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José María Pino Suárez (; 8 September 1869 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican politician, lawyer, journalist, and newspaper proprietor. He served as the seventh and last
Vice President of Mexico The office of the vice president of Mexico was first created by the 1824 Constitution of Mexico, Constitution of 1824, then it was abolished in 1836 by the Siete Leyes, Seven Constitutional Laws, then briefly restored in 1846 following the restor ...
from 1911 until his assassination in 1913, alongside President
Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'état in Februa ...
, during the
Ten Tragic Days The Ten Tragic Days () is the name given to the multi-day coup d'état during the Mexican Revolution in Mexico City. It was staged by opponents of Francisco I. Madero, the democratically elected president of Mexico, between 9–19 February 191 ...
, a coup that marked a decisive turning point 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 ...
. In addition to the vice presidency, Pino Suárez held several notable political roles, including
President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...
,
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 ...
, Secretary of Justice, and
Governor of Yucatán The governor of the State of Yucatan is the head of the executive branch of the Mexican state of Yucatán, elected to a six-year-term and not eligible for reelection. The figure of the governor is established on the Constitution of the State of Y ...
. A staunch advocate for democracy and social justice, he utilized both his political career and journalism to champion these causes. For his unwavering dedication and ultimate sacrifice, Pino Suárez is considered a national hero in Mexico and is affectionately remembered as "''El Caballero de la Lealtad''" or the loyal gentleman. Born in
Tenosique Tenosique is a town located in Tenosique Municipality in the southeastern corner of the state of Tabasco, in Mexico. Its official name is Tenosique de Pino Suárez. The town had a 2020 census population of 34,946 inhabitants (the fourth-largest ...
, into a distinguished
political family A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly Election, electoral politics. Members may be related by consanguinity, blood or marriage; often several gene ...
from the
Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...
, his great-grandfather was Pedro Sainz de Baranda, a hero of the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...
. Pino Suárez was educated by the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in Mérida before earning his
law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...
in 1894. Later, he established a law firm in
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 ...
in partnership with
Joaquín Casasús Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez) ...
and became involved in various businesses alongside his father-in-law, Raymundo Cámara. In 1904, he founded ''El Peninsular'', a newspaper that gave voice to a new generation of liberal intellectuals opposed to Olegario Molina, a powerful Porfirian
cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...
. ''El Peninsular'' quickly gained readers and advertisers, standing out for its use of modern printing technology, coverage of national and international news, and its editorial team that included prominent Yucatecan intellectuals. Pino Suárez authored a series of investigative journalism articles that exposed the exploitation of
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
and
Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are an Indigenous people of Mexico and Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, who speak the Yaqui language, a Uto-Aztecan language. Their primary homelands are in Río Yaqui valley in the no ...
indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
, who had been illegally reduced to conditions of
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
on some
henequen ''Agave fourcroydes'' or henequen is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is reportedly naturalized in Madeira, Italy, the Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Cayman I ...
haciendas A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards) ...
. This provoked the anger of certain sectors of the Yucatecan oligarchy, known as the divine caste, who used their political and economic power to threaten the existence of the newspaper. The defense of
freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
against government censorship led Pino Suárez to enter the political arena. As a supporter of
Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'état in Februa ...
, he shared in Madero's struggle to democratize the country. As Madero's popularity grew,
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 ...
, the dictator, decided to imprison him on charges of
sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...
. After escaping from prison, Madero issued the
Plan de San Luis A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. ...
, which declared the 1910 federal elections fraudulent and demanded various
political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
and social reforms, including the establishment of democratic institutions, prohibition of presidential reelection,
agrarian reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...
, and an eight-hour workday, among others. This plan became a reference point for opponents of the Porfirian dictatorship and led to 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 ...
. Pino Suárez organized the revolutionary cause in the southeastern region of Mexico and, threatened with imprisonment and forced into exile, joined Madero in
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 ...
. There, Madero established a
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
and appointed Pino Suárez as Secretary of Justice. After a significant military victory for the revolutionary cause, Pino Suárez was one of four peace commissioners tasked with negotiating the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez (1911), marking the end of the Porfirian dictatorship after three decades in power. After the triumph of the Revolution, Pino Suárez was appointed interim
Governor of Yucatán The governor of the State of Yucatan is the head of the executive branch of the Mexican state of Yucatán, elected to a six-year-term and not eligible for reelection. The figure of the governor is established on the Constitution of the State of Y ...
by the State Congress, but his appointment was met with violent protests by followers of Delio Moreno Cantón, a populist politician with close ties to the old regime who had strong support among the working classes. In a closely contested election, Pino Suárez managed to gain the support of the majority of the regional economic elite and was elected to his own term as governor by a narrow margin. Shortly thereafter, he requested a leave of absence from his position to assume the Vice Presidency, and the State Congress appointed Nicolás Cámara Vales, his brother-in-law, as his successor in the governorship. The presidential elections of 1911 were characterized as peaceful, clean, and democratic, marking an important milestone in the country's history. In those elections, Francisco I. Madero was elected President and José María Pino Suárez as Vice President, forming what is considered Mexico's first democratically elected government. In February 1912, Pino Suárez assumed a prominent role as
Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, and his main objective was to carry out a comprehensive educational reform. Aware of the low
literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...
in the country, he focused his efforts on making public education accessible beyond the elite, advocating for
popular education Popular education is a concept grounded in notions of class, political struggle, critical theory and social transformation. The term is a translation from the Spanish or the Portuguese . The term 'popular' in this case means 'of the people'. ...
. Additionally, he sought to promote an ideological transition in education, shifting from
positivism Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...
to
humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...
. He faced opposition from ''los Científicos'', the group that controlled the National School of Jurisprudence and resisted the educational reforms of the Madero government. This situation led to the founding of the Escuela Libre de Derecho, which was established in open opposition to Pino Suárez. Despite this, Pino Suárez authorized this institution to operate autonomously from the government. Within the government, Pino Suárez led the renewal bloc, a liberal faction of the Maderist movement that advocated for
public policies Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. T ...
oriented towards
social liberalism Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...
and the progressive reforms promised in the Plan de San Luis. Despite having a parliamentary majority, they faced a well-organized opposition that included former Porfirians. Despite the challenges, politicians from the renewal bloc played a significant role in the drafting of 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 ...
(1917), which stands out as the world's first constitution to include extensive social and economic guarantees and protections, such as provisions regarding labor, agrarian reform, and the social dimension of property rights. Madero's reformist government was considered too progressive by some and not radical enough by others. It had to contend with several rebellions led by different revolutionary and counterrevolutionary factions until it was overthrown in a military coup in February 1913. Subsequently, both Madero and Pino Suárez were assassinated on the orders of General
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 ...
, the dictator who replaced them. In 1969, María Cámara Vales, Pino Suárez's widow, received the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor from the
Senate of Mexico The Senate of the Republic (), constitutionally the Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union (), is the upper house of Mexico's bicameral Congress. It currently consists of 128 members, who serve six-year terms. History A b ...
, recognizing the sacrifice that the couple had made for the country.


