Genovevo de la O (January 3, 1876 – June 12, 1952) was an important figure in the Mexican Revolution in Morelos. He was born in Santa María Ahuacatitlán, Morelos,Genovevo de la O accessed Dec 28, 2018 to sharecropper parents. He was dedicated to the plight of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

's peasants and came to be an outstanding

Liberation Army of the South The Liberation Army of the South ( es, Ejército Libertador del Sur, ELS) was a guerrilla force led for most of its existence by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution from 1911 to 1920. During that time, the Zapatistas foug ...

guerrilla general. After

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the ins ...

's death, he and the other guerrillas threw their lot in with

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...

and went on to become a minor but long-lasting figure in national politics.

Early life

From his earliest days, de la O stood out as a defender of his hometown and its people. He fought ceaselessly against the encroachments of the neighboring hacienda of

Temixco Temixco is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Morelos. It stands at in the west-northwest part of the state. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality, with which it shares a name. The municipality rep ...

, against

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

, and against land dispossession in general. These crusades brought him into conflict with the law of Porfirio Díaz's regime, which sought to strengthen the hacendados at the expense of commoners. De la O grew to hate the Díaz regime, mostly on the principle of

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

. He initially supported the presidency of Francisco Madero based on his promises of land reform, but when those promises proved false he sided with the agrarian opposition headed by the mayor of Anenecuilco, Emiliano Zapata. De la O was one of the signatories of the reformist Plan de Ayala which codified Zapata's demands in 1911.

Revolution under Zapata

The Madero government was opposed to the Plan de Ayala, and the Zapatistas took up arms to defend their cause. De la O was made an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

captain conducting guerrilla operations for Zapata in the northern part of Morelos. He moved up through the ranks of major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel before the year was out. Through 1911 and 1912, his division of the

operated in the area around Santa María and its neighboring towns, consistently beating back federalist forces. He forced enemy divisions to retreat to

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D. The na ...

, gave a solid drubbing to a group of generals led by General Robles, and inspired thousands to flock into his division. De la O's forces took the town of Huitzilac in the Spring of 1912, but the Federalists were reluctant to give it up. General Ojeda tried to evacuate the town’s supplies and equipment, but de la O exacted a heavy toll attacking the convoys. He defended the town with success, but in 1912 General Naranjo infiltrated and burned most of it to the ground. As 1913 neared, he pushed into México state to face forces commanded by the president himself,

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wit ...

. De la O became a general as fighting continued along the border with México state through 1915. Huerta faded from power and

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a Februa ...

took control, bringing extra troops to bear that turned the tide back against de la O. As General Pablo González slowly pushed de la O back into Morelos, disaster befell the Zapatista cause in 1919. The leader of the revolution, Emiliano Zapata, was tricked and murdered by Colonel Jesús Guaijardo. This was a terrible blow to the Liberation Army of the South, which had already grown increasingly fractured after many long years of campaigning.

Revolution under Obregón

Rather than seeing his cause and power expire along with Zapata, de la O and the other guerrilla generals, led by Gildardo Magaña, joined forces with the new revolutionary

. In 1920, he covered the retreat of General Benjamín Hill from Mexico City, and Hill too united with Obregón’s forces in the south. Together they made a decisive strike at the capital city, deposed Carranza, and set up a new government. On the first day of 1921, he was named chief of military operations in

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

, moving later to similar posts in Aguascalientes and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. Minor conflicts continued, but the Obregón regime, including de la O, remained in power in Mexico City.

Post-Revolution politics

De la O held political posts until 1941 when he reached the age limit for service (sixty-five) and was forced to retire. Though officially retired, he remained involved in the affairs of Mexico. He formed Frente Zapatista in 1940 as a bastion of the ideals of Zapata. He helped found the Federation of Parties of the People in 1945, and presided over it. He died in peace while in his hometown of Santa María Ahuacatitlán, a gentler and later death than the vast majority of his revolutionary counterparts. His wake was held on the floor of the

Congress of Mexico The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico cons ...

and he was buried in Santa María with full military honors.

References

External links