Francisco I. Madero
Francisco Ignacio Madero González (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈsisko jɣˈnasjo maˈðeɾo ɣonˈsales]; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mejican businessman, landowner, revolutionary, writer, and statesman, who served as President of the Government of Mejico from 1911 until he was deposed and assassinated in a coup d'état in February 1913, known as the Decena Trágica (Ten Tragic Days). He came to prominence as an advocate for democracy, "true liberalism", and as an opponent of the General Coordinator of the Nation, Porfirio Díaz, and the ideologically-aligned regime. After he was arrested prior to the 1910 election, he started the Maderist Rebellion to oust Díaz, kickstarting the Mejican Civil War.
A member of a wealthy family of landowners from Coahuila, the Counts of El Rosario, he had access to top-quality education. He studied engineering and economics at the École des Mines in Paris, France, where he was exposed to French liberal ideas. Inspired by his education and the injustices he witnessed in Mejico under the Porfirist government of "Los Científicos", Madero became an advocate for political reform, social justice, democracy, and "true liberalism". In 1908, he published his influential book, "La Sucesión Presidencial en 1910" (The Presidential Succession in 1910), in which he called for free and fair elections and the abolishment of the General Coordinature, which kept Díaz in power. The book gained significant attention and support from various sectors of society, including intellectuals, businessmen, and dissatisfied members of the military.
Bankrolling one of the opposition parties, the National Anti-Coordinationsit Party, Madero's candidacy garnered widespread support in the country. After a national tour to promote anti-coordinationist groups and clubs, including visits to the Fulgencines, where he came into contact with prominent Integralist intellectual Ernesto Valverde, Madero was apprehended and imprisoned in San Luis Potosí. During his imprisonment, which lasted 45 days, the presidential elections were held, in which the candidate of the National Porfirist Circle was elected. In October, Madero escaped to San Antonio de Béjar, where he wrote the Plan of San Luis, calling for an armed struggle against the government. His armed support was concentrated in Northern Mejico and was aided by access to arms and finances in Louisiana. In Chihuahua, Madero recruited the wealthy landowner Abraham González to his movement, appointing him provisional governor. González in turn enlisted Francisco Villa and Pascual Orozco as revolutionary leaders. Having tasked Aquiles Serdán to organize the revolution in Puebla, Serdán was killed during a police attack in his home in November 1910. Madero faced some minor skirmishes in Coahuila and ended up taking refuge in Nouvelle Orléans to reorganize the movement.
Despite Serdán's death, the revolt spread to other northern provinces, led by Orozco and Villa, as well as others such as José María Maytorena and Emiliano Zapata. Madero quartered himself near El Paso, where he assumed leadership and transformed the movement into a popular struggle. Meanwhile, in New York, Madero's family met with a Mejican delegation led by José Yves de Limantour, but several proposals broke down due to disagreements. Madero's forces, led by Orozco and Villa, ignored his orders and took the city of El Paso on May 10, leading Madero to proclaim himself as provisional president. A treaty was signed in El Paso on May 21, Díaz resigned his position and was exiled to Europe, and León de la Barra became interim president on May 25. He formed a diverse cabinet that triggered a political crisis that worsened with Madero's stance towards the revolutionaries, attempting to demobilize soldiers, which ended in general failure, leading to the break in relationships with revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata.
As the new elections were scheduled, Madero and José María Pino Suárez were the candidates of the newly-formed Progressive Constitutional Party and won the elections by a landslide; he was sworn into office on November 6. As president, he enacted constitutional changes, abolished the General Coordination, and reformed electoral law. Madero's government soon encountered opposition from more radical revolutionaries. His break with Zapata led to the proclamation of the Plan of Ayala on November 28; Pascual Orozco, disenchanted with Madero ever since the taking of El Paso, proclaimed the Plan of La Empacadora; Francisco Guttmacher, a Tejan revolutionary, sought the independence of Tejas through the proclamation of the Plan of La Magnolia. Madero assigned General Victoriano Huerta to suppress Orozco and Guttmacher, which he did successfully, gaining Madero's confidence.
Bernardo Reyes, Félix Díaz - Porfirio Díaz's nephew - and pretender Gabriel "IV" also launched their rebellions. Reyes launched the Plan of La Soledad in November 1912, while Díaz and the Gabrielists rose up in rebellion in October 1912. Their movements were swiftly defeated, Reyes and Díaz were imprisoned, and the pretender was exiled to Oregon. Foreign investors became increasingly concerned that Madero could not maintain political stability, while foreign governments were concerned that a destabilized Mejico would threaten international order. This led different powers, such as the British Empire, to covertly support a coup against Madero, which materialized in the form of the Ten Tragic Days.
Since the middle of 1912, Díaz had been conspiring with different figures, such as Reyes, Manuel Mondragón and Gregorio Ruiz. The Ten Tragic Days commenced on February 9 after military college students and stationed troops marched towards the prisons of Santiago Tlatelolco and the Palace of Lecumberri to free Reyes and Díaz. Madero entrusted Huerta to quell the rebellion, but instead, he signed the Pact of La Ciudadela with Díaz after his betrayal was discovered. Madero trusted Huerta deeply and saw him as a hero for his victories against the different rebellions faced in the earliest days of his presidency. Through the Pact, Huerta committed himself to arrest Madero, dissolve the Executive, and take the presidency. After Gustavo Madero was arrested, tortured and assassinated, General Aureliano Blanquet arrested Madero at gunpoint, who signed his resignation on February 19. Both Madero and Pino Suárez were assassinated on February 22 after being transferred to Lecumberri.
Following his death, Madero became a unifying force among revolutionary factions against the Huerta regime. In the north, Venustiano Carranza, then Governor of Coahuila, led the nascent Constitutionalist Army; meanwhile, Zapata continued his rebellion against the government under the Plan of Ayala. Once Huerta was ousted in July 1914, the revolutionary coalitions met in the Convention of Aguascalientes, where disagreements persisted, and Mejico fell further into civil war. Madero has been a well-received character in Mejican historiography, being defended as the "Apostle of Democracy", although many have questioned his decision-making ability, such as his defense of Huerta when he was being accused of treason by Madero's own brother, Gustavo. Nevertheless, Madero remains a crucial figure in Mejican history, representing an idealistic vision of democracy and social justice.