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PORFIRIO DÍAZ
1830 - 1915
When it Takes a
Revolution to Bring You Down
Porfirio Díaz
was the president of Mexico from 1877 - 1880 and
again from 1884 - 1911. In actual fact, the man
was Mexico's dictator for 34 years. His regime
is also referred to as
The Porfiriato.
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Porfirio Díaz
had everything under firm control to such a spectacular degree that
it sparked the
Mexican Revolution
when he announced his intention to retire.
In 1908, Díaz
told
James
Creelman, a US reporter, that Mexico was ready for
democracy and that he was prepared to retire in the year 1910, at
the end of his presidential term.
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Source: Check out the
Creelman Interview.
People went berserk and started
fighting for Díaz'
succession. But did the man just make the entire thing up so that
his opposition would surface and he could root it out? Or was Díaz
really ready to pack his bundle and abandon his throne?
And what a throne that was, check it
out
PORFIRIO Díaz IN A HUGE CHAIR
Creelman Interview
PORFIRIO Díaz - Mexico's
dictaor of 34 years
Creelman Interview
People found out quickly that Diaz was
still his old nasty self when they tried to vote for a new governor
of
Morelos
in February 1909.
Porfirio Diaz sent his candidate into
the race. His name was
Pablo Escandón y Barrón. Of
course Diaz' nominee was a rich hacienda owner. The opposition
candidate was Patricio Leyva, an
engineer, and the son of General Francisco
Leyva.
The people of Morelos could sniff the
wind of change, however. Opposition groups emerged everywhere. More
and more people dared to voice their dissatisfaction and organized
themselves into groups and clubs.
The response from plantation owners
and government was just as expected - strong and brutal. They
ordered the people to disperse. First they warned, then they
threatened with transportation to labor camps, and finally they
followed up with beatings and arrests.
On September 15, 1910, Diaz celebrated
his 80th birthday. Did that slow him down? Not in the least. Some
people have to be dead to lose their edge.
When President Diaz finally resigned
in 1911, Mexico had still nine long and wicked years of revolution
ahead of it.
Go here for the
Mexican Revolution Timeline.
PORFIRIO DÍAZ SIGNING IMPORTANT STUFF
Archivo Cassola
President Porfirio Díaz' Staff
Diaz' able Secretary for Finances
was
José Yves Limantour. His
Secretary of Foreign Relations was
Enrique C. Creel. Vice
president from 1904 - 1911 was
Ramon
Corral.
Many of Diaz' team were members of
the
Cientificos.
PRESIDENT DIAZ HUNTING IN THE
MOUNTAINS
Creelman Interview
Porfirio Díaz' Background
Porfirio was a Mixtec Indian but also had some Spanish ancestors.
He was born in the town of
Oaxaca.
Diaz was a career soldier and became a brilliant general. On
April 30, 1889, the Minister of France stopped by and the insignia of
the Legion of Honor was conferred to him by the French government.
PORFIRIO DIAZ (RIGHT) BACK FROM HUNTING
Creelman Interview
Porfirio Díaz' Señoras and Kids
On April 15, 1867, Porfirio Diaz
married his niece, the daughter of his sister
Manuela. Her name was
Delfina Ortega y Reyes. Delfina died on April 8, 1880. Delfina gave
birth to 8 children, only two of them survived:
Porfirio Jr. and
Luz
Aurora Victoria.
The attempt at a ninth birth was made on April 2, 1880, at which
point Delfina conked out for good.
On November 5, 1881, 51-year-old
Porfirio Diaz married 17-year-old María Fabiana Sebastiana
Carmen Romero Rubio y Castelló. They honeymooned in New York of all places
but didn't get any children out of their marriage.
DIAZ' SPOUSE CARMEN ROMERO
RUBIO
1864 - 1944
Creelman Interview
And then there was Amada,
another child from another woman in the 1860s.
So, all in all Porfirio had three children:
Luz, Amada, and
Porfirio Jr.
DIAZ WITH ONE OF HIS
DAUGHTERS AND A GRANDSON
Creelman Interview
Porfirio Diaz' nephew was
Félix Díaz.
Porfirio Díaz' Presidency
On October 16, 1909, Diaz met US
President Taft on the
US/Mexican border for a chat. The
Diaz-Taft Meeting was the first
meeting between the presidents of the two countries.
Dictator Diaz resigned May 25, 1911.
Check the entries in the
timeline of the Mexican Revolution.
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Porfirio Diaz' Short Biography
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September 15, 1830 |
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Birth in Oaxaca, Mexico |
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1846 - 1848 |
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Fights in the
Mexican-American War |
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1849 |
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Studies law at the
Instituto de Ciencias y Artes de Oaxaca, the
Institute of Sciences and Arts of Oaxaca, where he
became a student of
Benito Juárez. |
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November 1876 |
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Battle of Tecoac |
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1877 - 1880 |
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President of Mexico |
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1884 - 1911 |
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President of Mexico |
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February 17, 1908 |
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Creelman Interview |
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July 2, 1915 |
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Death in Paris, France |
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