The (from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: "scientists" or "those scientifically oriented") were a circle of

technocratic Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...

advisors to

President of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

. Steeped in the positivist " scientific politics", they functioned as part of his program of modernization at the start of the 20th century. Leading included: * Gabino Barreda (1820–1881), a precursor of the group. A

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of medicine, Barreda studied in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under

Auguste Comte Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte (; ; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher, mathematician and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the ...

between 1847 and 1851 and is widely credited with introducing positivism in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Put in charge of fulfilling the 1857 Constitution's promise of secular public education by the early Juárez government, Barreda organized the National Preparatory School, the first secular school of higher learning in Mexico, which opened in 1868 and became the training ground for many of the younger . * Manuel Romero Rubio (1828–1895), Secretary of the Interior from 1884 to 1895 was founding member of the group, and its original leader and protector. With his death, Limantour –his political protégé– commenced to direct the . He also was the father-in-law of Porfirio Díaz. *

José Yves Limantour José Yves Limantour Marquet (; 26 December 1854 – 26 August 1935) was a Mexican financier who served as secretary of Finance (Mexico), Secretary of the Finance of Mexico from 1893 until the fall of the Porfirio Díaz regime in 1911. One of t ...

(1854–1935), (Secretary of the Treasury) from 1893 until the fall of the Díaz regime in 1911; considered the political leader of the faction. * Justo Sierra, the leading intellectual and spokesman of the circle. *The writers and journalists

Francisco Bulnes Francisco Bulnes (4 October 1847 – 22 September 1924) was a Mexican scientist, journalist, and politician who figured among the Científicos, the Mexican intelligentsia who supported the authoritarian presidency of Porfirio Díaz. He was a criti ...

(1847–1924) and Emilio Rabasa (1856–1930), co-founders of the newspaper (in 1888), both considered spokesmen for the Científicos. *

Enrique Creel José Enrique Clay Ramón de Jesús Creel Cuilty, sometimes known as Henry Clay Creel (30 August 1854 – 18 August 1931) was a Mexican businessman, politician and diplomat, member of the powerful Creel-Terrazas family of Chihuahua. He w ...

(1854–1931), a wealthy businessman and landowner, an influential member of the powerful Creel-Terrazas Family that dominated the northern state of Chihuahua, of which he was governor from 1904 until the fall of the Díaz regime in 1911. *

Luis Terrazas Luis Terrazas (20 July 1829 in Chihuahua, Mexico – 18 June 1923 in Chihuahua) was a Mexican politician, businessman, rancher, and soldier. Career Terrazas was a pivotal figure in the history of the state of Chihuahua from the middle ...

(1829–1923), Founder of the Creel-Terrazas Family, father-in-law of Enrique Creel, and one of the richest landowners in the Republic of Mexico; he helped to bankroll the faction. *The lawyers and

Joaquín Casasús Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez) ...

. *, co-founder of the , senator and interim

governor of Coahuila List of governors of the Mexican state of Coahuila de Zaragoza, since its establishment as the province of Nueva Extremadura in Northern New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl ...

, uncle to president Francisco I. Madero. * (1883–1963), who later became

Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

under

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 23 December 1850 – 13 January 1916) was a Mexican general, politician, engineer and dictator who was the 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of ...

in 1913. *Emilio Pimentel, lawyer, governor of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

from 1902 to 1911. *Rosendo Pineda, lawyer, influential backer of Porfirio Díaz in the state of Oaxaca. * (1860–1922), founder (in 1896) and publisher of the

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

newspaper El Imparcial, considered the "semi-official newspaper of the Porfiriato." There were other factions within the Díaz government that were opposed to the , most notably that led by former general

Bernardo Reyes Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón (30 August 1850 – 9 February 1913) was a Mexican general and politician who fought in the Second French intervention in Mexico and served as the appointed Governor of Nuevo León for more than two decades dur ...

References

Sources

* Hernández Chávez, Alicia. ''Mexico: A Brief History''. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006), p. 194. * Ruiz, Ramón Eduardo. ''Triumphs and Tragedy: A History of the Mexican People'' (New York: Norton, 1992), p. 274 * Martínez Vázquez, Víctor Raúl, editor.
La revolución en Oaxaca, 1900-1930
', p. 38.

See also

References

Sources

Further reading