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Plutarco Elías Calles (born Francisco Plutarco Elías Campuzano; 25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the 47th
President of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...
from 1924 to 1928. After the assassination of
Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 19 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) was a Mexican general, inventor and politician who served as the 46th President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. Obregón was re-elected to the presidency in 1928 but was assassinated b ...
, Elías Calles founded the
Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...
and held unofficial power as Mexico's de facto leader from 1929 to 1934, a period known as the
Maximato The ''Maximato'' was a transitional period in the History of Mexico, historical and political development of Mexico from 1 December 1928 to 1 December 1934. Named after former president Plutarco Elías Calles's sobriquet ''el Jefe Máximo'' (th ...
. Previously, he served as a general in the
Constitutional Army The Constitutional Army (), also known as the Constitutionalist Army (), was the army that fought against the Federal Army, and later, against the Villistas and Zapatistas during the Mexican Revolution. It was formed in March 1913 by Venustia ...
, as
Governor of Sonora List of governors of the Mexican state of Sonora since 1911: *2021–present Alfonso Durazo Morena (political party), MORENA *2015–2021 Claudia Pavlovich Arellano Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI *2009–2015 Guillermo Padré ...
,
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
, and Secretary of the Interior. During the Maximato, he served as Secretariat of Public Education, Secretary of War again, and Secretary of the Economy. During his presidency, he implemented many
left-wing populist Left-wing populism, also called social populism, is a Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideology that combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric often includes elements of anti-elitism, opposition to the E ...
and
secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...
reforms, opposition to which sparked the
Cristero War The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularism, secularist and anti-clericalism, anticler ...
. Born on 25 September 1877 in
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
, Elías Calles fought in
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 ...
's
Constitutional Army The Constitutional Army (), also known as the Constitutionalist Army (), was the army that fought against the Federal Army, and later, against the Villistas and Zapatistas during the Mexican Revolution. It was formed in March 1913 by Venustia ...
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 ...
, which allowed him to rise in politics, joining the cabinets of Presidents Carranza,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
. Obregón selected him as the Laborist Party's candidate in the 1924 election. His campaign was the first
populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
presidential campaign in Mexico's history, as he called for land redistribution and promised equal justice, further
labor rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, the ...
, and democratic governance. He won the election and expanded education, implemented infrastructure projects, and improved public health. After this populist phase (1924–1926) he began to persecute the Catholic Church in Mexico (1926–1928), passing several
anticlerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...
laws that resulted in the
Cristero War The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularism, secularist and anti-clericalism, anticler ...
. He allowed CROM's Luis N. Morones to consolidate unions under the Laborist Party, and launched a failed attempt to cancel the
Bucareli Treaty The Bucareli Treaty (), officially the Convención Especial de Reclamaciones (Special Convention of Claims), was an agreement signed on August 13, 1923 between México and United States. It settled losses by U.S. companies during the Mexican Revol ...
. Obregón still held significant political sway and was Elías Calles's main base of support. Obregón won the 1928 election but was assassinated as president-elect. Elías Calles prevented political instability by founding the
Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...
in 1929. During the presidencies of
Emilio Portes Gil Emilio Cándido Portes Gil (; 3 October 1890 – 10 December 1978) was a Mexican politician, lawyer and diplomat who served as the 48th President of Mexico from 1928 to 1930, one of three to serve out the six-year term of President-elect Gener ...
,
Pascual Ortiz Rubio Pascual Ortiz Rubio (; 10 March 1877 – 4 November 1963) was a Mexican military officer, topographical engineer, diplomat and politician who served as the 49th President of Mexico from 1930 to 1932. He was one of three presidents to serve ou ...
, and Abelardo Rodríguez, Elías Calles served as the
kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a monarchy or royal in their political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious, and military means to influence the ...
of Mexican politics, with only Rodríguez able to assert much true influence. During this period, Elías Calles became more ideologically
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
. In 1934, Elías Calles supported
Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...
for president, but Cárdenas exiled him and many of his allies to implement more socialist reforms. Elías Calles was allowed to return to Mexico in 1941, where he died in 1945. His remains are buried in the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City. Elías Calles is a controversial figure in Mexican history. Supporters have praised his reforms in areas such as health, infrastructure, and public education, as well as his attempts to separate church and state and to prevent political instability in the wake of Obregón's assassination. Detractors have criticized the escalation of the Cristero War, his crackdowns on labor unions, and for continuing to hold onto power after his presidency. The party he founded, including its two subsequent incarnations, established what Peruvian writer
Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...
would describe as "the perfect dictatorship" and ruled Mexico without democratic opposition for much of the twentieth century through a combination of corruption, repression, and electoral fraud.


