Porfiriato: Origin and History, Stages, Crisis and End

He porphyria It is the name of the historical period in Mexico during which Porfirio Díaz governed. It comprises between November 28, 1876 and May 25, 1911. Within this stage there were four years, from 1880 to 1884, in which the president was Manuel González, although historians agree that it was Díaz who managed the government .

The undisputed protagonist of all this stage of the history of Mexico was Porfirio Diaz, a military man and politician who managed to reach power after rising up in arms against the government of Lerdo de Tejada. In spite of the fact that before gaining power he advocated non-reelectionism, then he managed to perpetuate himself in power.

In fact, his departure from power was not voluntary, but the result of an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero, considered the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. All the experts point out the chiaroscuro of their management.

On the positive side, the country's economic recovery, industrialization and the modernization of infrastructures. On the negative, this improvement only reached a minority of the population, corruption, authoritarianism and political repression that led to several killings.

Origin of the porphyria

Who was Porfirio Díaz?

The porfiriato can not be understood without knowing the man who made it possible. Porfirio Díaz was born in Oaxaca de Juárez in 1830 and, before taking office, he stood out for his military work.

His participation in the Second French Intervention, especially with the creation of guerrillas that fought the Europeans in the state of Oaxaca, made him well known in his country. Likewise, he was one of the protagonists of the recovery of Mexico City by the Republican Army.

However, the prestige gained did not help him to win the presidential elections to which he presented himself before taking power. These defeats made him rise twice in arms against the elected governments.

Elections of 1867

The fall of Emperor Maximilian made Mexico recover its full sovereignty, without interference from abroad. Benito Juárez held the presidency after the imperial defeat.

The following elections were convened in 1867. Porfirio Diaz decided to appear against Juarez. At that time, Diaz was against presidential re-election. However, Juarez won by a large majority. The defeat affected the military man, who left political life for a time.

Plan of La Noria

When it came time for the elections of 1871, Diaz decided to appear again. Again, Benito Juárez was his rival and this duo was joined by a new opponent: Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada. The result was again favorable to Juarez, leaving Diaz in second position.

However, on this occasion Porfirio did not accept the results and began to recruit supporters, especially among the landowners of his home state. On November 8 of that same year he proclaimed the so-called Plan de La Noria, with which he urged the Mexican military to overthrow Juarez.

At first the rebels' advance was very fast, but then the defeats began.

Extraordinary elections

When the defeat of Diaz seemed inevitable, Benito Juarez died. Lerdo de Tejada assumed the presidency provisionally and Porfirio left the arms to have no longer meaning to continue the fight.

In this way, new elections were called in October 1872. Díaz and Lerdo confronted each other at the polls, resulting in this last winner.

The Revolution of Tuxtepec

History repeated itself in part in the elections of 1876. Lerdo de Tejada announced his candidacy, as did Porfirio Diaz. At the same time, Diaz supporters - still opposed to re-election - began to demonstrate against Lerdo, being violently repressed.

The action of the government forces made Díaz return to take up arms in January 1876. Many soldiers and the Catholic Church supported the so-called Revolution of Tuxtapec.

After almost a year of civil war, the Porfirista side entered the Mexican capital in November. On the 21st of that month, he became the interim president. On May 5 of the following year, and after having finally won an election, Porfirio Díaz became president of Mexico.

History of the porfiriato

First presidential term (1877-1880)

During this first period of Porfirio Diaz in the presidency the politician endeavored to pacify the country; his motto was"order, peace and justice". To achieve this goal he managed to get Congress to give him extraordinary powers and he used the army to finish off the caciques.

In the same way he replaced many military leaders with others of his confidence, to end possible rebellions. In just one year, the measures took effect and the country was pacified.

Presidency of Manuel González (1880 - 1884)

Although in the legislature that lasted from 1880 to 1884 the president of the country was Manuel Gonzalez, the certain thing is that it was Diaz who continued directing to the government.

González was a soldier who had participated with Díaz in the uprising against Lerdo de Tejada. In 1879 he was declared a candidate for the elections and the following year he promised the position.

The highlight during his tenure was the large investment in infrastructure aimed at modernizing the country. Thus, the government promoted the implementation of the railway, as did the telegraph. In the economic sphere, the creation of two large banks stands out, which subsequently merged to form the National Bank of Mexico.

Faced with these aspects, González had to deal with continuous accusations of corruption and a revolution almost broke out against him. Diaz intervened and saved the situation.

25 years of porfiriato (1884 -1911)

Díaz regained the presidency after González's interval. It was in 1884 and he would not leave the post until 1911.

At first, the economic news gave the government many joys and helped maintain peace and stability. Infrastructures continued to grow and mining and agricultural production were boosted.

However, at the same time the discontent was growing. The authoritarianism of Diaz and the inequality in the distribution of the created riches put a good part of the population against him. The performance of the army in the strikes of Cananea and Río Blanco expanded the discontent.

To this must be added the effects of the international economic crisis that arose in 1907, which also affected Mexico. This recession caused the discontent to increase even more. Thus, in 1910, the Mexican Revolution exploded and, after defeating the supporters of Díaz, the Porfiriato was ended.

Stages

Most historians divide the long period of the presidency of Porfirio Díaz (including González's legislature) in three stages:

First stage

This first stage goes from his first election until the decade of the 80. It was a phase in which Diaz tried to stabilize the country and consolidate his government. He formed a trusted team around him and put order and progress as a national goal.

