Division in Guadalajara, in charge of engineering. The commander of the 4th Division was Gen. Manuel González , a close associate of President Porfirio Díaz and former president of Mexico (1880–84). In the interim, Huerta's career prospered thanks to the patronage of González. In Mexico City, he married Emilia Águila Moya, whom he met in Veracruz, on 21 November 1880. The marriage produced 11 children. The names of his children surviving him in 1916 were Jorge, María Elisa, Victor, Luz, Elena, Dagoberto, Eva and Celia. Huerta participated in

11682-434: The state militias, Huerta had approximately 300,000 men, or about 4% of the population, fighting for him by early 1914. Faced with Mexicans' widespread reluctance to serve, Huerta had to resort to the leva , as vagrants, criminals, captured rebels, political prisoners and sometimes just men on the streets were rounded up to serve in the Federal Army. In Veracruz workers getting off the night shift at factories were rounded up in

11800-404: The strength of the army, issuing a decree for conscripting 150,000 men in October 1913; another decree for conscripting 200,000 men in January 1914 and one for a quarter of million men in March 1914. These figures were never achieved as many men fled to fight for the Constitutionalists rather than Huerta. Together with an increase in the number of the paramilitary rurales mounted police force and

11918-413: The strongest point of the district which was a large building known as the meson de San Marcos . As Díaz planned his defenses, the French advanced with artillery and cannonballs began to crash through the building. As French zouaves poured through the breaches, they were repulsed every time, and by the evening Díaz had regained complete control over his headquarters. Similar scenes occurred throughout

12036-454: The summer of 1913 with the hope of gaining some popular support. British historian Alan Knight wrote about Huerta: "The consistent thread which ran through the Huerta regime, from start to finish, was militarisation: the growth and reliance on the Federal Army, the military takeover of public offices, the preference for military over political solutions, the militarisation of society in general". Huerta "came very close to converting Mexico into

12154-423: The sunshine without wearing sunglasses, and he suffered bouts of uncontrollable nervous shaking. His decaying teeth caused him much pain. In August 1903 he was appointed to head a committee tasked with reforming the uniforms of the federal army. In 1907 he retired from the army on grounds of ill health, having developed cataracts while serving in the southern jungles. He then applied his technical training by taking up

12272-417: The train, on a charge of sedition. The German-initiated plan for Huerta to regain the Mexican presidency through a coup d'état was foiled. After some time in a US Army prison at Fort Bliss he was released on bail, but remained under house arrest due to risk of flight to Mexico. A day after, he attended a dinner at Fort Bliss. Later he was returned to jail, and while so confined died, perhaps of cirrhosis of

12390-438: The vicinity of Orizaba . Díaz and Zaragoza were forced to retreat before ending up in the city of Puebla by 3 May. On the morning of 5 May, Díaz was in command of the Oaxaca battalion , guarding one of the roads leading into Puebla. Commander of the French forces, Charles de Lorencez ordered his troops to ascend a hill overlooking the town for a direct attack upon the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. The ascent failed, and

12508-505: The war in favor of the Liberals. The victorious President Juarez reentered the capital in January 1861. Díaz also joined the national congress as a deputy from Ocotlan . The Conservative government had ceased to operate and its president, Miguel Miramon had fled the nation, but Conservative guerillas were still active in the countryside. In June 1861, the Conservative General Leonardo Márquez made

12626-404: Was a Mexican general , politician, and dictator who served on three separate occasions as President of Mexico , a total of over 30 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 December 1876, 17 February 1877 to 1 December 1880, and 1 December 1884 to 25 May 1911. The entire period from 1876 to 1911 is often referred to as the Porfiriato , and has been characterized as a de facto dictatorship . Díaz

12744-607: Was a fight against Victoriano Huerta". He then spits on the ground to show disgust at the name. 17 - "Temporada de Zopilotes" (Buzzard's Season) Paco Ignacio Taibo II, Editorial Planeta, 2000 ISBN   978-6070701160 . Narrative of the Decena Tragica (The tragic 10 days) Porfirio D%C3%ADaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori GCB ( English: / ˈ d iː ə s / DEE -əss or / ˈ d iː æ z / DEE -az , Spanish: [poɾˈfiɾjo ˈði.as] ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915),