Early life and career

Born Francisco Plutarco Elías Campuzano, he was one of two natural children of his bureaucrat father, Plutarco Elías Lucero, and his mother, María Jesús Campuzano Noriega. He adopted the Calles surname from his mother's sister's husband, Juan Bautista Calles, as he and his wife, María Josefa Campuzano, raised Plutarco after the death of his mother. His uncle was from a family of school teachers but was himself a small-scale dealer in groceries and alcoholic beverages. Plutarco's uncle was an atheist, and he instilled in his nephew a strong commitment to secular education and an attitude of disdain toward the Roman Catholic Church, which was separated from the state during this time. This was later reflected in his social agenda, which included the expansion of public education and the removal of church influence from education, politics, and unions. Plutarco's father's family was descended from a prominent family in the Provincias Internas, most often recorded as Elías González. The first of this line to settle in Mexico was Francisco Elías González (1707–1790), who emigrated from
La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...
, Spain, to
Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...
, Mexico in 1729. Eventually, Francisco Elías González moved north to Chihuahua, where, as commander of the presidio of Terrenate, he played a role in the wars against the
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 ...
and
Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
. Plutarco Elías Calles's father, Plutarco Elías Lucero, lost his own father, José Juan Elías Pérez, in 1865 to battle wounds sustained during the resistance to the French Intervention, leaving his widow with eight children, of which Plutarco was the oldest.Krauze, ''Mexico'', p. 404. The family's fortunes declined precipitously; it lost or sold much of its land, some of it to the Cananea Copper Company, whose labor practices resulted in a major strike at the turn of the twentieth century. Scholars review that his hardships in his upbringing; like his social status as a natural or "illegitimate" child, being an orphan, and financial and familial troubles; have all influenced his path, and made him hardworking and determined to overcome such challenges as the eldest to care for his family. "To society at large, Plutarco Elías Calles was illegitimate because his parents never married, but he was even more so in the eyes of religion. Denying the authority of religion would at least in part be an attempt to negate his own illegitimacy." As a young man, Calles worked in many different jobs, from bartender to schoolteacher, and always had an affinity for political opportunities.


Before the presidency


Participation in the Mexican Revolution, 1910–1917

Calles was a supporter of Francisco I. Madero, under whom he became a police commissioner, and his ability to align himself with the Constitutionalists led by
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 ...
(the political winners 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 ...
) allowed him to move up the ranks quickly, allowing him to attain the rank of general by 1915. He led the
Constitutional Army The Constitutional Army (), also known as the Constitutionalist Army (), was the army that fought against the Federal Army, and later, against the Villistas and Zapatistas during the Mexican Revolution. It was formed in March 1913 by Venustia ...
in his home state of
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
from this point on. In 1915 his forces repelled the Conventionalist faction in Sonora under José María Maytorena and
Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...
in the Battle of Agua Prieta.Stacy, Lee. ''Mexico and the United States''. Marshall Cavendish Corporation. Tarrytown, New York, 2002. Page 124.


Governor of Sonora

Calles became governor of his home state of Sonora in 1915, building a pragmatic reformist political record, which was to promote the rapid growth of the Mexican national economy, the infrastructure of which he helped to establish. In particular, he attempted to make Sonora a dry state (a state in which alcohol is heavily regulated), promoted education, legislation giving social security and collective bargaining to workers; organized an economic ground for Mexico.


Service in the Carranza administration

In 1919, Calles travelled to Mexico City to take up the post of Secretary of Industry, Commerce, and Labor in the government of President
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 ...
, the leader of the Constitutionalist faction that had won the Mexican Revolution. Calles's position put him in charge of the Mexican economy, which had been devastated by the fighting during the Civil War. The two main sources of production, mining, and agriculture, had been severely affected by the fighting. The key infrastructure of Mexican railways, which had linked many cities and production sites in Mexico to the national market and the United States, had been damaged. The national currency in Mexico had been replaced by paper money issued by revolutionary factions without backing by specie. In response to this, many people used the more stable U.S. paper dollars. The lack of currency meant that in agriculture there was no incentive to produce for the market, which led to food shortages. In addition, malnourished populations are more vulnerable to disease, and Mexico suffered from the Spanish flu pandemic. Calles gained political experience in his months serving in Carranza's government, and his attempt to settle a labor dispute in Orizaba gained him the support of workers there.Buchanau, Jürgen, ''Plutarco Elías Calles and the Mexican Revolution''. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc.2007,


Revolt of the Sonoran generals, 1920

In 1920, he aligned himself with fellow Sonoran revolutionary generals
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 ...
and
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 ...
to overthrow Carranza under the
Plan of Agua Prieta In the history of Mexico, the Plan of Agua Prieta () was a manifesto, or plan, that articulated the reasons for rebellion against the government of Venustiano Carranza. Three revolutionary generals from Sonora, Álvaro Obregón, Plutarco E ...
. Carranza had attempted to choose an unknown 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 ...
, the Mexican ambassador to the U.S. as his successor. Carranza was forced out of power and died escaping, leaving De la Huerta as interim president. De la Huerta then named Calles to the important post of minister of war.


