Porfirio Diaz

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Porfirio Díaz , 1830-1915, Mexican statesman, a mestizo, christened José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz. He gained prominence by supporting Benito Juárez and the liberals in the War of the Reform and in the war against Emperor Maximilian and the French (1861—67). Defeated by Juárez in the presidential election of 1871, Díaz charged fraud and led a revolt against the government, which was not suppressed until after the inauguration of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada . Díaz again lost in the presidential race of 1876. He refused defeat, rose against Lerdo, and gained the presidency. Aside from a brief interregnum from 1880 to 1884 when he handpicked Manuel González as his temporary successor, he remained in power until 1911. His rule was ruthless and ultimately effective. Conspirators were crushed, and banditry was officially eliminated by incorporating marauders into a state police called the rurales. He shrewdly matched interest groups against each other, leaving the president supreme; elections were a mockery. Yet he also sought conciliation with previously hostile sectors, particularly the Catholic Church and the U.S. government. Díaz's policy encouraging foreign investment defused U.S. interventionism and led to U.S. recognition of his regime. Material prosperity under Díaz grew. Roads, railroads, and telegraph lines greatly increased. Díaz was influenced by positivism, the belief in the triumph of science and the scientific method. Positivists such as Jose Ives Limantour (1854-1935), the leader of the Científicos, reformed the fiscal system and gave Mexico financial stability. Mexico became a land of peace and prosperity, ruled in the interest of the few. Díaz sold three quarters of the nation's mineral resources to foreign interests and apportioned millions of acres among friendly hacendados. The peasants, far from obtaining social justice, lost more of their communal lands (see ejido ); half of the entire rural population was bound to debt slavery. Opposition and discontent grew rapidly in the last decade of Díaz's rule. In 1909, Díaz declared his intention to restore democratic rule, yet his fraudulent reelection the following year demonstrated his promises empty, and sparked a revolution headed by Francisco I. Madero . In 1911, Díaz was forced to flee the country; he died in exile.

Bibliography: See studies by J. F. Godoy (1976), J. Coatsworth (1980), and P. J. Vanderwood (1981).

Díaz, (José de la Cruz) Porfirio (b. 15 Sept. 1830, d. 2 July 1915). President of Mexico 1877–80, 1884–1911 Born in Oaxaca de Juárez, the professor of law was in 1867 one of the principal architects of the overthrow of the French-backed Emperor Maximilian (b. 1832, d. 1867). Ten years later he organized a coup in which he declared himself President, after which he ruled for thirty-four years (1880–4 through a puppet president). By quashing all opposition he stabilized a country which had been in almost constant turmoil since independence in 1821. Through his programme of economic liberalization the economy underwent significant transformation. Largely with the help of foreign capital, oil resources were explored, railways built, and mining encouraged. In agriculture, small farmers were bullied into selling their land to large landowners, a measure which increased agricultural efficiency, but which also created tremendous social problems through leaving the majority of all farmers landless by 1910. In addition, economic problems and increased political repression lost him the crucial support of much of the middle classes. His downfall in 1911 was caused by the Mexican Revolution, which was triggered by the opposition of members of the elite led by Francesco I. Madero, and was encouraged by the popular discontent fostered by the failure of the masses to benefit from his economic reforms. He died in exile in Paris.

Díaz, Porfirio (1830–1915) Mexican general and statesman, President (1877–80; 1884–1911). He led a military coup in 1876 and was elected President the following year. During his second term of office he introduced a highly centralized government, backed by loyal mestizos and landowners, which removed powers from rural workers and American Indians. Díaz promoted the development of Mexico's infrastructure and industry, using foreign capital and engineers to build railways, bridges, and mines. Eventually the poor performance of Mexico's economy and the rise of a democratic movement under Francisco Madero (1873–1913) contributed to Díaz's forced resignation and exile in 1911.

Díaz, Porfirio (1830–1915) Mexican statesman, president (1876–80, 1884–1911). After twice failing to unseat President Juárez, he succeeded against Lerdo in 1876. Díaz provided stable leadership for 30 years. Growing opposition crystallized under Francisco Madero in 1911, and Díaz resigned.