That objective was not without controversy, since the Porfiriato did not hesitate to resort to violence and repression against all its opponents (including the press) to achieve it.

Second stage

This stage reached until the first years of the 20th century. The economy was the main asset of the government. He encouraged the modernization of mining, agriculture and commerce. Million-dollar investments began to arrive from abroad, even if at the expense of, for example, the mining companies being owned by Americans.

The construction of the railroad and of many telephone and telegraphic lines changed communications at the national level.

On the other hand, during this period the authoritarianism of Diaz was increased. Opponents, press and labor leaders were arrested. The most extreme episodes of repression were against the Yaquis and against the strikers of Cananea and Río Blanco.

Third stage

Although there was less and less political opposition and free press, social discontent did not stop growing. In addition, economic growth slowed, which affected many layers of society.

Society during the Porfiriato

The main characteristic of Mexican society during the Porfiriato was the profound inequality that existed within it. Economic stability was achieved, but at the cost of leaving much of the population behind and the suppression of freedom.

On the one hand, Mexico City was consolidated as the cultural and political center of the country. Great architectural works began to appear and the high society enjoyed the culture.

In counterpart, the workers never noticed the economic improvement. Labor exploitation was the norm, whether in the factories or on the haciendas; what they earned was almost not enough to survive. An approximate calculation figure in 860 thousand workers only in the industrial and mining.

Lastly, indigenous peoples also saw their rights diminished. Some of their lands were taken from them and sold to foreign capital.

Government of Porfirio Diaz

The long government of Porfirio Diaz affected all social, economic and political spheres. From education to relations with the Church they were affected by the characteristics of the porfiriato.

Economy

The economic improvement in the first years of the Porfiriato were evident. The country managed to get a surplus and settle the debt with the United States. Likewise, an industrialization took place that left agriculture in the background.

The price to pay was social inequality and the loss of labor rights. The workers of the haciendas or the mining industry had very low salaries, as well as endless long hours. In addition, part of the new industries and land went into foreign hands.

Repression and authoritarianism

Violent repression was widely used, first with the excuse of pacifying the country and, later, to protect the economic system created by the Porfiriato against the protests of the workers.

On the other hand, one of the most pronounced characteristics of this period was the marked authoritarianism and personalism with which Díaz carried out the tasks of government.

church

The previous governments had eliminated many of the historical privileges of the Catholic Church. With Porfirio Díaz this institution regained part of that power.

One of the most important aspects was the possibility of obtaining tithes. The small owners were the most affected by this obligatory payment to the Church.

Education and culture

Education and culture also underwent changes, beginning with the philosophy that sustained them.

These fields were inspired by positivism, very much in vogue at the time. The story and its reflection became a fundamental part in the two fields.

Crisis

In the early twentieth century the porfiriato began to show signs of exhaustion. The social climate, as well as the slowdown in the economy, meant that there were more and more discontents.

The president seemed to show signs of accepting democratic elections. Thus, in a famous interview with the American journalist James Creelman granted in 1908, he affirmed that for the 1910 elections it was possible that an opposition party would be allowed to participate.

These words encouraged the opponents of the regime and began to appear political movements to become parties.

Francisco I. Madero

Among the opponents, Francisco Ignacio Madero, who was in charge of the antiporfiriato movement, stood out. He submitted his candidacy at the beginning of 1910 and his electoral campaign was a real success.

However, Diaz's words were no more than a mirage. When the government realized that Madero could be a very difficult opponent, he began to arrest his supporters and, finally, the candidate himself.

Elections

With this situation, Porfirio wins in the voting. Madero has to go into exile in the United States, from where he launches the San Luis Plan. In his proclamation he does not know Diaz as president and encourages Mexicans to rise up against him. The date chosen for the start of the revolt was November 20.

End of the Porfiriato

Government security forces react to the plan by arresting or killing some of their leaders, such as Aquiles Serdan. However, the uprising was almost general, making great progress in a few months.

In April 2011 almost all the states had active revolutionary groups. The battle of Ciudad Juárez, with the victory of the opposition, makes Diaz begin to consider his resignation. In fact, at the end of May his full government resigned.

Finally, on May 25, with more than 1,000 people demonstrating, the House of Representatives approved the resignation of the president, who ended up having to go into exile. The Porfiriato had ended and the Mexican Revolution began.

References

1. Secretary of National Defense. The Porfiriato. Retrieved from gob.mx
2. Serrano Álvarez, Pablo. Porfirio Díaz and the Porfiriato. Recovered from inehrm.gob.mx
3. Cárdenas Ayala, Elisa. The porfiriato: a historiográfica label. Recovered from scielo.org.mx
4. Department of History, College of Arts. The Porfiriato: The stability and growth Mexico needed. Retrieved from journal.lib.uoguelph.ca
5. Motherearthtravel. The Porfiriato, 1876-1910. Retrieved from motherearthtravel.com
6. Mexicanhistory. Diaz and the Porfiriato 1876-1910. Retrieved from mexicanhistory.org
7. Garner, Paul. Porfirio Diaz. Recovered from books.google.es
8. Tuck, Jim. Democrat to autocrat: The transformation of Porfirio Diaz. Retrieved from mexconnect.com