Obregón administration, De la Huerta revolt, election of 1924

Obregón was elected president in 1920 and he named Calles as Secretary of the Interior. During the Obregón presidency (1920–24), Calles aligned himself with organized labor, particularly the
Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers The Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (, CROM) is a federation of labor unions in Mexico, whose power was at its height between 1918 and 1928. CROM was an umbrella organization for both industrial workers as well as agricultural workers ...
(CROM), headed by Luis N. Morones and the Laborist Party, as well as ''agraristas'', radical agrarians. The serious military conflict was resolved in favor of Obregón when the U.S. threw its support to him. Obregón's government had acceded to concessions to U.S. business interests, particularly oil, in the August 1923
Bucareli Treaty The Bucareli Treaty (), officially the Convención Especial de Reclamaciones (Special Convention of Claims), was an agreement signed on August 13, 1923 between México and United States. It settled losses by U.S. companies during the Mexican Revol ...
. Obregón pushed through ratification in the Mexican Congress, and the U.S. then moved decisively. President
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...
sent naval ships to blockade the Gulf Coast to both prevent the rebels from obtaining arms and deliver arms to Obregón's government. Obregón went to war once again and won a decisive victory against his former comrades-in-arms, 14 of whom were summarily executed. Calles's candidacy was supported by labor and peasant unions. The Laborist Party which supported his government in reality functioned as the political-electoral branch of the powerful
Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers The Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (, CROM) is a federation of labor unions in Mexico, whose power was at its height between 1918 and 1928. CROM was an umbrella organization for both industrial workers as well as agricultural workers ...
(CROM), led by Luis N. Morones. Morones had a national reputation as a labor leader and had allied with
Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 11, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's ...
, head of the
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...
, a moderate craft union organization. In 1916 Gompers and Morones put pressure on the Mexican and U.S. governments, which were heading toward war. In Mexico, Morones was credited with aiding the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Mexico sent by U.S. president
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
. CROM's support for Calles was important for his election. Although the labor movement in Mexico was factionalized, CROM was a staunch supporter of Obregón and Calles. In 1924, Calles won the election. Shortly before his inauguration, Calles had traveled to Germany and France to study
social democracy Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
and the labor movement and he drew comparisons to Mexico. His international travel gave him a perspective beyond the Mexican context. He particularly admired the infrastructure and industry in Germany, as well as the strides that a strong organized labor movement had made. He also observed the power of populist rhetoric to build support.Buchenau, ''Plutarco Elías Calles'',


Presidency, 1924–1928

Calles's inauguration was a great state occasion, with some 50,000 spectators. His predecessor, Obregón, was present for the first peaceful transfer of presidential power since 1884 when
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 ...
succeeded Manuel González. Workers from the CROM, headed by Luis Morones and the Laborist Party of Mexico displayed banners. The release of balloons and doves figured in the spectacle. The De la Huerta rebellion had thinned the ranks of the military. Although Calles was president, he remained in the shadow of Obregón, who had powerful allies in the military and among state governors and the Congress. The contrast between Calles and Obregón was in personality and level of power. "To many, Calles appeared Obregón's creation, a caretaker president who would return power to the caudillo upon the conclusion of his term." Calles sought to build his own power base. He launched a reform program that was modeled on the one in Sonora. It intended to promote economic development, professionalize the army, and promote social and educational welfare. He relied on worker and peasant organizations to support his consolidation of power, particularly Luis N. Morones of the CROM.


Labor

Morones was appointed to a cabinet position as Secretary of Industry, Commerce, and Labor at the same time that he retained leadership in the CROM. In that position, Morones was able to advance his organization at the expense of rivals. Some independent unions and more radical were forced into the umbrella of the moderate CROM. Wage increases and betterment of working conditions were evidence that Calles sought to implement Article 123 of the
Mexican Constitution 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 ...
, embedding labor rights. The number of labor strikes decreased precipitously during the Calles administration. When railway workers struck in 1926, Morones sent scabs to break the strike. In 1925, all federal civil servants became eligible for funeral aid, disability, seniority, old age and survivors’ pensions, together with protection against occupational hazards. This was followed a year later with the introduction a social security system for the military.In 1926, a social security system for the military was set up.


Agriculture

In 1926, legislation was enacted with the purpose of establishing a system of channelling credit to all farmers throughout Mexico.


Finance

During the Calles presidency, he relied on the financial acumen of his secretary of the treasury, Alberto J. Pani, a loyalist of Obregón, and served in his cabinet. Pani's classical liberal policies of a balanced budget and stable currency helped restore foreign investors' confidence in Mexico. Pani advised the founding of several banks in support of campesinos, but more importantly, the
Banco de México The Bank of Mexico (), abbreviated ''BdeM'' or ''Banxico,'' is Mexico's central bank, monetary authority and lender of last resort. The Bank of Mexico is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to achieve stability in th ...
, Mexico's national bank. Pani also managed to achieve
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
of part of Mexico's foreign debt. After coming into conflict with Calles, Pani resigned in 1927.


Military

The military continued to be very top-heavy with revolutionary generals and the army allocated a third of the national budget. Generals had participated in the De la Huerta rebellion in 1923, which cleared the way for Calles's candidacy. Obregón awarded loyalists following that revolt. The military continued to be a potential interventionist force in Mexican politics, with generals presuming that they could rise to the presidency. Calles sought to professionalize the army and decrease its share of the national budget, putting Joaquín Amaro in charge of implementing major changes. Many generals had achieved their status as battlefield promotions. The Calles administration called for a change in the law regulating the military, mandating that officers must have professional training to rise in rank. The administration also aimed to decrease corruption by severely penalizing it. Further control was a mandatory retirement age for officers. The most powerful generals were not reined in by such provisions, but Amaro managed to get some cooperation with their enforcement of regulations on subordinates. The Colegio Militar was reformed under Amaro and remained a hope for the improvement of officers.


