Roque Victoriano González Garza (March 23, 1885 – November 12, 1962) was a Mexican general and acting president of the Republic from January to June 1915.

Early years in politics

From 1908 he appeared in politics in opposition to the government of President

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...

. He was one of the first supporters of

Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'etat in February 1 ...

, whom he accompanied in his presidential campaign. He was director of revolutionary forces in Coahuila, and a federal deputy. During the election of 1910, Díaz had Madero (the opposition candidate) and 6,000 of his supporters jailed. González was arrested with Madero. Madero was able to escape and issued a call for armed revolt. González later joined him and fought in the battles of

Casas Grandes Casas Grandes (Spanish for ''Great Houses''; also known as Paquimé) is a prehistoric archaeological site in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. Construction of the site is attributed to the Mogollon culture. Casas Grandes has been design ...

and

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju� ...

. After Madero assumed the presidency, González was his personal assistant and a member of his general staff. When Madero and Vice-President

José María Pino Suárez José María Pino Suárez (; September 8, 1869 – February 22, 1913) was a Mexican statesman, lawyer, writer and newspaper proprietor who was a key figure of the Mexican Revolution and served as the 7th and last Vice President of Mexico fro ...

were murdered, González went to the north, joining the forces of

Francisco Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (,"Villa"
''

Huerta A huerta () or horta (, ), from Latin ''hortus'', "garden", is an irrigated area, or a field within such an area, common in Spain and Portugal, where a variety of vegetables and fruit trees are cultivated for family consumption and sale. Typicall ...

regime. These included the battles of

Torreón Torreón () is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2021, the city's population was 735,340. The metropolitan population as of 2015 was 1,497,734, making it the ninth-biggest metropolitan area in the ...

San Pedro de las Colonias San Pedro (formally: San Pedro de las Colonias) is a city located in the southwestern part of the state of Coahuila in Mexico. San Pedro lies east-northeast of the city of Torreón and serves as the seat of the San Pedro Municipality, Coahuila, ...

, Paredón,

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...

and

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

Federal positions

He was the personal representative of Villa in the

Aguascalientes Convention The Convention of Aguascalientes was a major meeting that took place during the Mexican Revolution between the factions in the Mexican Revolution that had defeated Victoriano Huerta's Federal Army and forced his resignation and exile in July 1914 ...

, where he was one of the most outstanding figures. He was chosen to preside at the Convention, and was one of the editors of the ''Manifiesto'' that the Convention published on November 13, 1914. On the fall of Conventionalist President

Eulalio Gutiérrez Eulalio Gutiérrez Ortiz (February 4, 1881 – August 12, 1939) was a general in the Mexican Revolution from state of Coahuila. He is most notable for his election as provisional president of Mexico during the Aguascalientes Convention and l ...

, he was chosen by the Convention as Gutiérrez's replacement. As a Conventionalist, he was in opposition to the Constitutionalist president,

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a February ...

. González's term of office ran from January 16, 1915 to June 10 of the same year. On the latter date, by agreement of the Convention, he turned over power to

Francisco Lagos Cházaro Francisco Jerónimo de Jesús Lagos Cházaro Mortero (Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, September 20, 1878 – November 13, 1932 in Mexico City) was the acting President of Mexico designated by the Convention of Aguascalientes from June 10, 1915 to Octobe ...

and reentered private life in Mexico City. The victory of the Constitutionalists forced him into exile, where he remained several years, until after the death of Carranza. Years later he collaborated in the administration of General

Manuel Ávila Manuel Ávila (born July 4, 1992) is an American professional boxer. He is the IBA Americas Featherweight Champion & NABF Superbantamweight Champion. Personal life He has three children, Married to a woman named Cynthia Avila his parents Manuel a ...

. He was coauthor of the books ''La Batalla de Torreón'' (1914) and ''Apuntes para la Historia'' (1914), which recounted the events of the Mexican Revolution.

Revolutionary Mexicanist Action

In 1933, González Garza co-founded the fascist paramilitary Revolutionary Mexicanist Action along with many other militants of the Mexican Revolution. He led the paramilitary group until 1934 where he was succeeded by Nicolas Rodriguez Carrasco. Although no longer leader, he maintained his prominence in the group. In March of 1935, González Garza and Ovidio Pedrero Valenzuela led the group on horseback raiding and destroying the newly established

Mexican Communist Party The Mexican Communist Party ( es, Partido Comunista Mexicano, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its name ...

headquarters in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Later life and death

During the presidency of

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 ...

, he held governmental positions. He was awarded the rank of major general, was president of the Legion of Honor. In 1962, President López Mateos appointed him head of works in Meztitlán, Hidalgo. González Garza wrote books on the history of the revolution. Roque González Garza died in

on November 12, 1962.

References

Citations Bibliography *"González Garza, Roque", ''Enciclopedia de México'', vol. 6. Mexico City, 1996, . *García Puron, Manuel, ''México y sus gobernantes'', v. 2. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrúa, 1984. *Orozco Linares, Fernando, ''Gobernantes de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Garza, Roque Presidents of Mexico Mexican fascists Mexican anti-communists Politicians from Saltillo 1885 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Mexican politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico)

Early years in politics

Federal positions

Revolutionary Mexicanist Action

Later life and death

See also

References