José Guadalupe Cervantes Corona (May 24, 1924 – March 13, 2013) was a Mexican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and academic. He served as the

Governor of Zacatecas The governor of Zacatecas (Spanish: Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Zacatecas) wields executive power in the Zacatecas, State of Zacatecas. The governor is directly elected by the citizens, using secret ballot, to a six-year term with no ...

from 1980 to 1986.

Background

Cervantes was born in the municipality of Teúl de González Ortega, Zacatecas, in 1924. Cervantes became Zacatecan state Director of Education in 1950 when he was only 26 years old. He next served as an official within the administration of Zacatecan Governor

Francisco E. García Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Commu ...

from 1956 to 1962. Cervantes would later be elected to the state Chamber of Deputies and then as a federal deputy in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

. Cervantes then held a seat in the Senate of the Republic from 1976 until 1980.

Governor

A member of the ruling

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...

(PRI), was elected Governor of the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

in 1980 with the support of

Mexican President The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

José López Portillo José Guillermo Abel López Portillo y Pacheco (; 16 June 1920 – 17 February 2004) was a Mexican writer, lawyer, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 58th president of Mexico from 1976 ...

. He served as Governor for one term, ending in 1986. Cervantes was a strong proponent of

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

and

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...

projects during his tenure. He supported and launched a new

gas pipeline A pipeline is a system of pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries around the world. The Un ...

connecting neighboring

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

to Zacateca's second largest city,

Fresnillo Fresnillo () is a city in north central Mexico, founded in 1554 by Francisco de Ibarra. It is the second largest city in Zacatecas state and the seat of Fresnillo municipality. As a rail and highway junction, Fresnillo is the center of a rich ...

. He sought to attract new investors and businesses to the cities of Guadalupe and

Calera de Víctor Rosales Calera is one of the 58 municipalities in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. It is located on the central part of the state of Zacatecas and it is bounded by the municipalities of General Enrique Estrada, Fresnillo, Villa de Cos, Pánuco, Morelos and ...

. He was the first Zacatecan Governor to propose a new industrial corridor extending from

Ojocaliente Ojocaliente (population ~44,144) is a medium-sized town in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Zacatecas. It is considered the center of México. The town was founded in 1620; its first name was "Real Villa de Sacramento y Ojocaliente ...

to Fresnillo. Cervantes hoped that the new projects would boost jobs and economic growth in the state.

Later life

He largely stayed out of local politics until the early 2000s. In 2004, Cervantes publicly renounced his membership in the

(PRI) and left the party. He endorsed gubernatorial candidate

Amalia García Amalia Dolores García Medina (born October 6, 1951) is a Mexican politician and a former governor of Zacatecas. Early life García was born into a Political families of the world, political family. When she was five, her father Francisco G ...

of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) in the 2004 Zacatecan election. Garcia's father had served in Cervantes cabinet during his tenure as governor. Amalia Garcia won the 2004 election over the PRI candidate and was elected governor. Cervantes again criticized the PRI in 2010 over a potential political alliance between the PRI and the Labor Party, which he opposed. However, the proposed alliance never came to fruition.

Passing

Cervantes died at home from heart failure on March 13, 2013, at the age of 88. A public viewing was held at the Sixtina de Funerales Hernández chapel in the city of

Zacatecas, Zacatecas Zacatecas () is the principal city within the municipality in Mexico of the same name, and the capital of the state of Zacatecas. Located in north-central Mexico, the city had its start as a Spanish mining camp in the mid-16th century. Native ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cervantes Corona, Jose Guadalupe 1924 births 2013 deaths Governors of Zacatecas Members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Mexican academics Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians 20th-century Mexican politicians