Infrastructure

Since 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 ...
, railroads have been important to economic development and exerting political control over more remote areas. Fighting during the Revolution damaged railways, so rebuilding had been ongoing since the end of the military phase. Calles privatized the railways and a line was built to connect Sonora, Calles's home state, and Mexico City.Buchenau, ''Plutarco Elías Calles'', p. 121. Even more important, during his presidency, Calles began what became a major infrastructure project to build a road network in Mexico that linked major cities and small villages to the network. He established the National Road Commission as a government agency, envisioning it as a way to increase economic activity by getting crops to market more efficiently, but also as a means to increase the presence of the state in remote communities. Unlike the nineteenth-century railway network, funded by foreign capital and foreign firms, Mexican road construction depended on federal government support and had limited dependence on foreign technology. Mexicans formed road-building companies, most prominently in northern Mexico with revolutionary general
Juan Andreu Almazán Juan Andreu Almazán (May 12, 1891 – October 9, 1965) was a Mexican revolutionary general, politician and businessman. He held high posts in the Mexican Army in the 1920s and ran for the presidency of Mexico in 1940 in a highly disputed electi ...
, in the 1920s charge of the military in Nuevo León, forming the Anáhuac Construction Company, making him a wealthy man. This extensive infrastructure project "connected the country, increasingly linking people from different regions and towns to national political, economic, and cultural life." Work began on the Mexican section of the
Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...
, linking
Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, Texas, Laredo, United States. The 2010 census popula ...
at the U.S.-Mexico border to Tapachula on the Mexico-Guatemala border. Road building was financed internally with a gasoline tax.


Education

Education had been an important part of Obregón's administration, particularly under
José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexicans, Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial pers ...
. Calles was able to devote more government funding to rural education and added two thousand schools to the thousand that his predecessor had established. A key aim of rural education was to integrate Mexico's indigenous population into the nation-state, so Spanish-language instruction was an integral aspect of public education. Along with turning rural indigenous into Spanish speakers, education aimed to create a loyal and patriotic citizenry. Secretary of Education José Manuel Puig Cassauranc developed education materials lauding the accomplishments of Sonorans Obregón and Calles as heirs to the Revolution. The Secretariat of Public Education, based in the capital and controlled by urban intellectuals, could not command rural residents and public school teachers to adhere to the program, so on-site, there was a kind of negotiation about how education was shaped.


Public health

After the Revolution, public health in Mexico was not in a good state, but it had not been particularly good even during the Porfiriato. The Calles administration sought to improve health and hygiene since the health of citizens was considered important to economic development. He gave the issue prominence by creating a cabinet-level position in public health. The ministry was in charge of promoting vaccination against communicable diseases, improving potable water access, sewage and drainage systems, and inspecting restaurants, markets, and other food providers. A new 1926 sanitary code ordered mandatory vaccination and empowered the government to implement other measures for sanitation and hygiene. Also part of the program was the mandatory registration of prostitutes.


Civil law

Calles changed Mexico's
civil code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property law, property, family law, family, and law of obligations, obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdiction ...
to give natural (illegitimate) children the same rights as those born of married parents, partly as a reaction against the problems he himself often had encountered being a child of unmarried parents. According to false rumors, his parents had been
Syrians Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine Arabic, Levantine and Mesopotamian Arabic, Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The culture of Syria, cultural ...
or Turks, giving him the nickname ''El Turco'' (The Turk). His detractors drew comparisons between Calles and the "Grand Turk", the anti-Christian leaders from the era of the
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
. In order not to draw too much attention to his unhappy childhood, Calles chose to ignore those rumors rather than to fight them. Another important legal innovation in Calles's presidency was the Law of Electrical Communications (1926), which asserted the radio airwaves as being under government regulation. Radio stations had to comply with government regulations, which included constraints on religious or political messages, and had to broadcast government announcements without cost. Although in the 1920s, there were relatively few people owning radios, the regulations were an important assertion of state power. During the Lázaro Cárdenas presidency (1934–40), state control over broadcasts expanded further.


Petroleum and U.S.-Mexico relations

One of the major points of contention with the U.S. was oil. Calles quickly rejected the Bucareli Agreements of 1923 between the U.S. and Mexico, when
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 president, and began drafting a new oil law that would strictly enforce article 27 of the Mexican constitution. The oil problem stemmed from Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution of 1917, which re-stated a law of Spanish origin that made everything under the soil property of the state. The language of Article 27 threatened the oil possession of U.S. and European oil companies, especially if the article was applied retroactively. A Mexican Supreme Court decision had ruled that foreign-owned fields could not be seized as long as they were already in operation before the constitution went into effect. The Bucareli Agreements stated that Mexico would agree to respect the Mexican Supreme Court decision in exchange for official recognition from Washington of the presidency of Álvaro Obregón. The reaction of the U.S. government to Calles's intention to enforce Article 27 was swift. The American ambassador to Mexico branded Calles a communist, and Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg issued a threat against Mexico on 12 June 1925. Calles never considered himself a communist; he considered revolution a way of governing rather than an ideological position. Public opinion in the United States turned particularly anti-Mexican when the first embassy of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in any country was opened in Mexico. On that occasion, the Soviet ambassador remarked that "no other two countries show more similarities than the Soviet Union and Mexico." After this, some in the United States government, considering Calles's regime
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
, started to refer to Mexico as "Soviet Mexico". The debate on the new oil law occurred in 1925, with U.S. interests opposing all initiatives. By 1926, the new law was enacted. In January 1927 the Mexican government canceled the permits of oil companies that would not comply with the law. Talks of war circulated by the U.S. president and in the editorial pages of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Mexico managed to avoid war through a series of diplomatic maneuvers. Soon afterward, a direct telephone link was established between Calles and President
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...
, and the U.S. ambassador to Mexico,
James R. Sheffield James Rockwell Sheffield (August 13, 1864 – September 2, 1938) was an American attorney and Republican political figure who served in the New York State Assembly and was United States Ambassador to Mexico, Ambassador to Mexico during the admin ...
, was replaced with
Dwight Morrow Dwight Whitney Morrow (January 11, 1873October 5, 1931) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician, best known as the U.S. ambassador who improved U.S.–Mexico relations, mediating the religious conflict in Mexico known as the Crister ...
. Morrow won the Calles government over to the United States position and helped negotiate an agreement between the government and the oil companies. Another source of conflict with the United States was Mexico's support for the liberals in the civil war in
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
, as the United States supported the conservatives. This conflict ended when both countries signed a treaty in which they allowed each other to support the side they considered to be the most democratic.


