Eulalio Gutiérrez Ortiz (February 2, 1881 – August 12, 1939) was a general in the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

from state of Coahuila. He is most notable for his election as provisional president of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

during the Aguascalientes Convention and led the country for a few months between 6 November 1914 and 16 January 1915. The Convention was convened by revolutionaries who had successfully ousted the regime of

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 23 December 1850 – 13 January 1916) was a Mexican general, politician, engineer and dictator who was the 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of ...

after more than a year of conflict. Gutiérrez rather than "First Chief" (''Primer Jefe'')

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920), known as Venustiano Carranza, was a Mexican land owner and politician who served as President of Mexico from 1917 until his assassination in 1920, during the Mexican Re ...

was chosen president of Mexico and a new round of violence broke out as revolutionary factions previously united turned against each other. "The high point of Gutiérrez's career occurred when he moved with the Conventionist army to shoulder the responsibilities of his new office f president"Marcoux, Carl Henry. "Eulalio Gutiérrez" in ''Encyclopedia of Mexico'', vol. 1, p. 620. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997. Gutiérrez's government was weak and he could not control the two main generals of the Army of the Convention,

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

and

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the insp ...

. Gutiérrez moved the capital of his government from Mexico City to San Luis Potosí. He resigned as president and made peace with Carranza. He went into exile in the United States, but later returned to Mexico. He died in 1939, outliving many other major figures of the Mexican Revolution.

Biography

Early life and political career

He was born on the Hacienda de Santo Domingo, in the municipality of Ramos Arizpe,

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

. In his youth he was a shepherd and a miner in Concepción del Oro,

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

, where after some years he was named mayor of the municipality. After joining

Ricardo Flores Magón Cipriano Ricardo Flores Magón (; known as Ricardo Flores Magón; September 16, 1874 – November 21, 1922) was a Mexican anarchist and social reform activist. His brothers Enrique Flores Magón, Enrique and Jesús Flores Magón, Jesús were ...

Mexican Liberal Party The Mexican Liberal Party (, PLM) was founded in August 1900 when engineer Camilo Arriaga published a manifesto entitled (Invitation to the Liberal Party). The invitation was addressed to Mexican liberals who were dissatisfied with the wa ...

(''Partido Liberal Mexicano'') for a short period, he affiliated with the Anti-reelectionist Party (''Partido Antirreleccionista'') of Francisco I. Madero in 1909.Marcoux, "Eulalio Gutiérrez", p. 619. As with many revolutionaries, Gutiérrez was not a trained soldier, but combat in the Mexican Revolution showed his skill. He participated in the

, after which he returned to his native

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

where he was elected mayor of Ramos Arizpe. After the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

, he took up arms again and placed himself under the orders of Pablo González Garza in the Constitutionalist Army of

. During the Aguascalientes Convention, he was named the provisional president of the Republic on November 1, 1914, and assumed the position two days later. His cabinet was composed of

Lucio Blanco Lucio Blanco (July 21, 1879 – June 1922) was a Mexican military officer and revolutionary, noteworthy for his participation in the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1920. Biography Lucio Blanco was born on July 21, 1879, in Nadadores, Coahuila. H ...

as Interior Minister;

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexicans, Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial pers ...

as Minister for Public Instruction and Fine Arts; Valentín Gama as Minister for Public Works; Felícitos Villarreal as Finance Minister; José Isabel Robles as Minister of War (''Guerra y Marina''); Manuel Palafox as Agriculture Minister; Manuel Chao as Mayor of the Distrito Federal; Mateo Almanza as Commander of the National Guard (''Guarnición de México''), and Pánfilo Natera as president of the Supreme Military Tribunal. A month after he took office, revolutionary leaders Francisco Villa and

took

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 ...

. Gutiérrez's government was moved to the national capital, now in the hands of the Army of the Convention. Relations with Villa were strained to the point Villa had ordered the Minister of War (his superior), to execute President Gutiérrez in January 1915. In 1915, Gutiérrez told Vasconcelos that "The Mexican landscape smells of blood."quoted in Enrique Krauze, ''Mexico: Biography of Power'', New York: HarperCollins 1997, p. 722. Gutiérrez decided to leave the capital on January 16, 1915, and moved his government to

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

, where he declared both Villa and Carranza traitors to the "revolutionary spirit" and formally resigned the presidency on July 2, 1915. Another source gives the date of his resignation as May 1915.

Later years

After exiling himself to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, he returned to Mexico in 1920 under the amnesty of

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 19 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) was a Mexican general, inventor and politician who served as the 46th President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. Obregón was re-elected to the presidency in 1928 but was assassinated b ...

and was elected senator and governor of Coahuila in 1928. Later on, he publicly criticized the re-election of Álvaro Obregón in 1928 (assassinated before he could take office) and the

Maximato The ''Maximato'' was a transitional period in the History of Mexico, historical and political development of Mexico from 1 December 1928 to 1 December 1934. Named after former president Plutarco Elías Calles's sobriquet ''el Jefe Máximo'' (th ...

of former president

Plutarco Elías Calles Plutarco Elías Calles (born Francisco Plutarco Elías Campuzano; 25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the 47th President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928. After the assassination of Ál ...

(the period during which Calles was ''Jefe Máximo'', "Maximum Chief", and ruled via puppet presidents). He joined the rebellion of José Gonzalo Escobar. After the defeat of that rebellion, he exiled himself to

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, and did not return to Mexico until 1935. Four years later, he died in the city of

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 high ...

Biography

Early life and political career

Later years

See also

Notes

References

Further reading