Youth and studies


Family origins

Born in
Tenosique Tenosique is a town located in Tenosique Municipality in the southeastern corner of the state of Tabasco, in Mexico. Its official name is Tenosique de Pino Suárez. The town had a 2020 census population of 34,946 inhabitants (the fourth-largest ...
,
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 ...
, "almost by accident – his family was among the most notable in Mérida." He was the eldest son of José María Pino Salvatiel, a businessman, and Josefa Suarez; both his parents had been born in Mérida. A few years after his birth, his mother died, an event that was devastating for the young boy. He had a younger brother, Néstor Pino Suárez who served as a
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
and was
mortally wounded : A mortal wound is an injury that will ultimately lead to a person's death. ''Mortal'' refers to the mortality of a human: whether they are going to live or die."mortal_adjective." Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 2018. Oxford University ...
in
battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
in 1912, trying to end the
Quintero Quintero is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, in the Valparaíso Region, 30 kilometers north of Valparaíso. The commune spans an area of . It was the first port in the country, created during the expedition of Diego de Al ...
insurrection in
Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...
. As mentioned above, Pino Suárez came from a well-known family in the Yucatan Peninsula, his great-grandfather was Pedro Sainz de Baranda (1787–1845), a
Naval Officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...
,
industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
and liberal politician born in
San Francisco de Campeche San Francisco de Campeche (; , ), 19th c., also known simply as Campeche, is a city in Campeche Municipality in the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Campeche, on the shore of the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico. Both the seat of t ...
, who having trained in the
Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...
, fought in the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
. Afterwards, he was a deputy in the constituent assembly which drafted the liberal
Spanish Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution ...
, before returning to Mexico to fight in the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...
and played an important role in founding the
Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy () is one of the components of the Mexican Armed Forces. The Secretariat of the Navy is in charge of administration of the navy. The commander of the navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career ...
. Under his command, Mexico captured the Fort of San Juan de Ulúa in
Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
, the last remainder of Mexican territory still in Spanish hands, successfully thwarting a Spanish attempt to reconquer Mexico. Prior to his death in 1845, he served as Governor of Yucatán and is also credited with introducing the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
to Mexico, founding ''Aurora Yucateca'', the first
textile factory Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major Textile industry, industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then Dyeing, dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then con ...
in the country to use
steam power A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be transf ...
. Pino's great-uncles were Joaquín Baranda and . Joaquín had served as Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Justice,
Governor of Campeche The governor of Campeche, officially Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche (), is in charge the Executive branch of the State Government. Term Governors are elected to serve for 6 years and they can not hold the tit ...
,
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
, and, between 1882 and 1901, was a long-serving
Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...
, being appointed as Secretary of Justice, Education and, briefly, Foreign Affairs under presidents Manuel González and
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 ...
. He became one of the most powerful Cabinet Ministers of the
porfiriato The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...
, but he resigned in 1901, after falling out with
José Yves Limantour José Yves Limantour Marquet (; 26 December 1854 – 26 August 1935) was a Mexican financier who served as secretary of Finance (Mexico), Secretary of the Finance of Mexico from 1893 until the fall of the Porfirio Díaz regime in 1911. One of t ...
, the influnetial
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
and head of the '' Cíentificos'', a powerful group of
technocrats Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...
; Limantour had demanded Baranda's resignation after the latter had, as Justice Secretary, successfully thwarted Limantour's presidential arguing that he was constitutionally ineligible to be President due to his French origins. During his time in government, Joaquín Baranda was responsible for founding the
Public Prosecutor's Office Public prosecutor's offices are criminal justice bodies attached to the judiciary. They are separate from the courts in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, and are called the Staatsanwaltschaft (). This kind of offi ...
(''Procuraduría General de la República'') and the Normal school (''Escuela Normal de Profesores''). Meanwhile, his brother, General Pedro Baranda fought for the liberal cause in the
Reform War The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...
s and the French Intervention, and participated in the constituent assembly that drafted the liberal
Constitution of 1857 The Political Constitution of the Mexican Republic of 1857 (), often called simply the Constitution of 1857, was the Liberalism in Mexico, liberal constitution promulgated in 1857 by Constituent Congress of Mexico during the presidency of Ignacio ...
. Later in his career, he promoted the creation of the states of
Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...
and
Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...
, serving as Governor of both states. In Campeche, the influence of the Baranda brothers was such that for many years, the State Capital was known as '' Campeche de Baranda'':
edro Barandacame from the highest echelons of southeastern political royalty.  ehaled from a Campeche-based family long active in civil and military affairs. His father, Pedro Sáinz de Baranda, ..had championed a socially conservative, gaditano independence; shortly thereafter, he founded the famous ''Aurora Yucateca''
cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...
in
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
, a bold experiment in industrial revolution ��Pedro himself had fought ��to create the state of Campeche, then fought against the interventionists in Tabasco. Promoted to the rank of General by Juárez, he then served as first
Governor of Morelos The governor of Morelos was created with the state of Mexico in 1869. (:es:Territorio de Morelos, Morelos was a Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Territory from June 17, 1914, to February 5, 1917.) See also * List of Mexican state g ...
and later as the Senator from Campeche. The honorific "''Campeche de Baranda''" commemorates his role there, while an enormous statue of his father don Pedro the elder, sword tightly in hand, greets the modern day motorist along the city's '' malecón''.
Another uncle of Pino Suárez was
Joaquín Casasús Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez) ...
, a lawyer, economist, diplomat, and banker who was a leading member of the influential '' Cíentificos'' group and made a substantial fortune representing American and British interests in Mexico. He at one time served as Mexican Ambassador to the United States and managed to obtain a favorable arbitration ruling for Mexico in the
Chamizal dispute The Chamizal dispute was an international land and boundary conflict over contested land (estimates range from ) along the Mexico–United States border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. The conflict was caused by multiple ...
, a border conflict with the United States. His first cousin, would later serve two terms as
Governor of Tabasco A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
.


Education

Shortly after Pino's birth, his mother died. His father, a busy businessman, entrusted his education to a
Private Tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
. When Pino reached adolescence, it was decided that he should study in Mérida, where he lived in the house of Raúl Carrancá, a close friend of his father, who was then the Spanish Consul. His son, Raúl Carrancá y Trujillo, would later become an outstanding
criminal defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the Defense (legal), defense of individuals and companies charged with Criminal law, criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while other ...
. In Mérida, Pino was admitted to the prestigious , a Jesuit-run grammar school that had a curriculum based on the French
Lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...
s.Martha Poblett Miranda, ''José María Pino Suárez, Semblanza'', Instituto Nacional de Estudios de la Revolución Mexicana, Ciudad de México, México, 1986, During those years, Pino became a close friend of Norberto Domínguez, then the headmaster, who would later become Archbishop of Yucatan. Pino graduated from San Ildefonso speaking fluent French and English. He obtained his
law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...
from Instituto Literario de Yucatán in 1894.


Marriage and descendants

In 1896, he married María Cámara Vales, the eldest daughter of Raymundo Cámara Luján, a business magnate and head of the House of Cámara, "a powerful clan of the high Yucatecan aristocracy." Her uncle was Agustín Vales Castillo, an industrialist and banker who served as the Mayor of Mérida between 1902 and 1907. Two of Marías brothers had political careers of their own: Nicolás Camára Vales served as
Governor of Yucatán The governor of the State of Yucatan is the head of the executive branch of the Mexican state of Yucatán, elected to a six-year-term and not eligible for reelection. The figure of the governor is established on the Constitution of the State of Y ...
, while Alfredo Pino Cámara served as
Governor of Quintana Roo The governors of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, since statehood. Governors of the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo since 1975 *Note: In 2001 Mario E. Villanueva was sentenced to prison due to corruption involving drugs, Mexican dr ...
. The Pino Cámara couple had six children: Maria, Alfredo, José, Aída, Hortensia and Cordelia. When Pino Suárez died in February 1913, at the age of 43, María, the eldest of his daughters was a 14-year-old teenager while Cordelia, the youngest one, had not celebrated her first birthday. His two sons, Alfredo and José, followed in their father's footsteps, excelling in the legal profession. Alfredo Pino Cámara, was an
Associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...
of the
Supreme court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
and is remembered for having acted as presiding judge in the criminal proceedings against
Tina Modotti Tina Modotti (born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti Mondini, August 16/17, 1896 – January 5, 1942) was an Italian American photographer, model, actor, and revolutionary political activist for the Comintern. She left her native Italy in 1913 a ...
, the Italian actress and photographer accused of the
First Degree Murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
of
Julio Antonio Mella Julio Antonio Mella McPartland (born Nicanor McPartland; 25 March 1903 – 10 January 1929) was a Cuban political activist, journalist, communist revolutionary, and one of the founders of the original Communist Party of Cuba. Mella studied law a ...
, a political activist and one of the founders of the
Communist Party of Cuba The Communist Party of Cuba (, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 26th of July Movement and Popu ...
. Several of his daughters married off into well-known Yucatecan business families. María, her eldest daughter, married Fernando Ponce Alonzo in her first marriage. Ponce Alonzo was the grandson of , the founder of Cervecería Yucateca, an important brewery which was sold by the Ponce family to
Grupo Modelo Grupo Modelo is a large brewery in Mexico owned by Anheuser-Busch that exports beer to most countries of the world. Its export brands include '' Corona'', ''Modelo'', and '' Pacífico''. Grupo Modelo also brews brands that are intended solely ...
in the 1980s. In her second marriage, she married José González Sada, an industrialist who was the first cousin both of president
Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'état in Februa ...
and
Eugenio Garza Sada Eugenio Garza Sada (January 11, 1892 – September 17, 1973) was an industrialist in the city of Monterrey, Mexico, best known for founding the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) school system in the country. Gar ...
, chairman and CEO of the
Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma / Heineken México) (English: Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery) is a major brewery based in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, founded in 1890. It is a subsidiary of Heineken Inter ...
and founder of
Tecnológico de Monterrey Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM; ), also known as Technological Institute of Monterrey () or just Tec, is aresearch university based in Monterrey, Mexico, which has grown to include 35 campuses located across 25 cit ...
. Similarly, Cordelia married Patricio Escalante Guerra, the grandson of , the wealthy industrialist responsible for developing the henequen industry in Yucatán; meanwhile, his great uncle was Carlos Peón Machado, a liberal politician who served as Governor of Yucatán; between 1894 and 1897. His grandson, Ismael Moreno Pino, served as deputy foreign secretary and Ambassador of Mexico to Germany,
The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, Chile, the OAS in Washington, D.C., and the United Nations in New York City and
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, Switzerland. He was one of the key negotiators of the
Treaty of Tlatelolco The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (commonly known as The Tlatelolco Treaty) is an international treaty that establishes the denuclearization of Latin America and the Caribbean. It was proposed b ...
which led to the
denuclearization Nuclear disarmament is the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons. Its end state can also be a nuclear-weapons-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. The term ''denuclearization'' is also used to describe the pro ...
of Latin America.