Church-state conflict

According to historian Robert Weis:
Against claims that revolutionaries sought to destroy the church, officials insisted that they pursued the rule of law. During his presidential campaign, Calles clarified that he was not an "enemy of religion"; he approved of "all religious beliefs because econsider dthem beneficial for the moral progress that they encompass." He was, however, an enemy of "the political priest, the scheming priest, the priest as exploiter." This position of lauding religion while inveighing against earthly ecclesiastic machinations was central...to the justification of the anticlerical campaign in general. As president, Calles expressed determination to enforce the laws of the 1917 constitution that mandated secular education, banned foreign priests as well as confessional political parties and newspapers, nationalized all church properties, and granted local governments the authority to limit the number of priests.
Calles had implemented several reforms in the first two years of his presidency (1924–26) benefiting workers and peasants. In this, he followed the pattern of his predecessor, Obregón. However, in the second two years of his presidency and into his post-presidency, Calles precipitated a major conflict between the Mexican government, the
Roman Catholic Church in Mexico The Mexican Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Mexico, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, his Curia in Rome, and the national Mexican Episcopal Conference. According to the Mexican census, ...
as an institution, and Mexican Catholics. Calles did not recognize the freedom to join the church. During his term as president, he moved to enforce the anticlerical articles of the Constitution of 1917, which led to a violent and lengthy conflict known as the Cristero Rebellion or the
Cristero War The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularism, secularist and anti-clericalism, anticler ...
, which was characterized by reprisals and counter-reprisals. The Mexican government violently persecuted the clergy, massacring suspected Cristeros and their supporters. The conflict ended in 1929 with the mediation of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico,
Dwight Morrow Dwight Whitney Morrow (January 11, 1873October 5, 1931) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician, best known as the U.S. ambassador who improved U.S.–Mexico relations, mediating the religious conflict in Mexico known as the Crister ...
with the Mexican government and the Vatican. On 14 June 1926, President Calles enacted anticlerical legislation known formally as The Law Reforming the Penal Code and unofficially as the
Calles Law The Calles Law (), or Law for Reforming the Penal Code (''ley de tolerancia de cultos'', "law of worship tolerance"), was a statute enacted in Mexico in 1926, under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles, to enforce restrictions against the C ...
.Joes, Anthony James
''Resisting Rebellion: The History and Politics of Counterinsurgency''
p. 70 (2006 University Press of Kentucky), .
Calles's
anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...
actions included outlawing religious orders, preventing corruption from the Church.Tuck, Jim
"THE CRISTERO REBELLION – PART 1"
Mexico Connect, 1996.
However, Catholic antipathy towards Calles was enhanced because of his vociferous anti-Catholicism. In response to the government's enforcement of anticlerical laws, the Catholic Church called for a clerical strike, which entailed ceasing to celebrate Mass, baptize children, sanctify marriage, and perform rituals for the dead. The clerical strike went on for three years. Due to Calles's strict enforcement of anti-clerical laws, people in strongly Catholic areas, especially the states of
Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
,
Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...
,
Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...
,
Colima Colima, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima, is among the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima is a small state of western Mexico on the cen ...
and
Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...
, began to oppose him, and on 1 January 1927, a war cry went up from the faithful Catholics, "''¡Viva Cristo Rey!''", long live Christ the King! Almost 100,000 people on both sides died in the war. A truce was negotiated with the assistance of U.S. ambassador Dwight Morrow in which the Cristeros agreed to lay down their arms. Particularly offensive to Catholics after the truce was Calles's insistence on a complete state monopoly on education, taking away focus from the Catholic education and introducing secular education in its place, saying: "We must enter and take possession of the consciences of the children, of the consciences of the young, because they do belong, and should belong to the revolution." The effects of Calles's policy on the Church were between 1926 and 1934. At least 4,000 priests were killed or expelled; one of the most famous was the
Jesuit 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 ...
Miguel Pro José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez, also known as Blessed Miguel Pro, SJ (January 13, 1891 – November 23, 1927) was a Mexican Jesuit priest executed under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles on the false charges of bombing and at ...
. Where there had been 4,500 priests in Mexico before the rebellion, in 1934 there were only 334 priests licensed by the government to serve fifteen million people, the rest having been eliminated by emigration, expulsion, execution, and assassination. By 1935, seventeen states had no priests at all. The conflict weakened Calles politically, and that weakness paved the way for Alvaro Obregón to return to the presidency in the 1928 election.


