José Refugio Esparza Reyes (August 23, 1921 – November 12, 2015) was a Mexican

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

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 member of the

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). He served as the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

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 ...

of Aguascalientes from 1974 until 1980. Esparza Reyes was born on August 23, 1921, in the former village of Mexiquito, located in the community of Viudas de Oriente, Villa Juárez,

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 ...

. The village of Mexiquito, his birthplace, no longer exists. He created a number of state social programs, notably Operation Bee (''Operación Abeja''), which promoted citizen participation and transparency in rural areas. José Refugio Esparza Reyes was hospitalized on November 11, 2015. He died at a private hospital in

Aguascalientes City Aguascalientes (, lit. "hot waters" in Spanish) is the capital of the Mexican state of the same name and its most populous city, as well as the head of the Aguascalientes Municipality; with a population of 948,990 inhabitants in 2012 and 1,2 ...

on November 12, 2015, at the age of 94. The Aguascalientes state government and Governor

Carlos Lozano de la Torre Carlos Lozano de la Torre (born February 9, 1950) is a Mexican politician and a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was elected Governor of Aguascalientes on July 4, 2010. Lozano was sworn into office on December 1, 2010. ...

declared two days of mourning from November 12–13, 2015. His funeral, accompanied by honor guards, was held at the state Government Palace.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esparza Reyes, Jose Refugio 1921 births 2015 deaths Governors of Aguascalientes 20th-century Mexican educators Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Politicians from Aguascalientes Members of the Congress of Aguascalientes 20th-century Mexican politicians