Early career


Early years: lawyer and businessman

Newly wed, the Pino Cámara couple 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 Pino founded a
law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
with his uncle,
Joaquín Casasús Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez) ...
, a distinguished jurist who had extensive connections with los Cientificos, the circle of technocratic advisors of President Díaz. Around 1899, he returned to Mérida where he undertook commercial activities in partnership with his father-in-law, Raymundo Cámara Luján, a wealthy businessman with close ties to the Yucatecan oligarchy (known as the Divine Caste). At that time, the export house headed by Cámara Luján and José María Ponce Solís, exported 16% of the total bales of henequen fiber that was exported to the US and European markets, which had an insatiable demand for the Yucatecan monoculture. Unlike other businessmen, Cámara Luján focused on the export of henequen and not on its production, finding that this business was more profitable. Similarly, unlike other Yucatecan capitalists, he had diversified his business interests to include railways, banking and brewing. In association with Eusebio Escalante Bates, he was owner of ''Compañía Agrícola del Cuyo y Anexas, S.A'', a company which owned a private estate of 2,627 km2 in the northwestern part of Yucatán (roughly the size of
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
or
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
) which was used to exploit various raw materials such as
chicle Chicle () is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the genus '' Manilkara'', including '' M. zapota'', '' M. chicle'', '' M. staminodella'', and ...
,
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
, tobacco, cocoa, cotton, banana,
vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...
and various forest resources.48 The dyewood and chicle were destined for export to the US and European markets. By the end of the 19th century, the henequen boom had transformed Mérida into the city with the most millionaires per capita in the world; between 1870 and 1920, henequen comprised 20% of Mexico's total exports, making it the second largest product in Mexico. most important Mexican exportable after precious metals. Much of this wealth had been concentrated in the hands of a small number of Yucatecan families of European descent (
criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of full Spanish descent born in the viceroyalties. In different Latin American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local ...
). The rivalry between various business groups intensified in the first decade of the 20th century. On the one hand were Eusebio Escalante, José María Ponce Solís, Carlos Peón and Cámara Luján himself, who represented a group of capitalists "made up of the traditional landowning families ..whose prestige came from the viceregal era and who 'demonstrated a mysterious ability to adapt to the changing economic order'." On the other hand, there was Olegario Molina, whose fortune was newly minted but who intended to make use of the political and economic power that he monopolized as Governor of Yucatán and Secretary of Commerce and Industry to create a lucrative monopoly over the Henequen industry. In 1902, he signed a secret pact with
Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the Blue ...
, the American businessman who headed
International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...
, to depress the prices of Henequen and force his competition into bankruptcy. In 1899, the couple returned to Mérida where Pino Suárez undertook business activities in partnership with his father-in-law, Raymundo Cámara Luján. After the financial panic of 1907, the Escalante export house, one of the major
henequen ''Agave fourcroydes'' or henequen is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is reportedly naturalized in Madeira, Italy, the Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Cayman I ...
trading houses collapsed. had been a close business ally of Cámara Luján and his bankruptcy surprised the entire society of Mérida as well as financial circles in Mexico City, New York City and Paris. Many wealthy entrepreneurs and individuals lost significant sums of capital while the rival group of businessmen, headed by Olegario Molina profited: "rarely in history has one business benefited so much from the misfortune of another. The fall of the Escalante House ensured Molina's dominance over the key sectors of the regional economy." Faced with this situation, several landowners from traditional families, including the Cámara family, distanced themselves from Molina and the federal government headed by Porfirio Díaz. Faced with this situation, several traditional businessmen, including Cámara Luján, distanced themselves from Molina and the government of Porfirio Díaz, who supported him. These events surely influenced the young lawyer.


Man-of-Letters

In his spare time, Pino was also an accomplished poet, having published two volumes: '' Melancolias '' (1896) and '' Procelarias '' (1903). He also wrote the prologue to '' Memorias de un alférez '' (Memoires of an Ensign), written by Eligio Ancona in 1904, his close friend. Shortly before he died, he wrote to his friend, Serapio Rendón, asking him to rescue a third volume that he was preparing that would be titled ''Constellations''; Unfortunately, this last volume of poems was never published:
In the drawers of my desk, I keep some manuscripts that have nothing to do with politics, since they are literary outlines written in a rush. Try to get them from the Undersecretary, who knows the passcode. If you get them, please give them to my wife. I don't want them to become lost or to be seen by profane eyes. You will find the little volume called ''Constellations'' written on blue paper at the bottom of the drawer on the right, under several letters of a private nature.
In 1912, when Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo died, Pino Suárez received a letter from Alejandro Pidal y Mon, director of the
Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...
, proposing to fill the vacant chair. Pino Suárez, then Vice President of the Republic, rejected the distinction citing his excessive workload. The chair was finally occupied by Jacinto Benavente.


Founder of ''El Peninsular''