1928 election

Obregón ran unopposed in the 1928 presidential election. He was able to stand as a candidate despite having served as president before. Under Calles's administration in 1926, a constitutional change was passed that allowed for a non-consecutive re-election, and in 1928 Obregón was elected as Calles's successor; this amendment was later repealed in 1934. In addition, Mexico passed an amendment to the constitution in 1927 that expanded a presidential term from four years to six years.


Post-presidency


Attempted arrest in Texas

In December of 1929, District Attorney John Valls of
Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villag ...
, sent a telegram to US secretary of state
Henry Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and Demo ...
notifying the federal government of Valls's intent to arrest Calles on a warrant for the 1922 murder of
Lucio Blanco Lucio Blanco (July 21, 1879 – June 1922) was a Mexican military officer and revolutionary, noteworthy for his participation in the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1920. Biography Lucio Blanco was born on July 21, 1879, in Nadadores, Coahuila. H ...
. Stimson replied that the government would take any steps necessary to guarantee Calles's diplomatic protections, including armed force; Calles was escorted across the border back into Mexico by US marines without incident, though Valls promised that "the day of reckoning was only postponed." In protest of this treatment, the Mexican consulate in Laredo was closed, restricting the flow of tourists and merchandise during the holiday season. The consulate was reopened in January after pressure from President Hoover and the Chamber of Commerce led Texas governor Moody and Laredo city officials to offer assurances that Mexican citizens would not be unlawfully molested.


Founding a new party and the ''Maximato'' 1929–1934

President-elect Obregón was murdered by
José de León Toral José de León Toral (December 23, 1900 – February 9, 1929) was a Mexican Roman Catholic who assassinated General Alvaro Obregón, then- president elect of Mexico, in 1928. Early life León Toral was born in Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, ...
, a Catholic militant, before he could assume power. Calles was ineligible to return to the presidency, but he took steps to avoid a political vacuum.
Emilio Portes Gil Emilio Cándido Portes Gil (; 3 October 1890 – 10 December 1978) was a Mexican politician, lawyer and diplomat who served as the 48th President of Mexico from 1928 to 1930, one of three to serve out the six-year term of President-elect Gener ...
was appointed temporary president, while Calles created a new political party, the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), the predecessor of today's
Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...
(, PRI). The period that Obregón had been elected to serve, between 1928 and 1934, was when Calles was requested to come in as an advisor but was instead considered the ''Jefe Máximo'', the "maximum chief," and the power behind the presidency; and was a title he never used for himself. The period is known as the ''
Maximato The ''Maximato'' was a transitional period in the History of Mexico, historical and political development of Mexico from 1 December 1928 to 1 December 1934. Named after former president Plutarco Elías Calles's sobriquet ''el Jefe Máximo'' (th ...
'' (1928–1934), with many regarding Emilio Portes Gil,
Pascual Ortiz Rubio Pascual Ortiz Rubio (; 10 March 1877 – 4 November 1963) was a Mexican military officer, topographical engineer, diplomat and politician who served as the 49th President of Mexico from 1930 to 1932. He was one of three presidents to serve ou ...
, and Abelardo Rodríguez as puppets of Calles. Officially, after 1929, Calles served as minister of war as he continued to suppress corruption. Still, a few months later, after the intervention of the United States ambassador
Dwight Morrow Dwight Whitney Morrow (January 11, 1873October 5, 1931) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician, best known as the U.S. ambassador who improved U.S.–Mexico relations, mediating the religious conflict in Mexico known as the Crister ...
, the Mexican government and the Cristeros signed a peace treaty. During the Maximato, Calles served as Minister of Industry and Commerce. After a large demonstration in 1930, the
Mexican Communist Party The Mexican Communist Party (, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its name to the ''Mexican Communist ...
was banned, Mexico stopped its support for the rebels of César Sandino in Nicaragua, strikes were no longer tolerated, and the government ceased re-distributing lands to poorer peasants. Calles was the candidate of the workers and all for helping those in need of work, campaigning against competing labor organizers, but still opposed and suppressed Communism. By the summer of 1933, two of Calles's former wartime subordinates had risen to the top of the party: Manuel Pérez Treviño and
Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...
. Calles mentored Treviño and supported him to be the party's nominee at the time, teaching his experiences and policies, but soon yielded to pressure from party officials and agreed to support Cárdenas—a former revolutionary general, governor of Michoacán, and popular land reformer—as the PNR's presidential candidate in the 1934 Mexican Presidential election. By this time, the PNR had become so entrenched that Cárdenas' victory was a foregone conclusion; he won with almost 98 percent of the vote.


