Manuel Ávila Camacho (; 24 April 1897 – 13 October 1955) was a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the
President of Mexico
The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the ...
from 1940 to 1946. Despite participating in the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
and achieving a high rank, he came to the presidency of Mexico because of his direct connection to General
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.
Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the Me ...
and served him as a right-hand man as his Chief of his General Staff during the Mexican Revolution and afterwards. He was called affectionately by Mexicans "The Gentleman President" ("El Presidente Caballero"). As president, he pursued "national policies of unity, adjustment, and moderation." His administration completed the transition from military to civilian leadership, ended confrontational anticlericalism, reversed the push for socialist education, and restored a working relationship with the US during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
Early life
Manuel Ávila was born in
Teziutlán
Teziutlán is a city in the northeast of the Mexican state of Puebla. Its 2005 census population was 60,597. It also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding Teziutlán Municipality. The municipality has an area of 84.2 km2 (32.51 ...
, a small but economically important town in
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
, to middle-class parents, Manuel Ávila Castillo and Eufrosina Camacho Bello. His older brother,
Maximino Ávila Camacho
Maximino Ávila Camacho (1891 in Teziutlán, Puebla – 1945 in Mexico City) was a Constitutionalist Army officer in the Mexican Revolution and afterwards politician who served as governor of Puebla from 1937 to 1941 and as secretary of P ...
, was a more dominant personality. There were several other siblings, among them a sister, María Jovita Ávila Camacho, and several brothers. Two of his brothers, Maximino Ávila Camacho and Rafael Ávila Camacho, served as
governors of Puebla
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of politica ...
.
Manuel Ávila Camacho did not receive a university degree although he studied at the
National Preparatory School
The Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ( en, National Preparatory High School) (ENP), the oldest senior High School system in Mexico, belonging to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), opened its doors on February 1, 1868. It was founded ...
.
Early career
He joined the revolutionary army in 1914 as a second lieutenant and reached the rank of colonel by 1920. The same year, he served as the chief of staff of the state of
Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
under
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.
Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the Me ...
and became his close friend. He opposed the 1923 rebellion of former revolutionary general
Adolfo de la Huerta. In 1929, he fought under General Cárdenas against the Escobar Rebellion, the last serious military rebellion of disgruntled revolutionary generals, and the same year, he achieved the rank of
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
.
He was married to Soledad Orozco García (1904–1996), who was born in
Zapopan, Jalisco, and was a member of a prominent family in Jalisco.
After his military service, Ávila Camacho entered the public arena in 1933 as the executive officer of the Secretariat of National Defense and became Secretary of National Defense in 1937. In 1940, he was elected president of Mexico after he had been nominated to represent the party that later became the
Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Camacho won the controversial presidential election over right-wing candidate and revolutionary-era 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 ...
.
Presidency
End of conflict between church and state
Camacho, a professed
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, said, "I am a believer." Since the revolution, all presidents had been
anticlerical. During Camacho's term, the conflict between the
Roman Catholic Church in Mexico and the Mexican government largely ended.
Domestic policy
He protected the working class by creating the
Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in 1943. He worked to reduce illiteracy, continued land reform, and declared a rent freeze to benefit low-income citizens.
He promoted election reform and passed a new electoral law passed in 1946 to make it difficult for opposition parties of the far right and the far left to operate legally. The law established the following criteria that had to be fulfilled by any political organization to be recognized as a political party:
* have at least 10,000 active members in 10 states;
* exist for at least three years before elections;
* agree with the principles established in the constitution;
* not form alliances or be subordinated to international organizations or foreign political parties.
On 18 January 1946, he had the Party of the Mexican Revolution (PRM) renamed to the
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), its current name. The Mexican army had been a sector of the PRM, but it was eliminated from the organization of the PRI.
Economically, he pursued the country's industrialization, which benefited only a small group, and income inequality increased.
World War II stimulated Mexican industry, which grew by approximately 10% annually between 1940 and 1945, and Mexican raw materials fueled the US war industry.
In agriculture, his administration invited the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropy, philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, aft ...
to introduce
Green Revolution technology to bolster Mexico's agricultural productivity.
In education, Camacho reversed Lázaro Cárdenas's policy of socialist education in Mexico and had the constitutional amendments that mandated it repealed.
Foreign policy
During his term, Camacho faced the difficulty of governing during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. After two of Mexico's ships (
Potrero del Llano and
Faja de Oro) carrying oil were destroyed by German
submarines
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
, Camacho declared war against the
Axis powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
on 22 May 1942. Mexican participation in World War II was mainly limited to an airborne squadron, the
201st (''Escuadrón 201''), to fight the Japanese in the Pacific. The squadron consisted of 300 men, and after receiving training in Texas, it was sent to the Philippines on 27 March 1945. On 7 June 1945, its missions started, and the squadron participated in the
Battle of Luzon. By the end of the war, 5 Mexican soldiers had lost their lives in combat. Despite its short participation in the war, Mexico belonged to the victorious nations and had thus gained the right to participate in the postwar international conferences.
Mexico's joining the conflict on the side of the Allies improved relations with the United States. Mexico provided both raw material for the conflict and also 300,000 guest workers under the
Bracero program to replace some of the Americans who had left to fight in the war. Mexico also resumed diplomatic relations with the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, which had been broken off during the presidency of
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.
Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the Me ...
. In 1945, Mexico signed the
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its Organ ...
, and in 1946, it became the headquarters of the Inter-American Conference about War and Peace.
Conflicts with the United States, which had existed in the decades before his presidency, were resolved. Especially in the early years of World War II, Mexican-American relations were excellent. The United States provided Mexico with financial aid for improvements on the railway system and the construction of the Pan American Highway. Moreover, the Mexican foreign debt was reduced.
Later life
When his term ended in 1946, Camacho retired to work on his farm.
[Camp, "Manel Avila Camacho", p. 244.]
Awards
* 1945,
Order of Propitious Clouds
The Order of Propitious Clouds () is a civilian order of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The center of the medal features a picture of clouds, as a token of auspiciousness. This order was instituted in 1941 and classified into nine ranks. As wit ...
with Special Grand Cordon
from the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...
* Poland (in exile):
Order of the White Eagle
See also
*
List of heads of state of Mexico
References
Further reading
*
Camp, Roderic Ai. ''Mexican Political Biographies''.
Tucson,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
:
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...
, 1982.
*
Krauze, Enrique. ''Mexico: Biography of Power''. New York: HarperCollins 1997, chapter 17: "Manuel Ávila Camacho: The Gentleman President", pp. 491–525.
* Medina, Luis. ''Historia de la Revolución Mexicana, periodo 1940-1952: Del cardenismo al avilacamachismo''. Mexico City: Colegio de México 1978.
External links
*
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, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avila Camacho, Manuel
Presidents of Mexico
Mexican generals
Mexican Secretaries of Defense
World War II political leaders
1897 births
1955 deaths
Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians
*
Mexican Roman Catholics
Politicians from Puebla
1940s in Mexico
20th-century Mexican politicians
Recipients of the Order of Propitious Clouds
People from Teziutlán
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)