Since 1904 Pino Suárez had liquidated his partnership with his father-in-law and had decided to reinvest his capital in the foundation of ''El Peninsular'', a newspaper from which he would criticize the monopoly headed by Olegario Molina. The newspaper's editor-in-chief was Ignacio Ancona Horruytiner, a close friend of his and the nephew of Eligio Ancona, the 19th century liberal statesman. Pino Suárez and Ancona "were representatives of the liberal youth and with ''El Peninsular'' they gave voice to a critical sector of the Yucatecan social structure; a criticism coming from the same local political and business elite that had been sidelined with the rise of Olegario Molina. The newspaper headed by Pino and Ancona gave a voice to a generation educated by the "liberal" institutions of Yucatan, trained in the tradition of historical liberalism but which had been born in the period of Porfirian peace, a group which, regardless of their affiliation, was not allowed social, economic and political ascent during the first decade of the 20th century." Pino Suárez gathered some of the most brilliant minds in the Yucatecan
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
to work at the newspaper, including , who would later serve as a ''maderista''
Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
before being brutally assassinated by the Huerta régime. Another journalist and future politician who worked for the newspaper was , a Pino
protégé Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...
who would later become a drafter of the 1917 Mexican constitution, a three-term Senator and Governor of Yucatán in the 1920s. Other distinguished journalists who worked for ''El Peninsular'' included and . At its launch, the newspaper was very successful:
"''El Peninsular'' was born as a modern newspaper, capable of continuously incorporating into its workshops the most innovative instruments in terms of typefaces, vignettes, cliches, linotypes, rotary presses or composition tables, as well as its telegraphic service, which allowed it to have national and international news earlier than its competitors. It had a constantly increasing circulation due to its coverage of the Yucatan Peninsula and some states of the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. Apparently, it came to a market already covered by an ample supply of publications. However, its dynamism managed to capture the attention of the Mexico City press, particularly ''El Mundo'' and ''El Imparcial''. As a newcomer, ''El Peninsular'' quickly and successfully established itself in the taste of the public and managed to dictate the journalistic agenda. If as an editorial project it was intended to be a model of
hard news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...
journalism, the fact of having established newsrooms in
Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...
and
Quintana Roo Quintana Roo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 administrative divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into municipalities of ...
, placed it as an attempt to achieve regional integration through the press.
The newspaper, however, soon had to face off attacks from Molina and his supporters:
Curiously enough, this evening paper was noted for its national and international news service, such as its review of the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
. During its first year of circulation the paper gained many subscribers and advertisers. However, the denunciations of the system of exploitation of the peasants in some henequen haciendas that appeared after February 1905 provoked the anger of the landowners, who pressured companies to remove advertisements and readers to cancel their subscription to the point of threatening the newspaper's financial stability. In his efforts to maintain the newspaper and defend
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
against such pressures, Pino Suárez participated in August of that year in the founding of the "''Asociación de la Prensa Yucateca''" (Yucatan Press Association), of which he served as vice-chairman. It seems to have been then, defending his newspaper, that he caught his first glimpse of his political vocation."
Pino Suárez "expressed his open and clear repudiation of the bad treatment received by the
serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...
of the large
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
s", chiefly the
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
and
Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are an Indigenous people of Mexico and Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, who speak the Yaqui language, a Uto-Aztecan language. Their primary homelands are in Río Yaqui valley in the no ...
indigenous peoples, as well as
indentured An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...
Asians "Asian people" (sometimes "Asiatic people")United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purposes. is an umbrella term ...
(chiefly Chinese and Korean immigrants) forced to work as
slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
on
henequen ''Agave fourcroydes'' or henequen is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is reportedly naturalized in Madeira, Italy, the Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Cayman I ...
haciendas A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards) ...
. The conditions faced by these labourers is aptly described by Professor Timothy J. Henderson in the following excerpt:
To ensure the latter enticement – cheap labor – the Díaz government outlawed labor unions and gave employees
carte blanche A blank cheque or blank check in the literal sense is a cheque that has no monetary value written in, but is already signed. In the figurative sense, it is used to describe a situation in which an agreement has been made that is open-ended or va ...
to behave as callously as they wished. Repression of labor during the
Porfiriato The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...
��was notorious. One of the most famous accounts, journalist John Kenneth Turner's aptly titled ''Barbarous Mexico'', contains harrowing descriptions of Maya and Yaqui Indians forced to work as slaves on hemp plantations under the brutal sun of Yucatán, starting well before daylight and ending well after sunset, their day's only meal a couple of tortillas, a cup of beans, and a bowl of rancid fish broth ��American capitalists found the lure of so much cheap labor well-nigh irresistible. Ex-president
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
, toward the end of his life, took to preaching boundless opportunities for American capital in Mexico, mostly because, in addition to many valuable natural resources, Mexico could furnish workers who were ‘industrious, frugal and willing to work for a pittance, if afforded an opportunity’."
Felipe Carrillo Puerto Felipe Santiago Carrillo Puerto (8 November 1874 – 3 January 1924) was a Mexican journalist, politician and revolutionary who served as the governor of Yucatán from 1922 until his assassination in 1924. He became known for his efforts at rec ...
, the future Governor of Yucatán, would later relate that in opposing the enslavement of the plantation laborers, Pino Suárez had first "fanned the revolutionary flame." Beginning in March 1905, Pino Suárez "began to publish a series of articles in which he attempted to analyze in depth the problem of labor relations on the henequen haciendas. This series, entitled ''Servitude in the fields of Yucatán'', consisted of six articles" and argued "that the laborers were not "free" as a result of various practices that originated in colonial times and that kept the indigenous people in a state of degradation." Although
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
had been prohibited by the Federal Constitution of 1824, the serfs continued to live in conditions akin to slavery. They were prohibited from leaving the farms where they worked because they were subject to debt mechanisms, those who protested were whipped and imprisoned by their employers. Pino Suárez pointed out that the use of whipping was a "degrading practice" and proposed establishing a
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
for day laborers and guaranteeing their mobility and ability to seek employment elsewhere and negotiate their employment conditions. Having trained as a lawyer, Pino Suárez pointed out that serfdom in Yucatán, in addition to being unfair, violated the Federal Constitution of 1857 that prohibited slavery and guaranteed the rights of transit (article 11), education (article 11) and labor (articles 3 and 4). He also accused "the ''Molinista'' regime of having disregarded its obligation to integrate of the
indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
into public life and promoting the installation of schools on the haciendas which could provide compulsory secular education." Pino Suárez's articles have been criticized, either because he disseminated an "idealized image of the Yucatecan indigenous peoples" or, according to contemporary ''Molinista'' newspapers, because by placing the rights of the indigenous peoples above the interests of the white population (
criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
), he showed that he did not "love Yucatan." In the context of the
Caste War of Yucatán The Caste War of Yucatán or ''ba'atabil kichkelem Yúum'' (1847–1915) began with the revolt of Indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous Maya peoples, Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula against Hispanic populations, called ''Yucatecos''. Th ...
, the ethnic conflict between the maya people and the criollos that had just ended in 1901, this criticism was particularly damaging in the eyes of predominantly white newspaper readers in Mérida, a city that had historically been inhabited almost exclusively by people of European descent. Although Pino Suárez was the son of ''meridano'' parents and had been raised, educated and married in Mérida, the ''Molinista'' newspapers did not miss any opportunity to remind their readers that he had been born in Tabasco and was, therefore, alien to Yucatán. Dominated by a powerful criollo oligarchy, known as "the Divine Caste", the Yucatán Peninsula had long considered itself autonomous from the rest of Mexico and Republic of Yucatán, had a long history of separatism. The newspaper also criticized the role of Olegario Molina in his two facets as a leading politician and businessman: "State officials were so wary of criticism of any kind that they shut down ..''El Peninsular'', in October, for having the temerity to argue that Molina did not deserve a second term." Molina reacted to the criticism, forcing the oligarchy to withdraw its support for the newspaper: "although Pino Suárez did not go to jail, the withdrawal of subscribers and advertisers promoted by Manuel Sierra Méndez and Rafael Peón was a hard blow that forced him to sell ''El Peninsular'', which remained in the hands of two of his brother-in-laws; Nicolás and Raymundo Cámara Vales." After this event, the Pino Cámara family withdrew from public life, going to live for two years to the Polyuc Hacienda, a remote sugar plantation


Political career


Maderismo and the 1909 local elections

In December 1908,
Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'état in Februa ...
, published ''The Presidential Succession in 1910'', which argued in favor of a transition from the military dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. who had governed the country for thirty years, toward a liberal democracy. His supporters became known as ''Maderistas'' or ''Antireleccionistas,'' due to their opposition to Mexican presidents seeking reelection, a prohibition which remain in effect to this date. Madero, who had been born in into one of the wealthiest families of industrialists in the country, had been educated in élite schools in France and the United States before returning to Mexico with liberal and progressive ideals. Pino Suárez had retired from public life since his newspaper had been censured in 1908, narrowly avoiding being imprisoned by the regime due to the impeccable connections of his political family. During his exile at Polyuc, he received a copy of the book and enthusiastically traveled to Progreso, Yucatán, Progreso to meet Madero who was campaigning in Yucatán:
"In June 1909, Francisco I. Madero began his first political tour in Veracruz wren, Veracruz, seeking to dispute the presidency from Porfirio Díaz ..he decided to continue towards Yucatan, but when he arrived at Progreso, only six people were waiting for him. Amongst these were two important figures: a gubernatorial candidate for the Independent Electoral Center and Pino ..Madero's disappointment at the low turnout was temporary, not only because as soon as he arrived in Mérida a large crowd acclaimed him, but because of his encounter with Pino, who from then on would become a true friend. Mysteriously, or perhaps logically, the Kardecist spiritism, spiritist [Madero] had found a kindred soul in the poet [Pino ]."
Supporting the ''Maderism, Maderista'' cause, Pino founded and presided over the Anti-Reelectionist Club in Mérida, which initially supported Delio Moreno as a candidate for governor in the 1909 elections. Madero knew that the oppositionist candidacy would not have the opportunity to overthrow the ruling party (''Molinistas''), which at that time was headed by Governor Enrique Muñoz Arístegui, Enrique Muñoz Aristegui, a mere figurehead for Olegario Molina. However, he believed that Moreno's candidacy could establish the necessary foundations to ensure the triumph of anti-reelectionism in future elections. Pino eventually withdrew his support for Moreno Cantón upon learning that he had sent a commission headed by José Vales Castillo to the capital of the Republic to confer with President Díaz and propose a list of candidates for the governorship so that the dictator could choose as he saw fit: the list included Luis del Carmen Curiel, Alfonso Cámara y Cámara, as well as Moreno himself, all of whom were "active ''porfiristas'', although they later would declare, they had always been anti-reelectionists at heart." In this way, the opposition to Governor Muñoz Aristegui was divided between the followers of Delio Moreno (''Morenistas)'' who negotiated with the military dictatorship to obtain power and the followers of José María Pino (''Pinistas)'' who refused to do so. Through an evident electoral fraud, the victory was granted to Muñoz Aristegui, the official candidate. The reelected state government almost immediately started a political persecution against the losing candidates that forced them to temporarily flee the state. The Muñoz Arístegui administration repressed, exiled, and imprisoned many of its political opponents. The morenista opposition was mobilized, leading to the . This in turn provoked an even more violent reaction from the local government against the rebels. Faced with this wave of repression, the ''Morenistas'' went underground. Meanwhile, Pino was also forced to leave the state, settling in the neighboring state 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 ...
. Given the situation of violence and repression in Yucatan, President Porfirio Díaz decided to send a military general with experience in matters of war to ensure control of the situation. On 11 March 1911, Governor Enrique Muñoz Arístegui was relieved of power by General Luis del Carmen Curiel, whose candidacy was supported by the ''Morenistas.'' Those in the opposition that had negotiated with the military dictatorship had gained access to the levers of power while those who had refused to do so remained in the political wilderness.