End of the ''Maximato'' and exile

Cárdenas had been associated with Calles for over two decades; he had joined Calles's army in Sonora in 1915. For that reason, Calles and his allies trusted Cárdenas, and Calles believed he could work with Cárdenas as he had with his predecessors. Cárdenas soon asserted himself as an independent. Conflicts between Calles and Cárdenas arose not long after Cárdenas was sworn in. Calles opposed Cárdenas's support for labor unions, especially his tolerance and support for strikes, while Cárdenas opposed Calles's view. Cárdenas started to isolate Calles politically, removing the ''callistas'' from political posts and exiling many of his political allies: Tomás Garrido Canabal, Fauto Topete,
Emilio Portes Gil Emilio Cándido Portes Gil (; 3 October 1890 – 10 December 1978) was a Mexican politician, lawyer and diplomat who served as the 48th President of Mexico from 1928 to 1930, one of three to serve out the six-year term of President-elect Gener ...
, Saturnino Cedillo, Aarón Sáenz, Nicolás Rodríguez Carrasco,
Pascual Ortiz Rubio Pascual Ortiz Rubio (; 10 March 1877 – 4 November 1963) was a Mexican military officer, topographical engineer, diplomat and politician who served as the 49th President of Mexico from 1930 to 1932. He was one of three presidents to serve ou ...
and finally Calles himself. Calles and head of the labor organization CROM, Luis N. Morones, one of the last remaining influential ''callistas'' and one-time Minister of Agriculture, were charged with conspiring to blow up a railroad and placed under arrest under the order of President Cárdenas. These were false accusations, framing Calles to exile him. Calles was deported to the United States on 9 April 1936 along with the three last highly influential ''callistas'' in Mexico—Morones, Luis León (leader of the Radical Civic Union in Mexico), and General Rafael Melchor Ortega (one-time Governor of
Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...
). His son Alfredo and his secretary were also exiled. In exile in the United States, Calles was with family and lived in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. During this time, he also befriended
José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexicans, Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial pers ...
, the Mexican philosopher who had previously been a political enemy.


Return from exile and final years

With the Institutional Revolutionary Party now firmly in control and in the spirit of national unity, President
Manuel Ávila Camacho Manuel Ávila Camacho (; 24 April 1897 – 13 October 1955) was a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the president of Mexico from 1940 to 1946. Despite participating in the Mexican Revolution and achieving a high rank, he cam ...
(1940–1946) allowed Calles to return to Mexico under the reconciliation policy of Cárdenas's successor in 1941. He spent his last years quietly 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 ...
and
Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...
. Back in Mexico, Calles's political position became more moderate; in 1942, he supported Mexico's declaration of war upon the
Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
. Upon his return to Mexico, he became interested in
spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...
, attending weekly sessions at the Mexican Circle of Metapsychic Investigations, and coming to profess belief "in a Supreme Being".Krauze, Enrique. ''Mexico: Biography of Power'' p. 436. He died in Mexico City at 14:20 CST (20:20 GMT) on 19 October 1945, at age 68, of a
hemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, ...
after surviving surgery earlier that week.


Personal life

Calles married Natalia Chacón (1879–1927) and the marriage produced 12 children. Rodolfo Elías Calles (1900–1965), governor of Sonora 1931–34; Plutarco Elías Calles Chacón("Aco"), (1901–1976), governor of Nuevo León 1929; Bernardina (died in infancy); Natalia (1904–1998); Hortensia ("Tencha") (1905–1996); Ernestina ("Tinina") (1906–1984); Elodia (1908), died in infancy; María Josefina (1910), died in infancy; Alicia (1911–1988); Alfredo (1913–1988); Artemisa (1915–1998); and Gustavo (1918–1990). After his first wife's death in 1927, he married a young woman from Yucatán, Leonor Llorente, who died of a brain tumor in 1932 at age 29. Calles's own health was not good over his lifetime, and in his later years deteriorated. His problems date from the winter of 1915 when he came down with a rheumatic ailment, likely from extended periods outdoors in sub-freezing temperatures. He also experienced stomach problems and insomnia. The death of his wife Natalia in 1927 was a severe blow personally. Although he remarried in 1930, his second wife Leonor died soon afterwards.


Legacy

Calles's main legacy was the pacification of Mexico, ending the violent era 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 ...
through the creation of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR)—known today as the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI)—which governed Mexico until 2000 and returned to power for one term in the elections of 2012. Calles's legacy remains controversial today, but within the PRI it has undergone a re-appraisal. His remains were moved from their original resting place to be interred in the Monument to the Revolution, joining other major figures, Madero, along with Carranza, Villa, and Cárdenas who in life were his political opponents. For many years, the presidency of Cárdenas was touted as the revival of the ideals of the Revolution, but increasingly the importance of Calles as the founder of the party that brought political stability to Mexico has been recognized. When the son of Lázaro Cárdenas broke with the PRI in 1988, the party leadership began to acknowledge Calles' contributions and leadership as the party's founder. In 1990, a monument to Calles was erected that commemorated his September 1928 speech declaring the end of the age of ''
caudillos A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it is often used interchangeably with " mil ...
''. His speech was made in the aftermath of Obregón's assassination and as the political solution to violence at presidential successions was being resolved by the party he brought into being. He is honored with statues in Sonoyta, Hermosillo, and his hometown of Guaymas. The official name of the municipality of Sonoyta is called Plutarco Elías Calles Municipality in his honor. For his actions that portray him as anti-clerical, Calles was denounced by
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
(r. 1922–1939) in the
encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...
'' Iniquis afflictisque'' (''On the Persecution of the Church in Mexico'') as being "unjust", for a "hateful" attitude and for the "ferocity" of the war which he waged against the Church.''Iniquis afflictisque'', 12, 15, 19–20.