12862-470: Was an illiterate dependiente , or workman employed by a firm of merchants. In 1808, he had married Patrona Mori, whose mother was Mixtec , and whose father could trace his ancestry from Asturias . Eventually, Jose de la Cruz had saved enough to start planting agave , and he opened a wayside inn in Oaxaca City to sell the products of his business. Jose de la Cruz died in 1833 of cholera when Díaz

12980-543: Was born to a Oaxacan family of modest means. He initially studied to become a priest but eventually switched his studies to law, and among his mentors was the future President of Mexico, Benito Juárez . Díaz increasingly became active in Liberal Party politics fighting with the Liberals to overthrow Santa Anna in the Plan of Ayutla , and also fighting on their side against the Conservative Party in

13098-411: Was dire, Díaz still maintained a solid hold over Guerrero , Oaxaca , Tabasco , and Chiapas . Meanwhile, Emperor Maximilian and his wife Charlotte, now Empress of Mexico finally arrived in Mexico City on 12 June 1864. By December 1864, forces under Díaz had taken back the port of Acapulco . The French still struggled to make any inroads south against the forces commanded by Díaz and his lieutenant,

13216-502: Was ended when Díaz brokered a deal with Neri, who surrendered in exchange for a promise to remove the unpopular state governor. Huerta confirmed his reputation for ruthlessness by refusing to take prisoners and continuing to attack the followers of Neri even after Díaz had signed a ceasefire. In December 1900 Huerta commanded a successful military campaign against the Yaqui in Sonora . During

13334-568: Was founded in 1531 as Villa del Espíritu Santo de la Mayor España . Tepic has the second-largest indigenous population in the State of Nayarit , 4,375. The most prominent groups among them are the Huichol or Wixárika (3,276), Cora (527) and Purépecha (101). Catholicism is the most prominent religion in Tepic with 94.2% of the population. Its Catedral de la Purísima Concepción , dedicated to

13452-632: Was given command over 150 men and tasked with raising funds and receiving arms imported from the United States. Díaz chose the coast town of Juchitán de Zaragoza as his headquarters and exercised his command for two years. For winning repeated victories against the Conservatives he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. At the beginning of 1860, Díaz went to the aid of the Liberal general José María Díaz Ordaz in defending Oaxaca City against Cobos. The latter fell upon Díaz at Mitla on 20 January and defeated him, but Cobos retreated as Ordaz arrived with reinforcements, only for Ordaz to lose his life in

13570-517: Was only three years old. Patrona Mori began to manage the inn while raising her multiple children. The young Díaz was sent to primary school at the age of 6 and at one point was apprenticed to a carpenter. In 1845, at the age of fifteen, Díaz entered the Colegio Seminario Conciliar de Oaxaca , to study for the priesthood, sponsored by his godfather, José Agustín Domínguez, canon of and eventually Bishop of Oaxaca. In 1846,

13688-730: Was seen as a thuggish soldier who had Madero murdered and sought to terrorize the nation into submission. Huerta disliked cabinet meetings, ordered his ministers about as if they were non-commissioned officers and displayed in general a highly autocratic style. Huerta established a harsh military dictatorship. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson became hostile to the Huerta administration, recalled ambassador Henry Lane Wilson and demanded Huerta step aside for democratic elections. In August 1913 Wilson imposed an arms embargo on Mexico, forcing Huerta to turn to Europe and Japan to buy arms. The Federal Army Huerta took over in February 1913 on paper numbered between 45,000 and 50,000 men. Huerta continued to increase

13806-524: Was seen as part of Díaz's "court". Through Huerta was well liked at the Chapultepec Castle, acquiring the persona of a trim, efficient officer who was stern to his subordinates while displaying a courtly, polished manner towards his superiors, he began to suffer from severe insomnia and began drinking heavily during this time. In January 1895 he commanded a battalion of infantry against a rebellion in Guerrero led by Gen. Canuto Neri . The rebellion

13924-402: Was very strong in 19th-century Mexico, and Huerta's hero was Napoleon . He supported Gen. Díaz as the closest approximation to his Napoleonic ideal, believing that Mexico needed a "strongman" to prosper. By 1890 Huerta had reached the rank of Colonel of Engineers. From 1890 to 1895 Huerta lived in Mexico City, becoming a regular visitor to the presidential residence at Chapultepec Castle , and

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