The 1910 Revolution

At the beginning of June 1910, Madero undertook what would be his fifth and last tour as a candidate for the presidency in the 1910 Mexican general election. While he was canvassing in Monterrey, the government decided to arrest him, an action that was "clumsy, counterproductive and tardy. Madero had already visited 22 states and founded no less than a hundred political clubs." A political prisoner, Madero was transferred to the Prison, penitentiary at San Luis Potosí. With the only opposition candidate in prison, the presidential elections were held in the first days of July 1910, fraudulently allowing the dictator to win his seventh reelection as President of the Republic. In October, Madero managed to escape from prison and fled into exile in San Antonio, Texas. From exile, Madero issued the Plan of San Luis Potosí in which he proclaimed that the results of the 1910 election had been fraudulent: "out of the clauses [of his plan], the main points were the immediate assumption of the presidency by Madero under a
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
, his lack of recognition of the Díaz government, the restitution of land to dispossessed peoples and communities and the freedom of political prisoners" and a call to citizens "take up arms, throw usurpers out of power, recover your rights as free men". The date of the Revolution had been set for 20 November 1910. In his provisional government, Madero appointed Pino as Justice minister, Secretary of Justice. When 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 ...
broke out in November 1910, Pino was in exile in Tabasco, fleeing the brutal repression of Muñoz Arigestguí. From Tabasco, he tried to take up arms and prepare an invasion of the Yucatecan Peninsula. According to his military plans, he would lead the invasion from
Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...
, for which he enlisted the support of Urbano Espinosa and Calixto Maldonado, though both men were apprehended upon arrival in Campeche and the government was able to collect all the orders and communications that Pino sent to all his supporters in Campeche and Yucatan, thus frustrating his attempt at revolution. Like Madero before him, Pino was forced to leave the country, bound for exile, after learning from María Cámara Vales, his wife, that Porfirio Díaz had instructed his immediate arrest: Persecuted by express order of the President of the Republic, Pino had to cross the border to Guatemala from "where he undertook his pilgrimage through the mountains to the English colony of British Honduras [modern day Belize], where he tried to get in touch again with his political supporters in search for supplies to send to the revolutionary expedition, he had instructed to invade the coasts of Yucatan and Campeche." However, the triumph of the Revolution in the north of the country would render the military campaign that Pino was preparing in the south of the Republic, with the assistance of general , his cousin, completely unnecessary. Exiled in Texas, Pino seized the opportunity to become closer to the ''Maderista'' leadership, particularly with Gustavo A. Madero, Gustavo Madero, the "grey eminence" of the ''Maderista'' movement with whom he established "a strong friendship" and who would, going forward, "unconditionally support Pino in the ''Maderista'' movement." After his return to Mexico, Pino Suárez participated in the Battle of Ciudad Juárez (1911), Battle of Ciudad Juárez, a Ciudad Juárez, key city in the north of Mexico that fell to the hands of the revolutionaries on 10 May 1911, an important military victory for their cause. Faced with the loss of this important border city, President Díaz's advisers, headed by
José Yves Limantour José Yves Limantour Marquet (; 26 December 1854 – 26 August 1935) was a Mexican financier who served as secretary of Finance (Mexico), Secretary of the Finance of Mexico from 1893 until the fall of the Porfirio Díaz regime in 1911. One of t ...
, Secretary of the Treasury, became convinced that the dictator must resign to avoid a civil war and a possible Interventionism (politics), military intervention by the United States. The government decided to negotiate with the rebels and appointed Francisco S. Carvajal, a prominent jurist, as its representative. Along with Francisco Vázquez Gómez and Francisco Madero Hernández (Madero's father), Pino Suárez was appointed ''Maderista'' Peace Commissioner, responsible for negotiating with the federal government the terms of the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, which would be signed on 21 May 1911. Momentously, the Treaties would mean the overthrow of the Porfirio Díaz regime after more than thirty years in power. However, they would also be harshly criticized since they ensured the dismissal of the Rebel army, thereby placing a future Madero government at the mercy of a ''Porfirista'' Federal Army that was hostile to their cause and which would eventually overthrow the Madero and Pino administration in February 1913. Venustiano Carranza, one of Madero's main advisers had advised against signing the Treaties of Ciudad Juárez, saying that "a revolution that compromises is a revolution that is lost." To preserve the constitutional order, the Treaties of Ciudad Juárez ensured that upon the resignation of President Díaz and Vice President Ramón Corral, Francisco León de la Barra, then the Foreign minister, Foreign Secretary, would assume executive power as interim president until such time as 1911 Mexican general elections were held.


Governor of Yucatán

In mid-1911, after the triumph of the Maderista revolution, General Curiel submitted his resignation to the State Congress, which accepted it and appointed Pino interim governor of Yucatan. As interim governor of the state, Pino's fundamental responsibility was to call special state elections to elect a constitutional governor in the face of the vacancy caused by the resignation of Muñoz Aristegui. In order not to influence the elections in which he would be a candidate, Pino withdrew from the governorship in August 1911; the state congress left the executive power in the hands of Jesús L. González who assumed the interim governorship. Pino's appointment provoked strong protests and violent reactions among the supporters of Delio Moreno Canton who soon undertook "more energetic and violent actions...citizens were frequently awakened by screams, gunshots and the explosion of bombs, watching in amazement as houses burned of the government officials or the henequen fields of the “''Pinista''" landowners. In some towns it was even necessary to organize night surveillance and public lighting services to prevent attacks. During the day, the ''Morenistas'' organized rallies and marches that defiantly paraded through the streets, symbolically storming the municipal palace and the police station." As interim governor of the state, Pino's fundamental responsibility was to call special state elections to elect a constitutional governor in the face of the vacancy caused by the resignation of Muñoz Aristegui. In order not to influence the elections in which he would be a candidate, Pino withdrew from the governorship in August 1911; the state congress left the executive power in the hands of Jesús L. González who assumed the interim governorship. In the election, Pino contended for the governorship against Moreno Cantón. Moreno Cantón was the political successor of his uncle, , a populist former Governor who had been close to the clergy. The ''Morenistas'' were Demagogue, demagogic and anti-elitist and their electoral base was mostly made up of
serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...
, working classes and artisans. Pino Suárez, on the other hand, was the ideological successor of Carlos Peón, a former Governor, who believed in classical liberalism and who had been inspired by the French Revolution, being described as a "millionaire landowner [who] loved to present himself as a kind of Yucatecan Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, Count Mirabeau". Thus, "''pinismo'' gathered all the urban and rural clientele of the old ''peoncismo'', led by landowners and businessmen and had the adherence of part of the intellectual sectors of Mérida". Among the followers of Pino, were Humberto Carlos Peón Suárez, son of Carlos Peón Machado, who in 1911 was elected alderman of the Mérida City Council, with Fernando Solís León elected as ''Maderista'' Mayor. Although Pino Suárez had entered politics to oppose slavery in the plantations and out of conviction in Madero's democratic ideals, he never sought to ingratiate himself with the popular classes as Moreno Cantón had done, showing clear traces of political opportunism. For a revolutionary politician, Pino Suárez's family background was a liability that made it difficult for him to connect with the working classes and serfs with the same ease as Moreno Cantón; Pino Suárez's family had had close ties to the liberal elite that had ruled the country since the
Reform War The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...
while his in-laws descended from the conservative Landed nobility, landed aristocracy of New Spain. Pino's political moderation and his closeness to the ruling classes have been harshly criticized as not being in line with revolutionary values, pointing out that he:
“Maintained the previous power structure, carrying out agreements with the most powerful families of the regional oligarchy, ..publicly condemning the "subversive" ''Morenista'' propaganda which he considered responsible for the imminent outbreak of a second Caste War of Yucatán, Caste War… These actions which Pino undertook were not quite "revolutionary" but they did win over the vast majority of the families of the state's economic elite to the ''Maderista'' cause. Those who were ''Molinistas'' became ''Maderistas'', as did former "liberal" supporters of former Governor Carlos Peón, politically inactive since the political crisis of 1897. Indeed, one of Pino Suárez's most prominent protectors was Augusto Peón, one of the wealthiest landowners, [who]…directly supported the ''Maderista'' leader, hauling-in his peasants to vote for him. The Cámara, Medina, Vales, Espejo, Castellanos, Escalante, Manzanilla and Peniche families [all important landowners] became supporters of ''Pinismo''. The defection of the powerful Peniche family, from Espita, which had been a faithful supporter of the Molina regime, is an example of the attitude assumed by most of the wealthy groups in the state."
The former supporters of Olegario Molina quickly decided to support Pino Suárez. In this sense, he successfully managed to get the ''Molinista'' oligarchy in Yucatán to change sides and support him, something that Madero would not achieve in the capital with the Porfirian oligarchy. The support of the large landowners was decisive in securing Pino's victory as governor since "the majority of the haciendas...continued to play the traditional role of electoral fiefdom of the landowners, as the flow of the votes of the peasant would reflect the political orientation of the landowners."
“It must be remembered, by the way, that at that time the large rural owners who had formed part of the old regime and supported the traditional (oligarchic) system, maintained their power; they were bound to the leaders of regional ''Maderismo'', a movement which maintained more moderate positions – one could even describe them as conservative – than it did in other states. In fact, Pino Suárez's wife, María Cámara Vales, was the daughter of a landowning family with ample economic resources, which had maintained a close relationship with the old regime: her parents were Raymundo Cámara Luján and Carmen Vales Castillo. Meanwhile, one of María's brothers (Nicolás) would be governor of the state only a year later.”
In the election, those City district, urban districts with large working class constituents voted for Moreno, while the countryside, dominated by the landowners, voted for Pino. Those regions which voted for Moreno would be the same ones would later be "dominated by the Socialist Party of Yucatan from 1920 onwards. If we add to this the fact that the majority of the socialists were initially followers of Moreno, leaders such as
Felipe Carrillo Puerto Felipe Santiago Carrillo Puerto (8 November 1874 – 3 January 1924) was a Mexican journalist, politician and revolutionary who served as the governor of Yucatán from 1922 until his assassination in 1924. He became known for his efforts at rec ...
, we can glimpse the close connection that existed between the populist Yucatecan Catholic Church, Catholic tradition and the genesis of regional socialism" Meanwhile, the liberals, who followed Pino, were almost all opposed to socialism and did not have the support of the clergy. In his brief tenure as Governor, Pino set out to liberally reform the Penal Code, which had previously been designed, under the old regime, to restrict fundamental rights. On 15 November 1911, shortly after assuming the governorship, Pino Suárez requested indefinite leave to assume the position of vice president for which he had been elected, In Yucatán, meanwhile, the state congress appointed Nicolás Cámara Vales, brother-in-law of Pino Suárez, as governor, against whom Delio Moreno rebelled in the same year of 1911, starting an unsuccessful movement from the town of Opichén. Forced to leave the state, Moreno Canton joined the revolt led by Pascual Orozco in the north of the country. Later, he would support the military coup led by General
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 ...
against the Maderista government.