See also

* List of heads of state of Mexico *
History of democracy in Mexico Democracy in Mexico dates to the establishment of the First Mexican Republic, federal republic of Mexico in 1824. After a long history under the Spanish Empire (1521–1821), Mexico Mexican War of Independence, gained its independence in 1821 ...
*
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 ...
* Sonora in the Mexican Revolution


References


Further reading

* Aguilar Camín, Héctor. "The Relevant Tradition: Sonoran Leaders in the Revolution." in ''Caudillo and Peasant in the Mexican Revolution''. D. A. Brading, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1980. * Brown, Lyle C. "The Calles-Cárdenas Connection." in ''Twentieth-Century Mexico''. W. Dirk Raat and William H. Beezley, ed. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 1986, pp. 146–58. * Buchenau, Jürgen. ''Plutarco Elias Calles and the Mexican Revolution'' (Denver: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006). * Buchenau, Jürgen, and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. “Plutarco Elías Calles and Revolutionary-Era Populism in Mexico.” in ''Populism in Twentieth Century Mexico: The Presidencies of Lázaro Cárdenas and Luis Echeverría,'' edited by Amelia M. Kiddle and María L. O. Muñoz, (U of Arizona Press, 2010), pp. 38–57
online
* Dulles, John W.F. ''Yesterday in Mexico: A Chronicle of the Revolution, 1919–1936''. Austin: University of Texas Press 1961. * Krauze, Enrique, ''Mexico: Biography of Power''. New York: HarperCollins 1997. * Lucas, Jeffrey Kent. ''The Rightward Drift of Mexico's Former Revolutionaries: The Case of Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama''. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2010. * Weis, Robert. "The Revolution on Trial: Assassination, Christianity, and the Rule of Law in 1920s Mexico." ''Hispanic American Historical Review'' (May 2016), 96#2, pp.319-353. * Young, Julia G. "The Calles Government and Catholic Dissidents: Mexico's Transnational Projects of Repression, 1926-1929." ''The Americas'' 70.1 (2013): 63-91
online


In Spanish

* Buchenau, Jürgen. ''Calles y el movimiento liberal en Nicaragua''. Boletín 9. Mexico: Fideicomiso Archivos Plutarco ElíasCalles y Fernando Torreblanca 1992. *Castro Martínez, Pedro. ''De la Buerta y Calles: Los límites politicos de la Amistad'', Boletín 23. Mexico City: FAPEC 1996. * Horn, James. "El embajador Sheffield contra el presidente Calles." ''Historia Mexicana'' 20, no. 2 (oct 1970): 265–84. * José Valenzuela, Georgette E. ''La campaña presidencial de 1923–1924 en México'', Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de la Revolución Mexicana, 1998. *José Valenzuela, Georgette E. ''El relevo del caudillo: De cómo y por qué Calles fue candidato presidencial''. Mexico City: El Caballito 1982. * José Valenzuela, Georgette E. "El viaje de Plutarco Elías Calles como president electo por Europa y Estados Unidos." Revista Mexicana de Sociología 57, no. 3 (1995): 191–210. * Krauze, Enrique. ''Reformar desde el origen: Plutarco Elias Calles''. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica 1987. * Kubli, Luciano. ''Calles y su gobierno: Ensayo biográfico''. Mexico City 1931. * Loyo Camacho, Martha Beatriz. ''Plutarco Elias Calles desde su exilio''. Boletín 45. Mexico City: Archivo Fideicomiso Plutarco Elias Calles y Fernando Torreblanca 2004. * Macías, Carlos. ''Plutarco Elías Calles; Pensamiento Político y Social. Antología (1913-1936)''. Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1988. * Richard, Macías Carlos. ''Vida y Temperamento: Plutarco Elías Calles, 1877-1920''. Instituto Sonorense de Cultura, 1995. * ''Plutarco Elías Calles: Correspondencia Personal 1919-1945.'' Ed. FCE, Miguel Ángel Porrúa, Instituto Sonorense de Cultura, Fideicomiso Archivos Plutarco Elías Calles y Fernando Torreblanca, LXI Legislatura Cámara de Diputados, 2010.


External links


''Mexico Before the World'' by Plutarco Elías Calles at archive.org
* Wedding of Fernando Torreblanca y Hortensia Elías Calles, daughter of Plutarco Elías Calles. On August 7, 1922, the civil ceremony took place in the Hacienda de La Hormiga and the religious ceremony took place in the Church and former convent of Santa Brígida located in Mexico City in the footage Plutarco Elías Calles can be seen in the ''Cineteca Nacional'' National Film Archives of México
Youtube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel


''El General''
film on '' P.O.V.'' on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
(US) co-presented by Latino Public Broadcasting; 20 July 2010. Filmmaker Natalia Almada works from audio recordings made by her grandmother about Calles, Almada's great-grandfather, relating history to the present in Mexico
trailer
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calles, Plutarco Elias 1877 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Mexican politicians 20th-century presidents of Mexico Candidates in the 1924 Mexican presidential election Cristero War Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Laborist Party (Mexico) politicians Mexican anti-communists Mexican atheists Mexican generals Mexican people of Spanish descent Secretaries of defense of Mexico Secretaries of economy of Mexico Secretaries of education of Mexico Secretaries of finance of Mexico Secretaries of the interior of Mexico Mexican spiritualists People from Guaymas People from Sonora People of the Mexican Revolution Politicians from Sonora