Jesús Reyes Heroles (3 April 1921 – 19 March 1985) was a Mexican politician, jurist, historian and academic affiliated with the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...

(PRI). The party acknowledges him as one of its leading ideologues.

Professional career

Reyes Heroles was born in

Tuxpan, Veracruz Tuxpan (or Túxpam, fully Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano, for Enrique Rodríguez Cano) is both a Municipalities of Veracruz, municipality and city located in the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 89, ...

, in 1921. In 1939 he gained admission to the law school of the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM) and joined the Party of the Mexican Revolution (PRM), the forerunner of the later PRI. He graduated from the UNAM in 1944 and pursued studies in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

the following year. Between 1946 and 1963 he taught at both the UNAM and the

National Polytechnic Institute National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(IPN). In the 1961 mid-term election, he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

for Veracruz's second district. At the end of his term in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

he was appointed director-general of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), where he remained throughout the presidential term of

Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Bolaños (; 12 March 1911 – 15 July 1979) was a Mexican politician and member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He served as the President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970. Previously, he served as a member of t ...

(1964–1970). During his time at PEMEX he oversaw the creation of the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP). Reyes Heroles was elected to the Mexican Academy of History (AMH) in 1967. He was president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party from 1972 to 1975 and director-general of the

Mexican Social Security Institute The Mexican Institute of Social Security (, IMSS) is a Federal government of the United Mexican States, governmental organization that assists public health, pensions and social security in Mexico operating under the Secretariat of Health (Mexic ...

(IMSS) from 1975 to 1976. In 1976, newly elected president

José López Portillo José Guillermo Abel López Portillo y Pacheco (; 16 June 1920 – 17 February 2004) was a Mexican writer, lawyer, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 58th president of Mexico from 1976 ...

appointed him Secretary of the Interior. He served in that position until 1979, during which time he oversaw the 1977 electoral reforms and the adoption of the Federal Law on Political Organizations and Electoral Procedures (LFOPPE). Under this law the number of federal deputies was increased, a

parallel voting In political science, parallel voting or superposition refers to the use of two or more Electoral system, electoral systems to elect different members of a legislature. More precisely, an electoral system is a superposition if it is a mixture o ...

system was introduced, and opposition parties were allowed to register and contend in elections on a much fairer footing than what had previously been the case. Under

Miguel de la Madrid Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (; 12 December 1934 – 1 April 2012) was a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 59th president of Mexico from 1982 to 1988. Inheriting a severe economic an ...

, López Portillo's successor, Reyes Heroles served as

Secretary of Public Education In Mexico, the Secretariat of Public Education (Spanish language, in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with Cabinet (government), cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseein ...

from 1982 to 1985. Jesús Reyes Heroles died on 19 March 1985 in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, United States, where he had gone to seek medical treatment for lung cancer.

Personal life

Reyes Heroles was the father of Jesús Federico Reyes Heroles (1952–2024), director-general of PEMEX,

secretary of energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when P ...

and ambassador to the United States, and of (born 1955), a noted writer and political commentator.

References

External links

Instituto Reyes HerolesJesús Reyes Heroles
(''

Enciclopedia de la literatura en México Enciclopedia (in Spanish and Italian), or enciclopédia (in Portuguese), means the English word encyclopedia. Enciclopedia may refer to: *''Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana'' (1908-) *''Enciclopedia Italiana'' or ''Treccani'' ...

'') * :es:Casa de Cultura Jesús Reyes Heroles {{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes Heroles, Jesus 1921 births 1985 deaths Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Secretaries of the interior of Mexico Secretaries of education of Mexico Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) for Veracruz Deputies of the XLV Legislature of Mexico National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni People from Tuxpan, Veracruz Burials at the Panteón de Dolores