1911 Presidential elections

On 9 July 1911, Madero launched a manifesto creating the Progressive Constitutionalist Party (Mexico), Progressive Constitutionalist Party (PCP) that replaced the National Anti-Reelectionist Party (PNA) since, having defeated President Díaz and modified the 1857 Constitution, Constitution to prohibit Mexican presidents from seeking a second term, it no longer made sense to fight for anti-reelection. On 27 August, the delegates of the PCP met at the Teatro Hidalgo to decide who would occupy the candidacy for the presidency, deciding unanimously in favor of Madero. Next, on 2 September, the election of the candidate for the vice presidency of the Republic was carried out, with Pino's competing against Francisco Vázquez Gómez, Alfredo Robles Domínguez and Fernando Iglesias Calderón. Madero had declared himself in favor of Pino's election. The vote was won by Pino with 876 votes against Francisco Vázquez Gómez's 469. However, there was immediate disagreement on the part of "some of the Vázquez supporters… [in] agreement with the result of the vote…[it was] proposed that a new compromise candidate be launched, who could be Federico González Garza, a proposal that It was rejected by the Assembly." Francisco Vázquez Gómez did not accept the party's decision and decided to launch his own independent candidacy for the vice presidency. Meanwhile, the candidate of the Catholic party was Francisco León de la Barra, then interim president of the Republic. On 26 September, Madero and Pino arrived in Mexico City in the middle of the presidential campaign and "a crowd filled the platforms of the San Lázaro station to receive them." The primary elections were held on 1 October 1911, and the secondary elections on the 15th. Madero "won the presidency of the Republic by quite a margin. The real fight was between the vice presidential candidates.." After close competition, Pino triumphed with 63.90% of the popular vote. On 2 November 1911, in accordance with the Constitution of 1854, the Congress of the Union met as an electoral college to certify the popular elections; the triumph of Madero and Pino was declared. For the vice presidency of the Republic, Pino obtained 10,254 votes against the 5,564 obtained by León de la Barra and 3,374 obtained by Vázquez Gómez. Three days later, the proclamation was published that recognized the electoral triumph of Madero and Pino, who were to govern for a five-year period between 1911 and 1916.


Vice-President of Mexico and Secretary of Education

On 18 November, Pino arrived in
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 ...
by train. On the morning of 23 November, in the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico), Chamber of Deputies and before its president, Manuel Levy, he swore the oath of office. The newspapers of the time reported that Pino "was moved to such a degree that he changed some of the terms of the oath." After the act, he was escorted by two mounted gendarmerie regiments to the National Palace (Mexico), National Palace where President Madero, accompanied by his Cabinet (government), Ministers, received the vice-president to whom he said the following words:
"You have just sworn to protect and preserve the Constitution and I know, because I know you well, that your oath is sincere and you will comply with it. The triumph of your candidacy is a guarantee for the future, because it demonstrates the intelligence, and patriotism of the Mexican people who, with the manifest intention of helping me in the arduous task imposed on me have put by my side, to collaborate with me, and, if necessary to replace me, a man of your energy, which you will use to defend the interests of the people. In Ciudad Juárez, you said at a certain moment: 'How is it possible that we abandon a man who has rendered such eminent services to the Republic at this difficult moment? It is possible that he will sink and go to an abyss, but it is our duty to accompany him, because such determination is only inspired by the purest love of the country!' As luck would have it, instead of accompanying me to the abyss, you accompany me to the highest position our Nation can offer.”
A few days after Pino assumed office, Emiliano Zapata, a radical revolutionary, published the Plan of Ayala, planning to topple the Madero's government and accusing him of having made "of the ideal of democratic elections a bloody mockery of the people and imposing, against the will of the same said people, José María Pino Suárez in the Vice Presidency of the Republic." Madero had publicly pronounced himself in favor of naming Pino Suárez concurrently Vice President of the Republic and Secretary of the Interior. However, in Madero's first government, Pino Suárez did not occupy any ministerial portfolio, which led the historian José C. Valdés to affirm that at that time his "political influence was limited." Madero's first government was beset by many problems: "The cabinet was formed with a conservative majority and a revolutionary minority. This situation generated serious problems in the administration, since all attempts at reform were hampered by conservative ministers supported by some members of the bourgeoisie, such as Madero's own father, and by the reactionary sector of the press, whose attacks were terribly virulent." On 26 February 1912, President Madero inaugurated his second government, and Pino's political influence grew significantly as a result. Among the significant changes in the cabinet reshuffle, Abraham González (governor), Abraham González Casavantes resigned from the Secretariat of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior to take over as Governor of Chihuahua, being replaced in office by Jesús Flores Magón. Meanwhile, Pino was asked to lead the Secretariat of Public Education (Mexico), Ministry of Education and Fine Arts, replacing Miguel Díaz Lombardo, who would be appointed Ambassador to France. Pino's appointment as Secretary of Education was important as education was one of the key pillars of the ''Maderista'' revolution: Madero desired to remove the last vestiges of the old regime's ideology from national education. Madero "began to show its sympathies for popular education and not only for the dissemination of culture to the circles of the intellectual elite as had been done hitherto." On 9 April, resigned from the Foreign Ministry to become Embassy of Mexico, Washington, D.C., Ambassador in the United States, being replaced in office by Pedro Lascuráin. Calero's posting in Washington was brief: in December he was forced to resign due to an embarrassing scandal: the Ambassador was advising US companies to evade new taxes imposed by the Madero administration. After resigning, he accused that "the influence of Vice-President Pino Suárez has become dominant in the administration." Madero's second government soon faced several uprisings in the context of 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 ...
: the Bernardo Reyes rebellion, the Pascual Orozco, Orozquista revolution, the growth of Zapatismo in
Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...
, and finally the Félix Díaz (politician), Félix Díaz uprising in
Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
. All of these uprising were quashed by the government. Within the cabinet, Pino Suárez headed the liberal wing of the ''Maderista'' party (known as ''bloque renovador'') that sought to return to the liberal and democratic values that Madero had favored before assuming power and for which it had been necessary to overthrow the dictator:
"Characters of all political affiliations paraded through Madero's cabinet, each with more or less determined ideologies; the cabinet strived to amalgamate the highest representatives of Mexican society, economy and politics, an objective which was difficult to achieve if not altogether contradictory. ''Maderismo'', independent of Madero but loyal to Madero, although sometimes having to act against Madero, stuck for an idea of exclusivism which the government at times accepted and at times rejected: in some Ministries it acted in a conciliatory manner; in others, it was tenacious and intolerant to a civil service which remained loyal to the old regime. Pino Suárez headed the ''Renovador'' movement, a group of Ministers who wanted the government to be exclusive to revolutionaries and which strived to return the government to base its support on the people who had elected it."
In the legislative elections held in February 1912, the ''Renovador'' movement, headed in Congress by Gustavo Madero, obtained a slim legislative majority. However, the opposition against the government was better organized, effectively "exaggerating the badness of the situation in the country, hindering the action of the Executive branch and launching harsh attacks against the government... with their activities they were undermining the prestige of Madero, whom they branded as inept and naïve." However, the most virulent attacks were always reserved for Pino who was immensely unpopular with the opposition in Congress. Manuel Márquez Sterling, the Cuban Ambassador to Mexico at the time, described it:
"If the attacks on [Madero] were violent…the opposition to Pino Suárez was even more so. Daily, he was radicalized and the opposition attributed to his person defects which he did not possess ..And as if fate made of the vice presidency in all forms of government a target of insatiable anger, Pino Suárez could match the headaches he suffered to those of his late predecessor [Vice President Ramón Corral]. Stuck between Madero ..and his adversaries, on both sides of the political aisle, who were out to crucify him ..he waited patiently for the discomforts and blows to tilt [Madero's] vacillating policy to his side and that of his party. After a delicious banquet offered by Madero to the Diplomatic corps, Pino Suárez, smoking a delicious cuban cigar from Vuelta Abajo and with a glass of Chartreuse (liqueur), Chartreuse between his fingers, explained to me, in an intimate tone, his criteria, and I remember, as if I was just hearing them now, his words, full of faith. "We find ourselves – he said – in a very critical situation; and only a change of methods will be able to avoid total catastrophe; the change is already planned and the government will manage to move away from the precipice. An energetic hand, a determined, concrete, invariable political leadership, is what the extremely altered state of the country requires. To go towards Don Porfirio's accomplices is to put one's throat under the executioner's axe. And that is exactly where we are today. I do not recommend carrying out persecutions, abuses, or evil. I maintain my allegiance to the ideal of the Plan of San Luis Potosí, which is a tribute to legality, freedom and civilization. But the policy of rapprochement with the oligarch, who hates us, will only throw us into the abyss. At the moment we are not exactly a Científico, Cíentifico [technocratic] government, but we are not a Populism, populist government either. And that is the cause of the riots and the origin of our dejection. We are caught between two fires. We are not anyone's adversaries; but the whole world is our adversary. The president already sees things clearly in this matter on which the life of the government and perhaps our own life depends. As long as we maintain the support of Congress and the people, we do not need the fat cats."
At the head of the Ministry of Education, Pino decided that he would favor "elementary and popular education" and, in accordance with the wishes of President Madero, he wanted to eliminate the last vestiges of
positivism Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...
, an ideology that had been favored by the Cíentificos, a group of
technocrats Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...
who had advised Porfirio Díaz. In the context of the Separation of church and state, the former ministers of Díaz had favored a secular education with a positivist ideology as opposed to Naturalism (philosophy), naturalism, the ideology that had been favored by Catholic Church, historically predominant in the country's education. The Cíentificos, however, "due to the triumph of the revolutionary movement of 1910…had lost almost all of their political positions; the National School of Jurisprudence was one of the few important ones – as a source of supply for political “cadres" – that remained in their hands, and they decided to fight a head-to-head battle before losing it" To end the control that the former regime had over the National School of Jurisprudence, Pino appointed Luis Cabrera Lobato, Luis Cabrera as its director, an appointment that was greeted dismissively by the law students. Differences between the Ministry and law students led to the founding of the Escuela Libre de Derecho as a private university. Once the Maderista regime was overthrown in 1913, several professors from this new institution were ministers in the de facto government headed by General
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 ...
, and many students celebrated the change of regime. In January 1913, only months before the coup d'état, "the Congressmen belonging to the ''Renovador'' party opted for conferring with the President in order to make him aware of the danger that surrounded his government and to recommend that he restructure his cabinet, naming revolutionaries with a proven track record of loyalty to the government. Headed by [formerly Pino's private secretary], the Congressmen met with the President on January 25th, 1913, but Madero rejected their proposals and ended the meeting abruptly."


