Javier Rojo Gómez (28 June 1896 – 31 December 1970) was a Mexican lawyer and politician affiliated with 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 held a number of prominent public positions, including governor of Hidalgo, head of the Federal District Department, and

governor of Quintana Roo The governors of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, since statehood. Governors of the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo since 1975 *Note: In 2001 Mario E. Villanueva was sentenced to prison due to corruption involving drugs, Mexican dr ...

in the years before statehood.

Political career

Javier Rojo Gómez was born in , a community in the municipality of Huichapan,

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico :''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)'' * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coah ...

, in 1896. He studied for a law degree in

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 ...

and graduated in 1921. In 1926, after serving as a local deputy in the Congress of Hidalgo on two occasions, he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

for Hidalgo's 2nd district. He was elected as governor of Hidalgo in 1937. In 1940, President

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 ...

appointed him to his cabinet as head of the Federal District Department, a position in which he served for six years. He received substantial support as his party's potential candidate for the 1946 presidential election but lost out to

Miguel Alemán Valdés Miguel Alemán Valdés (; 29 September 1900 – 14 May 1983) was a Mexican politician who served a full term as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952, the first civilian president after a string of revolutionary generals. His administ ...

. Rojo Gómez withdrew from political life until his 1956 appointment as ambassador to Japan, where he remained for two years. Back in Mexico, he was appointed to head the (CNC) from 1962 to 1965. On 2 June 1967 he took office as the

when it was still a federal territory. During his governorship, he played a leading role in the territory's development as a tourist destination, including the resort city of

Cancún Cancún is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito J ...

. While still in office as the territory's governor, Javier Rojo Gómez died in Mexico City on 31 December 1970.

Personal life

Rojo Gómez was married to Isabel Lugo, the sister of José Lugo Guerrero (governor of Hidalgo from 1941 to 1945). Their son, Jorge Rojo Lugo (1933–2010), also served as governor of Hidalgo (1975–76 and 1978–81) and as the federal secretary of agrarian reform (1976–1978). Another son, Javier, pursued a career in architecture.

Legacy

Monuments to Rojo Gómez stand in

Huichapan Huichapan (; Otomi: Nxamädo) is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 668.1 km2. Its name derives from the Classical Nahuatl ''Huēyichiyapan''. In 2020, the mun ...

, Hidalgo;

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

, Hidalgo; and

Chetumal Chetumal (, , ; , ) is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the List of states of Mexico, state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Othón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, Municipality of Othón ...

, Quintana Roo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojo Gomez, Javier 1896 births 1970 deaths Governors of Hidalgo (state) Governors of Quintana Roo Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) for Hidalgo (state) People from Huichapan