Francisco I. Madero 1873-1913

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Francisco Indalecio Madero, 1873 - 1913
FRANCISCO I. MADERO
1873 - 1913

Francisco Indalecio Madero was the president of Mexico from 1911 - 1913.

Originally, Francisco Madero was a landowner in northern Mexico.

Madero decided to give it a go at the presidential elections of 1910. But president Porfirio Díaz won instead, as dictators do. Next thing Madero knew, he found himself in jail in San Luis Potosí.

Madero managed to escape to San Antonio, Texas, United States, disguised as a railway worker.

While in the States, Madero wrote his manifesto, the Plan of San Luis Potosí. Madero declared a revolution was necessary and surrounded himself with armed men who shared this opinion. The entire outfit came back into Mexico and was ready to rumble.

In Mexico, many unhappy peasants, aka potential guerrillas, agreed with the Plan of San Luis Potosí, among them Ambrosio Figueroa, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. They teamed up and it worked.

Dictator Diaz resigned May 25, 1911.

Madero was sitting on the presidential chair for a while, but it was a hot seat. General Victoriano Huerta fancied it plenty and had Madero thrown in jail.

What went wrong?

Madero was politically a moderate. His policy of "fairness and honesty" would have worked in a perfect world but in the dirty chaos of the Mexican Revolution it only favored the less scrupulous.

Madero was assassinated by Huerta's men in Mexico City on February 22, 1913. The official version was that he was shot while trying to escape.

FRANCISCO MADERO (SEATED)

THE PLAN OF SAN LUIS POTOSI
In his Plan of San Luis Potosí, Madero declared the 1910 elections void, and he declared himself provisional president until free elections could be held.

The Plan of San Luis Potosí was basically Madero's manifesto. It was named after the Mexican town from which Madero had escaped.

The publication was backdated to October 5, 1910, the last full day Madero had spent in Mexico, in order to avoid accusations that the U.S. encouraged a Mexican rebellion. The document was issued from San Antonio, Texas.

FRANCISCO MADERO'S FAMILY
Francisco's father was Francisco Indalecio Madero Hernández. Francisco's mother was Mercedes González Treviño.

Francisco Madero's brothers were Gustavo and Raúl.

MADERO BROTHERS

Francisco's wife was Sara Pérez.

FRANCISCO I. MADERO AND HIS WIFE SARA PEREZ

FRANCISCO MADERO'S SHORT BIOGRAPHY


October 30, 1873		Birth in Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila, Mexico

1886 - 1888		Studies acriculture at Mount St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Maryland

		Studies business management at HEC (Hautes Études Commerciales) Jouy-en-Josas, near París

		Studies one semester at the University of California at Berkeley

1903		Marries Sara Pérez

1904 - 1905		Helped organize the Benito Juárez Democratic Club and a political party in Coahuila

1908		Publishes La sucesión presidencial en 1910

1909		Founder of the Partido Nacional Antirreeleccionista, challenging Diaz as presidential candidate

1910		Imprisoned at San Luis Potosí

October 6, 1910		Escapes from prison and flees to Texas, US

November 6, 1911 - February 19, 1913		President of Mexico

February 22, 1913		Death in Mexico City