The Ten Tragic Days: Military Coup d'État

By February 1913, Gustavo Madero had already been appointed Ambassador to Japan, although he had not yet left for Tokyo. His separation from the government was "a good guarantee, hidden in a ''valise diplomatique'', of his discrepancies [with the President]." For similar reasons, Pino, "in his heart of hearts, longed to resign and it was a point that he often discussed in hermetic privacy." Luis Cabrera, always close to Pino Suárez, "foreseeing the earthquake which would sink the government" decided to go abroad, to Europe. Pino was perhaps the first member of Madero's cabinet to question the loyalty of General Victoriano Huerta, who still kept the outward appearance of serving the Madero government:
"One afternoon, shortly before, Huerta announced himself at Pino Suárez's house. The butler ushered him into the living room; and the Vice-President believed that Huerta's objective was to arrest him. He was greatly astonished when Huerta, hugging him, said: 'Mr. Pino Suárez: my enemies affirm that I am going to carry out a coup d'état. Now, here I am to reiterate my adherence to the government'."
On 9 February, when the coup that would cost them their lives broke out, Pino Suárez immediately informed Federico González Garza, Governor of the Federal District (Mexico), Federal District, of the military uprising, who in turn informed Emiliano López Figueroa, Chief-Inspector of the Federal Police. Later, Pino Suárez and González Garza headed towards the National Palace (Mexico), National Palace, the official seat of the executive branch, which was already being besieged by the rebels. That same day, after inspecting the battle that had broken out in National Palace, Pino Suárez and González Garza went to the Chapultepec Castle, the presidential residence, to inform President Madero of the events that were developing in the city center. The National Palace had been successfully protected by General Lauro Villar Ochoa, Lauro Villar, who remained loyal to the government. González Garza organized a company of cadets and Gendarmerie, gendarmes to protect the President and vice-president as they made their way from Chapultepec Castle to the National Palace, in a route that is remembered in History of Mexico, Mexican history as ''la marcha de la lealtad'' (the march of loyalty). Modern-day Mexican presidents have continued to celebrate this historic event, retracing the steps of Madero's march. As they made their way through the city center, the military column, led by the President, riding on horseback, was fired upon by a sniper. The President and his entourage had to stop, seeking shelter at a Daguerreotype, daguerre photograph shop where they were joined by Gustavo Madero and, some time later, by General Victoriano Huerta. There, Madero was informed that General Villar had been wounded during combat and, at the request of Ángel García Peña, Defence minister, Secretary of Defense, it was decided to appoint General Huerta to replace him as the military commander in charge of ending the insurrection. After the failure of the rebels to take the National Palace, the rebels had to retreat to ''La'' C''iudadela'', a Fortification, fortress and armaments depot in the historic center of Mexico City. Victoriano Huerta, who had secretly reached an agreement with the rebels to assume the interim presidency once President Madero fell, pretended to remain loyal to the government. Nevertheless, his ammunition was fired in such a way as to cause minimum damage to ''La Ciudadela'', ensuring that the fortress did not fall in government hands, and causing maximum damage to other buildings, particularly occupied by foreign residents, to convince the foreign diplomatic missions of the inefficiency of the Madero Government. As Pino before him, Gustavo Madero question that General Huerta, who had previously been recognized throughout his career for his talent in employing artillery, would now display such ineptitude. On 17 February, Gustavo Madero decided to arrest General Huerta and presented him to his brother, accusing him of treason. President Madero, in a mistake that would cost him his life, decided to free General Huerta, giving him a 24-hour deadline to capture ''La Ciudadela''. Prior to this, Madero had already travelled to Cuernavaca to enlist the support of the army headed by Felipe Ángeles, a capable and respected general who had remained loyal to the government and who was successfully quenching the Zapata rebellion in the State of Morelos. In case Huerta failed to meet the President's deadline, he would be replaced by Ángeles. The following day, 18 February, while the Cabinet was meeting in the National Palace, rebel troops led by Colonel Teodoro Jiménez Riveroll broke into the session and tried to arrest the President, vice-president and the entire Cabinet. The secret service protected the President, and one of its officers, Captain Gustavo Garmendia, managed to kill Colonel Jiménez Riveroll, frustrating that attempt to overthrow the Madero government. A small delegation headed by President Madero and Vice President Pino Suárez intended to go to the courtyard of the National Palace to enlist the support of loyal troops. The military personnel stationed there, however, stood by while General Aureliano Blanquet arrested their commander in chief. Madero and Pino Suárez, now prisoners of the rebel forces, were taken to the offices of the quartermaster of the National Palace. There, they were imprisoned together with Felipe Ángeles. As these events were developing in the National Palace, Huerta had invited Gustavo Madero to a luncheon at Gambrinus, an elegant restaurant in the city center, ostensibly to smooth their misunderstandings and give him a full report of the military advances. There, Gustavo was arrested, brutally tortured by the rebel army and, subsequently assassinated. Pedro Lascuráin, the Foreign Secretary, acted as an intermediary between the Madero government and the rebels led by General Huerta. Lascuráin conveyed Huerta's offer to Madero and Pino Suárez: if both men resigned from their respective positions, he would grant them safe conduct to travel to the port of
Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
, from where he would allow them to embark to the foreign country of their choice. Madero and Pino Suárez agreed to present their respective resignations, but they established several conditions, among them, they demanded that Lascuráin not submit the double resignation to Congress until Madero, together with his brother Gustavo (they still did not know of his tragic end), Pino Suárez and Ángeles, had embarked with their respective families on a warship that had been provided by the government of Cuba. When drafting the resignation documents, Pino Suárez "haughtily stated that he was not satisfied with the reason given as the cause of the resignations and wanted it to be recorded that they were forced to do so by the force of arms," it was only after hectic negotiations with the vice-president, that it was decided that the resignation should contain the phrase "compelled by circumstances." Disobeying the orders of the President who had instructed him to keep the resignations until such time as he knew the men were safely aboard the Cuban Warship, Lascuráin immediately traveled to the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico), Chamber of Deputies, where he presented the resignations to the Speaker. The Speaker convened an extraordinary session, so that the Federal Deputies could vote on accepting the resignations. General Huerta took the precaution of surrounding the Congress building with armed troops. A majority of the Chamber voted to accept both resignations in the belief that this would save the lives of Madero and Pino. In the Presidential Line of Succession, the Foreign Secretary would become president if the vice-president was unable to succeed the President. Therefore, Lascuráin was sworn in as interim President. Lascuráin served for forty-five minutes, sufficient time to name Victoriano Huerta as Minister of the Interior and to present his own resignation. After Lascuráin's resignation was accepted by the Chamber, Huert was asked to take his place. As Interior Minister, he was the next in line to the presidency. Despite several efforts made by various members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Mexico and the families of both men, the new de facto government headed by Victoriano Huerta never allowed them to go into exile.


