Enrique Cárdenas González (February 4, 1927 – March 1, 2018) was a Mexican politician and a member of the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...

(PRI). He served as

Governor of Tamaulipas This is a list of governors of Tamaulipas since it became a state of Mexico in 1822, it includes the list of governors of Nuevo Santander (New Santander) the name of the Spanish province in northeast New Spain before the Mexican War of Independe ...

from 1975 to 1981 and Municipal President of Ciudad Victoria from 1968 until 1971. Nationally, Cárdenas served in the Senate of the Republic for two terms, as well as Undersecretary of Finance during the administration of

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Luis Echeverría Luis Echeverría Álvarez (; 17 January 1922 – 8 July 2022) was a Mexican lawyer, academic, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 57th president of Mexico from 1970 to 1976. Previously, ...

during the 1970s.

Life

Cárdenas was born in

Ciudad Victoria Ciudad Victoria () (English: ''Victoria City'') is the seat of the Victoria Municipality, Tamaulipas, Municipality of Victoria, and the capital of the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the Northern Mexico, n ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, on February 4, 1927. In the 1950s, he began his business career selling cars in

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

and later moved to Matamoros, where he sold and repaired farm implements. His brother Jorge started a radio station, XEGW, in Ciudad Victoria in 1957. Ultimately, after working as one of its sales agents, Enrique acquired XEGW from his brother. In 1969, Cárdenas started Organización Radiofónica Tamaulipeca, which continues to operate radio stations in Ciudad Victoria and

Ciudad Mante Mante, formally Ciudad Mante, is a city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city is the municipal seat of El Mante municipality in extreme southern Tamaulipas, and lies in the northwestern portion of the municipality. It had a 2005 census p ...

. Separately from ORT, he also was the original owner of XEIR radio in

Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí Ciudad Valles is the second-largest city in the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of San Luis Potosí. It is located in the eastern part of the state (), in the cultural region of Huasteca. The city is also the municipal seat of the surround ...

. In 1963, Cárdenas entered politics. His cousin, Morelos Jaime Canseco González, was critical in promoting him to the head of the state electoral commission. When

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. Previously, he served as a member of t ...

left the Federal Electoral Commission to run for president,

took his place, starting a friendship that would catalyze Cárdenas's political career. In 1968, with Echeverría as

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

, he intervened to have Cárdenas be named the mayor of Ciudad Victoria. However, he would only serve in that post for a year before being named to the first of two Senate stints. Cárdenas promoted Tamaulipas's agricultural sector during his tenure as governor from 1975 to 1981 through his program called ''Revolución Verde'', or Green Revolution. The initiative led to the modernization of Tamaulipas's agriculture industry, including an increase in land clearing and tillage for farming. Tamaulipas became known as one of the "granaries of Mexico" as a result of the state programs. Enrique Cárdenas died at his home in

at 3:00 a.m. on March 1, 2018, at the age of 91. He was survived by his wife, Bertha del Avellano, the former First Lady of Tamaulipas, and their five children - Laura, José, Enrique Cárdenas del Avellano (PRI politician), Eduardo, and Alejandro.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardenas Gonzalez, Enrique 1927 births 2018 deaths Governors of Tamaulipas Members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) Municipal presidents in Tamaulipas Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians People from Ciudad Victoria 20th-century Mexican politicians Politicians from Tamaulipas