Juan Nepomuceno Méndez Sánchez (2 July 1820 – 29 November 1894) was a Mexican general, a Liberal politician and confidant of

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 ...

, and interim president of the Republic for a few months during the

Porfiriato , common_languages = , religion = , demonym = , currency = , leader1 = Porfirio Díaz , leader2 = Juan Méndez , leader3 = Porfirio Díaz , leader4 ...

. He served from 6 December 1876 until 17 February 1877.

Biography

Before the presidency

Born in

Tetela de Ocampo Tetela de Ocampo is a town in Tetela de Ocampo Municipality in the Sierra Norte region of the Mexican state of Puebla. "Tetela" is a name of Nahuatl origin, containing the elements ''tetl'' (hill) and ''tla'' (many): it thus means "place of man ...

in the

Sierra Norte de Puebla The Sierra Norte de Puebla is a rugged mountainous region accounting for the northern third of the state of Puebla, Mexico. It is at the intersection of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Sierra Madre Oriental, between the Mexican Plateau a ...

, Méndez worked in commerce and livestock until 1847. In that year, he enlisted in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

to fight the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

. He continued in the army after the war, and on 15 December 1854 he was named commander of a battalion in the Puebla National Guard. His unit adhered to the Plan de Ayutla in 1854 and took an active part in the

War of the Reform The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...

, the War of the French Intervention and the war opposing Emperor Maximilian. He defended Puebla against the rebels of

Zacapoaxtla Zacapoaxtla is a city and seat of the Zacapoaxtla Municipality, in the Mexican state of Puebla. The city has a population of 8,062 inhabitants, while the municipality has 49,242 inhabitants at the 2000 census.''XII Censo General de Población y ...

in January 1856 and fought the Conservatives in the mountains of Puebla and

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is ...

in 1857. The same year, he was promoted to colonel of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

. In 1858, he was made treasurer of the State of Puebla and prefect of the Department of

Zacatlán Zacatlán () is a city and municipal seat of Zacatlán Municipality located in the Sierra Norte de Puebla region of Puebla in central Mexico. The area is known for its production of apples, other fruit, cider and fruit wines, which are promoted th ...

. He fought in the

Battle of Puebla The Battle of Puebla ( es, Batalla de Puebla; french: Bataille de Puebla) took place on 5 May, Cinco de Mayo, 1862, near Puebla de Zaragoza during the Second French intervention in Mexico. French troops under the command of Charles de Lorencez ...

against the French on 5 May 1862 and took part in the defense of the city during the subsequent siege. On 27 July 1863, he was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

. That year, he was also named governor and military commander of

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

. He was later taken prisoner by the French, who sent him into exile on 17 January 1866. He managed to return to the country on 31 July 1866. On 26 August 1866, he became political chief of the Sierra Norte, and afterwards commander in chief of the forces of the State of Puebla. Together with General Sóstenes Rocha, he took part in the siege of

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities. Its cap ...

in 1867. He was again named governor and military commander of Puebla on 16 April 1867, positions he held until 15 January of the following year. He took part in the revolutions of

La Noria ''La Noria'' (Spanish for "''The Ferris Wheel''") was a Spanish talk show produced by the company ''La Fábrica de la Tele'' which aired on the Spanish television channel Telecinco from 2007 to 2012. The show was hosted by Jordi González and h ...

(Díaz's unsuccessful 1871 revolt against

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec, he was the first indigenous pre ...

) and

Tuxtepec San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec ( nah, Tōchtepēc, "on the hill of rabbits"), or simply referred to as Tuxtepec, is the head of the municipality by the same name and is the second most populous city of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tu ...

(Díaz's successful 1876 revolt against

Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada y Corral (; 24 April 1823 – 21 April 1889) was Mexican liberal politician and jurist who served as the 27th president of Mexico from 1872 to 1876. A successor to Benito Juárez, who died in office in July 1872, Le ...

As interim president

With the success of the Plan de Tuxtepec, Díaz temporarily turned over the government to Méndez on 6 December 1876 in order to take the field to fight the partisans of

José María Iglesias José María Iglesias Inzáurraga (January 5, 1823 – December 17, 1891) was a Mexican lawyer, professor, journalist and liberal politician. He is known as author of the Iglesias law, an anticlerical law regulating ecclesiastical fees and aime ...

. Iglesias claimed to be the legal president of Mexico. As interim president, Méndez called elections, which Díaz won. Méndez's term ended on 17 February 1877 with the return of Díaz to the presidency.

After the presidency

Méndez entered 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 ...

in 1877, where he worked to end the military draft. He was a senator until 1880. He was governor of Puebla for a third time, from 1 October 1880 to 31 January 1885. On 3 February 1885, he became president of the Supreme Military Court, where he served until his death 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 ...

in 1894. He left no property or money.

Personal life

His wife was Trinidad González y Castruera.

Biography

Before the presidency

As interim president

After the presidency

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading