Francisco José Múgica Velázquez (3 September 1884 – 12 April 1954) was a Mexican military

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

, major general and politician. He participated in the Constituent Congress of 1917 that produced the

Constitution of Mexico The current Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (), was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, Mexico, by a constituent convention during the Mexican Revolution. I ...

. Notable for being a radical ideologue, he served governor of the states of

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

and

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

as well as the then-

Territory of Baja California Sur The Territory of Baja California Sur was a federal territory of Mexico that existed between 1931 and 1974. Its former area currently comprises the state of Baja California Sur, located in the southern part of the Baja California peninsula. His ...

and

Islas Marías The Islas Marías ("Mary Islands") make up an archipelago in Mexico, consisting of four islands. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some off the coast of the state of Nayarit and about southeast of the tip of Baja California. They are part ...

. Múgica was the ideological mentor to

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

after the military phase of the Revolution and served as member of Cárdenas's cabinet when he was president (1934–40), heading the secretariats of National Economy and Communications and Public Works.

Early life

He was born in Tingüindín,

. His father was a school teacher, which meant that Múgica had to move from one place to another, causing him to complete his primary education in various schools. After completing his preparatory studies, he began working as a journalist, being a liberal contributor to several newspapers, including ''

Regeneración () was a Mexican anarchist newspaper that functioned as the official organ of the Mexican Liberal Party. Founded by the Flores Magón brothers in 1900, it was forced to move to the United States in 1905. Jesús Flores Magón published the pape ...

'' of

Enrique Flores Magón Enrique Flores Magón (13 April 1877 – 28 October 1954) was a Mexican journalist and politician, associated with the Mexican Liberal Party and anarchism. His name is most frequently linked with that of his elder brother, Ricardo Flores Magó ...

and his brothers. In Zamora, Michoacan, he completed his studies in seminary and started a small opposition newspaper against

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

Mexican Revolution

Years later, he moved to

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 ...

, where he had contact with various figures in conspiracies for 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 ...

. In 1910 he traveled to

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " 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 third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, to begin the organization of the revolutionary meetings. He joined forces with

Pascual Orozco Pascual Orozco Vázquez, Jr. (in contemporary documents, sometimes spelled "Oroszco") (28 January 1882 – 30 August 1915) was a Mexican revolutionary leader who rose up to support Francisco I. Madero in late 1910 to depose long-time presid ...

and took what would become

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

in 1911. Then, with

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 ...

, they started to do the first land distribution in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in 1913. He was subsequently charged with various military activities, such as being a general and lieutenant to

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 ...

and Alvaro Obregón among others. He led the revolutionary forces in

, where he met

, to whom he would be his ideological mentor. His military career led to disagreements with General Obregón, who ordered his assassination. Cárdenas let Múgica know the intentions of Obregón and allowed his executioners to escape. At the end of his military career, he was responsible for the

Heroic Military Academy (Mexico) The Heroic Military College (officially in ) is the major military educational institution in Mexico. It was founded in 1823 and located in the former Palace of the Inquisition in Mexico City. Initially designated as the Cadet Academy, it was re ...

, the Commander in the South and was Governor of

and President of the Military Court.Biografía del general Múgica, michoacano ilustre
/ref>

Political career

Múgica participated in the Constituent Congress of 1917. For his positions and his debates with other delegates, he was always remembered as one of the best delegates and fundamental ideologists of the

. He worked on part of the constitution concerning matters of religion, politics, economics and education. His ideology would be embodied in Articles 3, 27, and 123 of the Constitution of the United Mexican States. Mugica was made

Governor of Michoacán The Governor of Michoacán is the head of the executive branch of the State of Michoacán in Mexico. According to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, the exercise of the executive power is deposited ...

briefly from 1920 to 1921. On 1 December 1934, Lázaro Cárdenas became the president of Mexico and named Múgica as the Secretary of the National Economy. He immediately made himself identifiable as one of the most "Cardenista" cabinet members, compared to those loyal to

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 ...

. Cárdenas had begun to de-establish 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 ...

'' by which Elías Calles had exercised command over every president since he left office in 1928. Múgica, a great ally of Cárdenas, helped in breaking the Maximato by creating a crisis in mid-June 1935 by releasing anti-labor statements made by Calles. The unions began strong protests against the figure of ''Jefe Máximo'' (Calles); they were immediately exploited to rid his influence on the government to seek and obtain the resignation of his entire cabinet and oust all Callistas, including Calles's son, the Secretary of Communications and Public Works. Cardenas then appointed Múgica to that post. With elections due to be held in 1940, Múgica was a natural successor to Cárdenas by being a strong leftist and believed in many of Cádernas's major reforms. Múgica was considered as a candidate for the presidency in 1939, but Cárdenas opted for General

Manuel Avila Camacho Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...

, a moderate. Múgica was perceived as much more radical than Cárdenas. His supporters saw him as the great consolidator of the social work begun by Cárdenas, but his opponents saw him as a great danger that would make Mexico a copy of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Múgica withdrew his candidacy and supported Avila Camacho. By 1939, the popularity of Cardenas had fallen seriously. Two figures on the right were arising to challenge the Cárdenas legacy:

Joaquín Amaro Joaquín Amaro Domínguez (August 16, 1889 – March 15, 1952) was a Mexican revolutionary general and military reformer. He served as Secretary of War in the cabinets of Presidents Plutarco Elías Calles, Emilio Portes Gil, and Pascual Ort ...

and

Juan Andrew Almazán ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

. Cárdenas then realized that the candidacy of Múgica might not be well received by the country or internationally and that he needed a centrist candidate who was much less radical, could unify the divided population, and above all counter the rising popularity of Almazán. For Cárdenas, that was Camacho, the

Secretary of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

; Múgica withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Ávila Camacho, who had never had a close relationship with him. After the 1940 election, serious conflicts, and accusations of electoral fraud after the victory for Ávila Camacho over Almazán, Múgica was an uncomfortable character for the new government. He not only was a major competitor of the new president but also represented the "old" ideas and reforms from which Ávila Camacho sought to distance himself. However, his revolutionary career and power meant that leaving him out of the government was not feasible. The solution was to appoint him Governor of the Territory of Baja California Sur, one of the most remote, sparsely-populated and underdeveloped areas of the country. He served from 1940 to 1946.

Later life

Years prior to his death, Múgica was involved in various private activities and running a number of prisons, including the

. He died in Mexico City at 69.

Early life

Mexican Revolution

Political career

Later life

See also

References

Further reading