Assassination

On the night of 22 February, Madero and Pino Suárez were taken from the National Palace, where they were being held captive, to be transferred in two vehicles to Palacio de Lecumberri, Lecumberri Prison. Ostensibly, this would be a safe site to detain the two men while the government decided their fate. When they arrived at Lecumberri, the cars passed the main entrance, turning towards the farthest end of the compound. There, Francisco Cárdenas, a corporal in the Rurales, ordered Madero to get out of the car and, given his refusal to comply, shot him in the head, killing him instantly. Following this act, Lieutenant Rafael Pimienta shot Pino Suárez, whose body registered a total of thirteen bullet shots. The assassination was carried out by express order of General Huerta and his cabinet. The Huerta government explained, however, that a group of supporters had attempted to rescue the former president and vice-president and that both men had been shot while trying to escape. Francisco León de la Barra, the Foreign Secretary, sent a diplomatic cable with this version of events, which "circulated through all the foreign ministries of the world ..describing, in a tone worthy a novel, this sensational version of the events... In Mexico, where the ''Ley Fuga'' [killing someone who escapes] has been applied too many times [as an excuse for assassinating your enemies] ..nobody, supporter or opponent of the government, believed the official fable." In the United States, "public opinion was so shaken that it was impossible for President William Howard Taft to recognize the Huerta government." His successor, Woodrow Wilson, had sympathized with Madero and would support the constitutionalist forces of Venustiano Carranza who would succeed in overthrowing the Huerta dictatorship in August 1914. Huerta's military dictatorship had de facto recognition from some European governments, including Great Britain. as well as China and Japan. On the other hand, the United States and Latin Americans, Latin American countries (with the exception of Guatemala) avoided granting recognition. Eventually, Woodrow Wilson, was able to convince the British government to change their attitude towards Huerta. María Cámara Vales, Pino's widow, wanted to go to identify her husband's body, but was convinced by family and friends that she would not "suffer the torture of seeing him." But it was Alfredo Pino Cámara, his eldest son, then only a fourteen-year-old teenager, who "examined with horror the swollen features of his father and the strip of cardboard, bound by a bandage, that held the dismembered skull together."


Legacy

In 1969, shortly before her death, Maria Cámara Vales, his widow, was awarded the prestigious Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor by the Senate of the Republic (Mexico), Mexican Senate, an accolade granted to individuals who have significantly contributed to the country's civic values and national progress. This recognition, one of the highest civilian honors in Mexico, underscored the enduring legacy of both Maria Cámara and José María Pino Suárez as a symbol of courage and resilience during one of the nation's most tumultuous periods. In 1986, President Miguel de la Madrid ordered the remains of José María Pino Suárez be interred with full military honors at the Panteón de Dolores#Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres, Rotunda of Illustrious Persons, a site that honors those who are considered to have exalted the civic and national values of Mexico. Four years earlier, in 1982, De la Madrid had already expressed admiration for Pino Suárez in his work ''Political Thought'', writing:
Pino Suárez is "The Loyal Gentleman," (''Caballero de la Lealtad'') exemplifying loyalty to Mexico and the Revolution—a quality that remains fully relevant as an indispensable virtue for public servants. Loyalty to the Revolution, loyalty to the interests of the people.
In 1915, the Congress of the State 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 ...
ordered that Pino's birthplace was to be renamed as Tenosique de Pino Suárez. In Villahermosa, the state capital of Tabasco, a statue was erected in his honor. Later, his name was written in golden letters in the assembly hall of the Congress of Tabasco. In Mexico City and Villahermosa, Public library, public libraries bear his name. Similarly, in Mérida, the Yucatán State Archives (''Hemeroteca del Estado José María Pino Suárez'') is also named in his honor. Throughout Mexico, numerous State school, public schools pay tribute to him; in Mexico City, alone, there are five. Throughout the country, several cities have streets named in his honor near the city center. Pancho Villa decided that his memory should be honored in the historic center of Mexico City: on the morning of 8 December 1914, he declared that one of the main thoroughfares leading out of the Zócalo would be named for Pino Suárez; to this date, it remains as Pino Suárez Avenue (''Avenida Pino Suárez''), it is one of the most popular and historically significant streets in the city and was Pedestrian zone, pedestrianised in 2009. The Supreme Court of Justice building is located in this street and is commonly known as Pino Suárez 2. A long-running television program which covers the judicial branch (canal judicial) is also called ''Pino Suárez Dos''. Metro Pino Suárez, one of the most important stations of the Mexico City Metro also bears his name. Over the years, Postage stamp, postage stamps and Coin, currency has been issued bearing his likeness. In 2010, on the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, the Central Bank of Mexico (Banco de México) ordered the minting of a five Mexican peso, peso coin ($5.00) which bore the portrait of José María Pino Suárez. Similar coins were minted bearing the likeness of Francisco I. Madero, Álvaro Obregón, Venustiano Carranza, Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata and other important revolutionary leaders. In 2023, reports indicated that Pino Suárez coins were being sold for as much as 22,000 Mexican peso, Mexican pesos—equivalent to over a thousand United States dollar, U.S. dollars. In 1923, Plutarco Elías Calles, approved the project to build a monument to Madero and Pino Suárez in the Zócalo, the main square in central Mexico City. However, the plan was abandoned after it was criticized on aesthetic grounds. Instead, in 1938, the Monumento a la Revolución, Monument to the Revolution (''Monumento a La Revolución'') was built and is now the site of the National Museum of the Revolution (''Museo Nacional de la Revolución''). In 2013, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his assassination, another statue was built on the site where Pino Suárez had been slained. In 2020, to mark the 107th anniversary of the assassination of Francisco I. Madero and José María Pino Suárez, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated a museum dedicated to their memory within the National Palace (Mexico), National Palace (''Palacio Nacional''). This museum was established at the very site where Madero, Pino Suárez, and General Felipe Ángeles were imprisoned following the 1913 coup, serving as a solemn reminder of their sacrifice and their fight for democracy in Mexico.'''' File:Monumento a José María Pino Suárez.png, alt=, This Statue was erected in the site where José María Pino Suárez was assassinated. Pino Suárez is praised as the Martyr of Democracy. File:Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (México) - fachada del edificio - 1.jpg, alt=, The Supreme Court of Justice building is located in Avenida Pino Suárez 2. File:Villahermosa.Biblioteca Pino Suárez.JPG, alt=, Pino Suárez Public library in Villahermosa, Tabasco. File:JoseMariaPinoSuareztombDoloresDF.JPG, His tomb at the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres.


See also

*Liberalism in Mexico *
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 ...
*List of Vice Presidents of Mexico *
Ten Tragic Days The Ten Tragic Days () is the name given to the multi-day coup d'état during the Mexican Revolution in Mexico City. It was staged by opponents of Francisco I. Madero, the democratically elected president of Mexico, between 9–19 February 191 ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pino Suarez, Jose Maria Pino-Cámara family 1869 births 1913 deaths Mexican democracy activists Liberalism in Mexico Vice presidents of Mexico Secretaries of education of Mexico Governors of Yucatán (state) Presidents of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) People of the Mexican Revolution Mexican revolutionaries 19th-century Mexican lawyers 20th-century Mexican lawyers Mexican journalists Assassinated Mexican journalists Mexican male writers 20th-century Mexican poets 19th-century Mexican educators 20th-century Mexican educators 20th-century Mexican politicians People murdered in 1913 Assassinated Mexican politicians People murdered in Mexico Deaths by firearm in Mexico Candidates in the 1911 Mexican presidential election Progressive Constitutionalist Party (Mexico) politicians People from Tenosique Politicians from Tabasco Mexican people of Spanish descent Leaders ousted by a coup Writers about activism and social change Political prisoners in Mexico Politicians assassinated in the 1910s Burials at the Panteón de Dolores