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HOME   -   PEOPLE IN HISTORY A-Z   -   PORFIRIO DÍAZ

 
   


Porfirio Díaz 1830-1915
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.

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.



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 a throne it was.

PORFIRIO DIAZ IN A HUGE CHAIR
PORFIRIO Díaz IN A HUGE CHAIR
Creelman Interview
 


PORFIRIO DIAZ
PORFIRIO Díaz - Mexico's dictaor of 34 years
Creelman Interview

 

People quickly found out 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.

However, the people of Morelos could sniff the wind of change. 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 her.

Go here for the Mexican Revolution Timeline.
 

PORFIRIO DÍAZ SIGNING IMPORTANT STUFF
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 members of Diaz' team were also 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.
 

PRESIDENT PORFIRIO DIAZ BACK FROM HUNTING
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.

MAJOR PORFIRIO DIAZ JR. SON OF PRESIDENT DIAZ
MAJOR PORFIRIO DIAZ JR. SON OF PRESIDENT DIAZ
Creelman Interview



PORFIRIO DIAZ THE THIRD.
SON OF THE PRESIDENT'S SON
.
Creelman Interview

 

PORFIRIO DIAZ THE THIRD. SON OF THE PRESIDENT'S SON.


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.


CARMEN ROMERO RUBIO 1864 - 1944
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.

PRESIDENT DIAZ WITH ONE OF HIS DAUGHTERS AND A GRANDSON
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.
 

 

Porfirio Diaz' Short Biography
 

September 15, 1830

 

Birth in Oaxaca, Mexico

     

1846 - 1848

 

Fights in the Mexican-American War

     

1849

 

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.

     

November 1876

 

Battle of Tecoac
Diaz defeats the government forces and decides to become the government himself on November 29, 1876.

     

1877 - 1880

 

President of Mexico

     

1884 - 1911

 

President of Mexico

     

February 17, 1908

 

Creelman Interview

     

July 2, 1915

 

Death in Paris, France

 

 

See also Mexican Governments.

 

 

 

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Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution


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Timelines of the Mexican Revolution

Mexico's transition from dictatorship to constitutional republic translated into ten messy years of skirmishing in Mexican history.

More from the Mexican Revolution:

Pancho Villa

Emiliano Zapata

Francisco I. Madero

Causes of the Mexican Revolution

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Summary of the Mexican Revolution

 


Mexican Revolution Movies
More or less authentic. Excellent Western Classics!

Viva Zapata! 1952
Viva Zapata! 1952


A Bullet for the General, 1966
A Bullet for the General, 1966


The Professionals, 1966
The Professionals, 1966


Run, Man, Run, 1968
RUN, MAN, RUN, 1968


The Wild Bunch, 1969
The Wild Bunch, 1969


Companeros, 1970
Companeros, 1970


Duck You Sucker aka A Fistful of Dynamite, 1971
Duck You Sucker, 1971
aka A Fistful of Dynamite

 

 

Mexican Revolution Maps

Mexico - The Constitutionalist Revolution, 1910-1920
THE CONSTITUTIONALIST REVOLUTION
Click map to enlarge

Historical Map of the Mexican State (estado) of Morelos, around 1910
Morelos State, Mexico
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Mexico and the State Morelos
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