Milton Castellanos Everardo (March 23, 1920 – October 10, 2011) was a Mexican

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 ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

. He served as the

Governor of Baja California The governor of Baja California represents the executive branch of the government of the state of Baja California, Mexico, per the state's constitution. The official title is "Free and Sovereign State of Baja California" (''Estado Libre y Soberan ...

from 1971 to 1977. He also served as the

President of the Chamber of Deputies Directive Board The President of the Chamber of Deputies (Spanish: ''Presidente de la Cámara de Diputados'') is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico. This position is analogous to the Speaker (politics), Speaker of the ...

for a brief period in 1951.

Biography

Early life

Castellanos was born in

Copainalá Copainalá is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. It covers an area of 330.4 km². As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 21,050, up from 19,298 as of 2005. As of 2010, the town of Copai ...

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

, on March 23, 1920. He earned a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

and became a lawyer. He married Lucía Gout, with whom he had five children - Lourdes, Lucía, Milton Emilio, Jesús and Gerardo. His son, Milton Emilio Castellanos Gout, served as the mayor of

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000, ...

from 1989 to 1992.

Political career

He served as a local deputy in Chiapas before moving to the northern city of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, during the 1950s, where he worked as a lawyer. Additionally, Castellanos worked as the head of the

legal department The Legal Department, headed by the Attorney General, was the department responsible for the laws of Hong Kong until 1997, when Hong Kong ceased to be a British crown colony. The department was responsible for dealing with criminal cases an ...

for the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...

. Castellanos served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Baja California from 1959 to 1965. The present-day court complex was constructed in

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

during his tenure. He founded the legal publication, ''Boletín Judicia'' (''Judicial Bulletin'').

Governor of Baja California

A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Castellanos held office as Baja California's 6th Governor from 1971 to 1977. He earned a reputation as an inclusive and impartial state executive. Castellanos spearheaded the construction of concrete barriers along the

Tijuana River , name_etymology = , image = Presa Tij 1.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Dam on the Tijuana River in Mexico. , map = Tijuana River Basin.svg , map_size = 250 , map_caption ...

, which ended habitual flooding. Castellanos also cleared the ''Cartolandias'', which were communities of

cardboard Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light b ...

shacks which lined the Tijuana River at the time, which had hindered development in the area. He oversaw the construction of new facilities for the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government in Mexicali. Four highway bypasses were also built, two in Mexicali and two in Tijuana. Castellanos reorganized the Dirección de Difusión Cultural, which moved to the state's former Government House. New development plans were also devised for each of Baja California's major cities. Former Tijuana Mayor Fernando Márquez Arce credited Castellanos with bringing impartiality to Baja California's political and legal systems. Milton Castellanos Everardo died of natural causes at his home in the Jardines del Valle

housing development A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

on October 10, 2011, at the age of 91. He was survived by his wife, five children, twenty-seven grandchildren and twenty-eight great-grandchildren. Castellanos was cremated according to his wishes. His funeral, which was held at the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, was presided over by Bishop

José Isidro Guerrero Macías José Isidro Guerrero Macías (31 May 1951 – 22 February 2022) was a Mexican Roman Catholic prelate. Biography Guerrero Macías was born in Mexico and was ordained to the priesthood in 1973. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of M ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Mexicali The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mexicali ( la, Dioecesis Mexicalensis) (erected 25 March 1966) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Tijuana. It was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Hermosillo until 25 November 2006. Bishops Ordinaries *Man ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castellanos Everardo, Milton 1920 births 2011 deaths Governors of Baja California Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) 20th-century Mexican judges National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni People from Mexicali Politicians from Chiapas 20th-century Mexican politicians Members of the Congress of Chiapas