Francisco Indalecio Madero

Francisco Indalecio Madero , 1873-1913, Mexican statesman and president (1911-13). A champion of democracy and social reform, he established various humanitarian institutions for the peons on his family's vast estates in Coahuila. In 1908, after Porfirio Díaz announced that Mexico was ready for democracy, Madero published La sucesión presidencial en 1910, a mild protest against the Díaz regime; the book made Madero a national figure. In 1910 he was the Anti-Reelectionist party's presidential candidate, with a program emphasizing effective suffrage and non-reelection. Díaz, at first contemptuous of his opponent, finally imprisoned Madero and won the election, as usual, without difficulty. Madero, released, fled to Texas and there proclaimed a revolution. Returning to Mexico, he found several groups in Chihuahua already in arms. These rebels, some led by Francisco Villa , rallied to Madero's standard. On May 9, 1911, they captured Juárez; the prestige of the government was destroyed. At almost the same time an independent band rose under Zapata in the south. Throughout the republic the movement quickly gathered strength. The revolution triumphed. Díaz resigned on May 25, 1911. Madero, elected president, took office in Nov., 1911. His administration was anything but successful, and he was unable to accomplish any notable reforms because of division among his followers and his own administrative inability. Numerous revolts ensued. In Feb., 1913, an insurrection broke out in the capital. Victoriano Huerta , appointed commander of the government forces, plotted with the rebels for Madero's fall. Pretending to punish the insurgents, Huerta staged a bloody show of force. Finally, after striking a clandestine bargain, he treacherously assassinated Madero's brother, assumed power, and caused Madero's arrest and imprisonment. Madero was shot, supposedly in an attempt to escape.

Bibliography: See biography by S. R. Ross (1955, repr. 1970); C. C. Cumberland, Mexican Revolution: Genesis under Madero (1952, repr. 1969); D. G. LaFrance, The Mexican Revolution in Puebla, 1908-1913 (1988).

Madero, Francisco Indalécio (1873–1913) Mexican statesman. President of Mexico (1911–13), he assumed leadership of the MEXICAN REVOLUTION of 1910. Thwarted in his attempt to unseat the dictator Porfirio DÍAZ, he fled to the USA, from where he organized an armed movement that was unleashed on 20 November 1910. The Díaz dictatorship fell six months later and in the ensuing elections Madero won the Mexican presidency. After putting down five insurrections against him, Madero fell victim to the sixth led by General Victoriano HUERTA in 1913. He was murdered a few days after being deposed.