Pablo González Garza (May 5, 1879 – March 4, 1950) was a general during 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 ...

.Rutas de la Revolucion (Routes of Revolution), Ruta de Pablo González, (last accessed on Feb 1, 2010)

He is considered to be the main organizer of the assassination of

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

.John Womack, Jr., "Zapata and the Mexican Revolution", Vintage Books, 1970, pg. 322-3

Early life

Born in Lampazos de Naranjo,

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, Pablo González grew up in the town of Nadadores,

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

, where his parents owned a store. He was orphaned at six years old.John Womack, Jr., "Zapata and the Mexican Revolution", Vintage Books, 1970, pg. 258 Eventually, he received a scholarship to the Military Academy in Chapultepec but decided not finish his studies. In the early years of the twentieth century he worked in a foundry, on the railroad and for an oil company, in various places in northern Mexico and the southern

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

Early part of Mexican Revolution

In 1907, through his cousin, he met the anarchist Enrique Flores Magón. González participated in

Francisco Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and Public figure, statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in Ten Tragic ...

's insurrection against President

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 ...

in 1911. His forces occupied Monclova and Cuatro Ciénegas for Madero. Subsequently, in 1912, he fought against the rebellion of

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

. Later, after

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 ...

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

against Madero, González fought against Huerta and Orozco in

. While at the time González was considered a rising military star, Orozco beat him in every encounter, which contributed to González eventually becoming known as "the general who never won a victory". This ill reputation followed him in subsequent years.Frank McLynn, "Villa and Zapata", Basic Books, 2000, pg. 138
/ref> In a later interview with Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Carranza stated that "General González commanded the largest forces in the Revolution and he came out of it with the unique honor of having lost every battle in which he was engaged"."Pablo Gonzalez Garza, Instrumental in Emilano Zapata's murder"
/ref>

Under Carranza

Later on he was appointed chief of the Army of the Northeast in the government of

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

and in 1914 occupied

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

and other places for him.Robert L. Scheina, "Latin America's Wars: The age of the professional soldier, 1900-2001", Brassey's, 2003, pg. 23

/ref> González's occupation of Monterrey, along with the Battle of Zacatecas (1914), Battle of Zacatecas, was crucial in Huerta's defeat and subsequent decision to go into exile. At the same time,

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

was appointed to lead the Army of the Northwest, which was a position equivalent to that of González. Since Obregón viewed González as an incompetent general, this contributed to his resentment of Carranza which bore fruit later.Frank McLynn, "Villa and Zapata", Basic Books, 2000, pg. 179

Against the Zapatistas

He was also in charge of pacification of the Zapatista rebellion 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 ...

during the fighting between Emiliano Zapata and Carranza, where he earned a reputation for brutality and ruthlessness. González's manifesto of July 19, 1916, explicitly stated that Morelos civilians, including women and children, who were perceived as supporters of Zapata, were going to be massacred (though officially counted among those who died in battle). In his pacification campaigns, González reinstitute the practice of Victoriano Huerta and Porfirio Diaz of shipping captured peasants to

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

for heavy

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

.Samuel Brunk, "Emiliano Zapata: revolution & betrayal in Mexico", UNM Press, 1995, pg. 190

/ref> To combat González, Zapata provided arms to individual villages, even those not directly under his control, so they could form effective self-defense units. This policy eventually backfired on Zapata since after González left, villagers used the weapons against Zapatista foraging parties, which in turn led to numerous conflicts between the peasants and rebels.Frank McLynn, "Villa and Zapata", Basic Books, 2000, pg. 350 González was mostly successful in suppressing the rebellion in Morelos for a time, due to help from a turncoat Zapatista general, Sidronio Camacho (who had killed Zapata's brother, Eufemio Zapata), who provided him with crucial intelligence. After another revolt in

, led by

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

, González was recalled. Zapata then reclaimed his home state.Frank McLynn, "Villa and Zapata", Basic Books, 2000, pg. 355

Assassination of Zapata

He was the mastermind behind the assassination of Emiliano Zapata, which was carried out by his Colonel, Jesús Guajardo.Enrique Krauze, "Mexico: biography of power : a history of modern Mexico, 1810-1996", HarperCollins, 1998, pg. 302

/ref> In early 1919 disagreements arose between González and Guajardo, and after learning of these, Zapata wrote a letter to Guajardo, asking him to join the Zapatistas. The letter was intercepted by González who blackmailed Guajardo and used it as an opportunity to set up an ambush for Zapata. After making a show of loyalty to Zapata by executing a turncoat Zapatista chief, Victoriano Bárcena, Guajardo arranged a meeting with Zapata at Chinameca Hacienda at which he was supposed to deliver badly needed ammunitions. After Zapata arrived, on April 10, 1919, a guard of honor presented arms to him, but on the third signal of the bugle they opened up fire at point blank range, killing Zapata.

Break with Carranza

In the election of 1920, President Carranza promoted the civilian

Ignacio Bonillas Ignacio Bonillas Fraijo (1 February 1858 – 23 June 1942) was a Mexican diplomat. He was a Mexican ambassador to the United States and held a degree in mine engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was tapped by Presid ...

as his successor, to the great displeasure of his generals, particularly

, who wanted the presidency for himself. After Carranza attempted to arrest him, Obregón led a military revolt. Initially González remained loyal to Carranza. However, most officers in his army supported Obregón, and his ally, Plutarco Calles and vehemently opposed Bonillas. As a result Gonzalez declared his own candidacy for the presidency. In April 1919, Carranza demanded that González drop his election bid and give his full support to Bonillas. On April 30, González officially broke with Carranza, although instead of arresting him and immediately occupying Mexico City (most of the troops in the region supported him), he allowed Carranza to escape to

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 ...

and he himself withdrew to nearby Texcoco.René De La Pedraja Tomán, "Wars of Latin America, 1899-1941", McFarland, 2006, pg. 271

/ref> During the interim presidency of

Adolfo de la Huerta Felipe Adolfo de la Huerta Marcor (; 26 May 1881 – 9 July 1955) was a Mexican politician, the 45th President of Mexico from 1 June to 30 November 1920, following the overthrow of Mexican president Venustiano Carranza, with Sonoran generals ...

, González was accused of treason and sedition and arrested. He was initially sentenced to be executed, but was pardoned and instead went into exile in the US.Frank McLynn, "Villa and Zapata", Basic Books, 2000, pg. 387

Later life

After Obregón's victory over Carranza and then presidency, González returned to Mexico. He retired from active duty and politics and went into business. He was left almost destitute by the collapse of his bank, and died in 1950 in the city of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Garza, Pablo 1879 births 1950 deaths Mexican revolutionaries People of the Mexican Revolution Mexican generals People from Lampazos, Nuevo León Military personnel from Nuevo León 20th-century Mexican military personnel