Carlos Alberto Madrazo Becerra (July 7, 1915 – June 4, 1969) was a Mexican reformist
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
.
Early life
Madrazo was born on the ''
ranchería
The Spanish word ranchería, or rancherío, refers to a small, rural settlement. In the Americas the term was applied to native villages or bunkhouses. Anglo-Americans adopted the term with both these meanings, usually to designate the resident ...
'' of
Parrilla, in the
state
State may refer to:
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* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Tabasco
Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It is located in ...
, to Píoquinto Madrazo López, a businessman, and Concepción Becerra, a schoolteacher. His childhood was marked by poverty, but his mother taught him the will to overcome adversity. He was an avid learner, studying at the
José N. Rovirosa Institute, where his oratory skills led to his being selected to give a speech on
Benito Juárez
Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...
on the hero's birthday.
Tabasco governor Ausencio Conrado Cruz and
Tomás Garrido Canabal
Tomás Garrido Canabal (September 20, 1891 – April 8, 1943) was a Mexican politician, revolutionary and atheist activist. Garrido Canabal served governor of the state of Tabasco from 1920 to 1924 and from 1931 to 1934. He was noted for his ...
, president of the pro-
Calles
Calles is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Los Serranos in the Valencian Community, Spain.
See also
*Sierra de Utiel
Sierra de Utiel ( ca-valencia, Serra d'Utiel) is a long mountain range in the Alt Palància, Alt Millars and Plana Baix ...
Central Resistance League, both present as the event, were impressed with his eloquence. Following the event, Garrido Canabal invited Madrazo on his statewide speaking tours, where he became known as "the young tribune".
Education
Madrazo received a scholarship from the state government of Tabasco and studied at
Juárez University where he organized the
Confederation of Southeastern Socialist Students (''Confederación de Estudiantes Socialistas del Sureste''), which also drew support from
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
s and labor. He also wrote for the newspaper ''
Rendición''.
He moved to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
to continue his studies at the
National Preparatory School
The Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ( en, National Preparatory High School) (ENP), the oldest senior High School system in Mexico, belonging to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), opened its doors on February 1, 1868. It was founde ...
, and in 1937 represented the Society of National Preparatory School Students as their president at the Second Congress of Mexican Socialist Students in
Uruapan
Uruapan is the second largest city in the Mexico, Mexican state of Michoacán. It is located at the western edge of the Tarascan Plateau, Purépecha highlands, just to the east of the Tierra Caliente (Mexico), Tierra Caliente region. Since the colo ...
,
Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
. In the same year, he earned his law degree from the
National Autonomous University and joined the
Party of the Mexican Revolution
The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...
(PRM, later renamed PRI), becoming its
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
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* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
from 1938 to 1939. He also presided over the
Confederation of Mexican Youth. In 1942 he was appointed General Director of Social Action of the
Mexican Federal District
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of M ...
(DF) and in 1944 became Director of the National School of Archivists and Librarians.
Political career
In 1943, he became a federal deputy of the second electoral district of the DF, but as a supporter of
Javier Rojo Gómez, who aspired to succeed
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
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* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Manuel Ávila Camacho
Manuel Ávila Camacho (; 24 April 1897 – 13 October 1955) was a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the President of Mexico from 1940 to 1946. Despite participating in the Mexican Revolution and achieving a high rank, he cam ...
, he was targeted by Rojo Gómez's rivals, who implicated him in a scheme to disperse fraudulent
Bracero Program cards to would-be migrants. As a result, he was imprisoned.
In 1952, Madrazo was named Chief of the Legal Departament of the Sugarcane Commission. The same year his son
Roberto Madrazo
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, who would later go on to represent the PRI in the
2006 Mexican presidential election, was born. In 1954 he wrote ''Anécdotas de Personajes Famosos'' ("Anecdotes of Famous People"). He represented the Tabasco state government in Mexico City, and supported
Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos (; 26 May 1909 – 22 September 1969) was a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964.
Beginning his political career as a campaign aide of José Vasconcelos during his run for president, Lóp ...
's successful bid for the presidency, campaigning on his behalf. When López Mateos arrived in Tabasco, he proposed the development of the Southeast of Mexico as a possibility for the country's prime source of income.
On April 20, 1958, Madrazo took the oath of candidacy for the office of Governor of Tabasco, and was elected in 1959. His governorship saw public improvements such as 100 kilometers of roadway and the opening of hundreds of schools and hospitals in addition to private developments such as milk rehydration and pasteurization plants and the industrialization of the
cacao industry at
Cárdenas.
Following his governorship, President
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Bolaños (; 12 March 1911 – 15 July 1979) was a Mexican politician and member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He served as the President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970.
Díaz Ordaz was born in San Andrés ...
appointed Madrazo to the presidency of the PRI, hoping that his energetic but loyal leadership would placate the youthful faction of the party without disrupting the old guard's control of the party. But Madrazo took his appointment as a mandate to democratize the party. He replaced old and corrupt party officials with dynamic members of the new generation, and tried to institute such reforms as open primaries for local offices, and a "Commission of Honor" to investigate and punish political corruption. These proposals lay bare the empty nature of Mexican "democracy" and earned him enemies within the PRI, and in 1965 he was forced to resign his leadership of the party.
After being relieved of his duties, he returned to his position as the head of the national librarian school. He continued to be active in the PRI, beginning "an unprecedented campaign of sniping at the government from the sidelines", whence he "gathered a considerable body of opinion behind him".
Death
In 1969 he died in the
Mexicana Flight 704
Mexicana may refer to:
* a woman born in Mexico
* Mexicana de Aviación, a former airline of Mexico
* ''Mexicana'' (ship), a topsail schooner built in 1791 by the Spanish Navy
* ''Mexicana'' (film), a 1945 American film
* ''Mexicana'' (genus), ...
plane crash on Pico del Fraile Hill in
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
,
Nuevo León
Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
, with his wife Graciela Pintado.
Bibliography
*''La verdad en el "caso" de los braceros: origen de esta injusticia: nombre de los verdaderos responsables'', ca. 1945. México.
*''Anécdotas de Personajes Famosos'', 1952. Mexico.
*''Madrazo: voz postrera de la revolución; discursos y comentarios''. Compiled by L. Darío Vasconcelos, 1971. Mexico, B. Costa-Amic.
Citations
External links
Obituary from the National Institute of Political Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madrazo, Carlos A.
1915 births
1969 deaths
Governors of Tabasco
Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians
Mexican democracy activists
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico)
Mexican male writers
Politicians from Tabasco
Writers from Tabasco
Presidents of the Institutional Revolutionary Party
National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni
20th-century Mexican lawyers
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Mexico
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1969
20th-century Mexican politicians
People from Villahermosa