Manuel Torres Bueno was a Mexican politician, lawyer, and ''jefe'' (leader) of the

National Synarchist Union The National Synarchist Union () was a Mexican political organization. It was historically a movement of the Roman Catholic extreme right, similar to clerical fascism and Falangism, implacably opposed to the policies of the Institutional Revolu ...

. Bueno would lead the organization during the height of its membership and activity. His tenure as leader of the National Synarchist Union was a period of ideological instability which would ultimately lead to the fracture of the organization.John W. White, ''Our Good Neighbor Hurdle'', Kessinger Publishing, 2005, p. 105

National Synarchist Union

A lawyer by profession, Torres Bueno abandoned his practice in December 1941 after Salvador Abascal selected him as his successor in October. Abascal left the Union to start a ''sinarquista'' colony in

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

. He assumed the position on December 13. As leader he sought to define the movement along more moderate lines than his predecessor. Continuing the themes of

anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

and opposition to

liberal democracy Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...

, Torres Bueno argued that

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

and

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

were equally dangerous to the "Christian Order" that he sought to establish in Mexico. He saw this order, which he also called "Christian democracy" despite its differences from that concept, as being based on a plot of land for each family that had been afforded legal recognition. His comparatively moderate views, as well as Torres Bueno's desire to consider changing the Union into a political party, saw Abascal leave the movement altogether and he was soon joined by the brothers Jose and Alfonso Truebas Olivares, the movement's two leading ideologues. Under his leadership the UNS fell into disarray and factionalism, even leading to a public fist fight between Torres Bueno and a rival for power, Carlos Athie, in front of the

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe The Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe, officially called Insigne y Nacional Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe (in English: Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe) is a basilica of the Catholic Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary in her invoc ...

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 ...

. A ban was placed on the movement on 23 June 1944 which also ceased publication of their organ ''El Sinarquista'' and Torres Bueno attracted criticism for his lack of resistance to this law.

Post-UNS

He lost power to Athie in early 1945 and soon broke away, heading up his own dissident splinter group. Later that same year he turned leadership of the faction over to his ally Gildardo González Sánchez. Despite having been replaced as leader Torres Bueno received a single write-in vote in the 1946 Presidential election.Dieter Nohlen (ed.), ''Elections in the Americas: A Data handbook Vol. 1'', Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. p.472. Torres Bueno was also involved in the creation of the Partido Fuerza Popular as a short-lived political arm of the ''sinarquista'' movement. Although Torres Bueno would drift from politics, the split in the UNS remained in place and indeed has continued to date. The Torres Bueno faction fully politicised in the late 1970s as the

Mexican Democratic Party The Mexican Democratic Party (, PDM, also known as ''El Partido Gallito Colorado'', "The Little Red Rooster Party") was a Roman Catholicism, Catholic social conservatism, social conservative political party in Mexico that existed between 1979 and 1 ...

, a group that is now defunct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres Bueno, Manuel 1913 births Year of death missing 20th-century Mexican politicians Mexican Roman Catholics Mexican anti-communists Mexican fascists National syndicalists Fascist politicians Christian fascists