General elections were held in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on 26 June and 10 July 1910. The contested election instigated the beginning of the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

and preceded the end of the 35-year period of Mexican history known as the

Porfiriato The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...

Background

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

, a liberal general who had distinguished himself during the

War of Reform The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil war, civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with re ...

and resistance to French intervention, seized control of the Mexican government from Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada in an 1876 coup d'état, in which Diaz and other Mexican military officials explicitly opposed presidential re-election. Diaz served one term as president before nominally making way for Manuel Gonzalez, a political ally. Despite his earlier criticism of the practice, Diaz himself was re-elected to the presidency in

1884 Events January * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera '' Princess Ida'', a satire on feminism, premières at the Savoy The ...

, 1888,

1892 In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west. Events January * January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

and

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

. Most historians categorize the Diaz regime during this period, known as the ''Porfiriato'', as a dictatorship. Formal political opposition did not exist. While Diaz himself has been characterized as a liberal and political pragmatist, his regime was dominated by

technocratic Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...

intellectuals, known as '' los cientificos'', inspired by the works of August Comte and Herbert Spencer. During the Porfiriato, authority was centralized in the federal government, which pursued a policy of

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an ownership stake in a company, made by a foreign investor, company, or government from another country. More specifically, it describes a controlling ownership an asset in one country by an entity based i ...

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

, liberalization of social attitudes, and rapid technological development. Through conciliation with local political bosses and repressive policies, including the expropriation of indigenous land for the development of railways and ''

hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

s'' (often owned by foreign investors) and expansion of the internal police force known as the ''

rurales In Mexico, the term ''Rurales'' ( Spanish) is used to refer to two armed government forces. The historic Guardia Rural ('Rural Guard') was a rural mounted police force, founded by President Benito Juárez in 1861 and expanded by President Porf ...

'', the Diaz regime established a period of relative internal stability in Mexico following a period of warfare and turmoil.Katz, "The Liberal Republic and the Porfiriato", pp. 67–68 Through generous concessions to investors, Diaz pursued conciliation with the United States and resolution of border disputes.

Creelman interview

In 1908, President Diaz consented to an interview by the American journalist

James Creelman James Creelman (November 12, 1859 – February 12, 1915) was a Canadian-American writer famous for securing a 1908 interview for '' Pearson's Magazine'' with Mexican president Porfirio Díaz, in which the strongman said that he would not run ...

for ''

Pearson's Magazine ''Pearson's Magazine'' was a monthly periodical that first appeared in Britain in 1896. A US version began publication in 1899. It specialised in speculative literature, political discussion, often of a socialist bent, and the arts. Its contribu ...

'' at

Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle () is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". It is located at the entrance to Chapultepec park, at a he ...

. During the interview, Diaz praised democratic principles, arguing that certain repressive and anti-democratic measures had only been necessary to develop political consciousness in a population that was apolitical and illiterate. "Our difficulty has been that the people do not concern themselves enough about public matters for a democracy," Diaz said in the interview. "Capacity for self-restraint is the basis of democratic government, and self-restraint is possible only to those who recognize the rights of their neighbors. The Indians, who are more than half our population, care little for politics. They are accustomed to look to those in authority for leadership instead of thinking for themselves. That is a tendency they inherited from the Spaniards." Diaz credited his own regime with the establishment of a middle class which would support democratic government in the future. When confronted by Creelman with the question of his own re-election, Diaz said,

“It is true there is no opposition party. I have so many friends in the republic that my enemies seem unwilling to identify themselves with so small a minority. I appreciate the kindness of my friends and the confidence of my country; but such absolute confidence imposes responsibilities and duties that tire me more and more. No matter what my friends and supporters say, I retire when my present term of office ends, and I shall not serve again. I shall be eighty years old then. My country has relied on me and it has been kind to me. My friends have praised my merits and overlooked my faults. But they may not be willing to deal so generously with my successor and he may need my advice and support; therefore I desire to be alive when he assumes office so that I may help him. I welcome an opposition party in the Mexican Republic. If it appears, I will regard it as a blessing, not as an evil. And if it can develop power, not to exploit but to govern, I will stand by it, support it, advise it and forget myself in the successful inauguration of complete democratic government in the country. It is enough for me that I have seen Mexico rise among the peaceful and useful nations. I have no desire to continue in the Presidency. This nation is ready for her ultimate life of freedom. At the age of seventy-seven years, I am satisfied with robust health. That is one thing which neither law nor force can create. I would not exchange it for all the millions of your American oil king.”

After its publication in ''Pearson's'' in March 1908, the Creelman interview was translated and published by ''El Imparcial''. Immediately, several groups in both opposition and support of the government put forward candidates, including

Governor of Nuevo León The Mexican state of Nuevo León has been governed by more than a hundred individuals in its history, who have had various titles and degrees of responsibility depending on the prevailing political regime of the time. Under the current regime, ...

Bernardo Reyes Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón (30 August 1850 – 9 February 1913) was a Mexican general and politician who fought in the Second French intervention in Mexico and served as the appointed Governor of Nuevo León for more than two decades dur ...

Campaign

The 1910 election was intended to be the first

free election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated s ...

of the Porfiriato, but after opposition leader

Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'état in Februa ...

appeared poised to upset the Porfirian regime, Madero was arrested and imprisoned before the election was held.

Gallery

DiazFoxMODO09.JPG, Díaz campaign items. DiazFoxMODO44.JPG, Díaz campaign items. DiazFoxMODO47.JPG, Díaz campaign plate. DiazFoxMODO48.JPG, Díaz campaign ashtray. DiazFoxMODO50.JPG, Madero campaign photograph. DiazFoxMODO51.JPG, Madero speaking at a campaign rally in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. DiazFoxMODO52.JPG, Rally in support of Madero.

Results

Despite Madero's popularity, Diaz was controversially announced as the election winner with almost 99% of the votes.

President

Vice-President

Aftermath

In October 1910, Madero published the

Plan of San Luis Potosí 230px, Francisco I. Madero, President of Mexico (1911–1913) The Plan of San Luis Potosí () is a key political document of the Mexican Revolution, written by presidential candidate Francisco I. Madero following his escape from jail. He had ...

, inciting the Mexican Revolution. Diaz was forced to resigned from office on May 25, 1911, and left for exile in Spain on May 31. Ultimately, Madero was recognized as president but later assassinated in February 1913 during ''La'' ''Decena Trágica''''.'' Diaz died in Paris in 1915.