Ezequiel Padilla Peñaloza (December 31, 1890 – September 6, 1971) was a Mexican statesman. Born in

Coyuca de Catalán Coyuca de Catalán is a city and seat of the municipality of Coyuca de Catalán, in the state of Guerrero, south-western Mexico. Formerly called Coyuca, the town was named Coyuca de Catalán in honour of Nicolás Catalán, son of Antonia Nava de ...

, Guerrero, he served in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in 1928, as Secretary of Education from 1928 to 1930, as ambassador to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

from 1930 to 1932, and as

Secretary of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

from 1940 to 1945. He was the

President of the Chamber of Deputies President of the Chamber of Deputies may refer to: * List of presidents of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies * List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia * President of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) * President of the Chamber of Dep ...

in 1925. His appointment to the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs by

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Manuel Ávila Camacho marked an end to the Post-

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

domination of politicians from the North of the country. With his co-

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

member Miguel Alemán Valdés (

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 "gave Mexico the most progressive foreign policy and the most orderly internal government in the nation's history." By 1941, he had successfully settled all foreign claims against the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

stemming from the Cárdenas-era

expropriations Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

. He negotiated a favorable economic treaty,

fixed Fixed may refer to: * ''Fixed'' (EP), EP by Nine Inch Nails * ''Fixed'', an upcoming 2D adult animated film directed by Genndy Tartakovsky * Fixed (typeface), a collection of monospace bitmap fonts that is distributed with the X Window System * ...

the

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the Dollar sign, same sign, "$", as many currencies na ...

to the

United States dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

, and secured loans for industrial development from the Export-Import Bank of the United States. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was a strong proponent of inter-American unity and led conferences of the foreign ministers of countries of

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

to this end. He was criticized by some for being too pro-American. He emerged alongside Alemán as a prime contender for the presidency in 1946. He was better-known abroad than his rival, and was considered to have stronger tendencies toward democracy. However, his association with the United States made him unpopular in the

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and Alemán won the party's nomination. He ran as an independent candidate for the presidency in 1946, receiving 443,537 votes. Though Alemán received over three times the number of votes, Padilla's total was respectable, considering the PRI's hegemony at the time. Also, the fact that he was not exiled after the campaign is considered something of a victory for Mexican democracy, which had been intolerant of opposition parties and candidates since solidification of the PRI.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla Penaloza, Ezequiel 1890 births 1971 deaths National Action Party (Mexico) politicians Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Candidates in the 1946 Mexican presidential election Mexican Secretaries of Education Mexican Secretaries of Foreign Affairs People from Guerrero Ambassadors of Mexico to Hungary Attorneys general of Mexico