Roque Victoriano González Garza (March 23, 1885 – November 12, 1962) was a Mexican general and politician who served as acting

President of Mexico 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 ...

from January to June 1915. He was appointed by the

Convention of Aguascalientes The Convention of Aguascalientes was a major meeting that took place during the Mexican Revolution between the factions in the Mexican Revolution that had defeated Victoriano Huerta's Federal Army and forced his resignation and exile in July 1914 ...

during 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 had previously been an important advisor to President

Francisco Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and Public figure, statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in Ten Tragic ...

and a member of 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 ...

. He was later a founder of the

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

xenophobic Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

Revolutionary Mexicanist Action party and its leader from 1933 to 1934.

Early years in politics

From 1908 he appeared in politics in opposition to the government of President

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 ...

. He was one of the first supporters of

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 ...

, whom he accompanied in his presidential campaign. He was director of revolutionary forces in Coahuila, and a federal deputy. During the election of 1910, Díaz had Madero (the opposition candidate) and 6,000 of his supporters jailed. González was arrested with Madero. Madero was able to escape and issued a call for armed revolt. González later joined him and fought in the battles of

Casas Grandes Casas Grandes (Spanish for ''Great Houses''; also known as Paquimé) is a prehistoric archaeological site in the northern Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. Construction of the site is attributed to the Mogollon culture. Casa ...

and

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

. After Madero assumed the presidency, González was his personal assistant and a member of his general staff. When Madero and Vice-President

José María Pino Suárez José María Pino Suárez (; 8 September 1869 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican politician, lawyer, journalist, and newspaper proprietor. He served as the seventh and last Vice President of Mexico from 1911 until his assassination in 1913, ...

were murdered, González went to the north, joining the forces of

Francisco Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

. He was promoted to general and he participated in the most important battles of the revolution against the

Huerta A huerta () or horta (, ), from Latin ''hortus'', "garden", is an irrigated area, or a field within such an area, common in Spain and Portugal, where a variety of vegetables and fruit trees are cultivated for family consumption and sale. Typica ...

regime. These included the battles of

Torreón Torreón () is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Coahuila. The city's population is 720,848 inhabitants, making it the second largest city in the state of Coahuila. Also Torreón is par ...

San Pedro de las Colonias San Pedro (formally: San Pedro de las Colonias) is a city located in the southwestern part of the state of Coahuila in Mexico. San Pedro lies east-northeast of the city of Torreón and serves as the seat of the surrounding municipality of the ...

, Paredón,

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

and

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 ...

Federal positions

He was the personal representative of Villa in the

Aguascalientes Convention The Convention of Aguascalientes was a major meeting that took place during the Mexican Revolution between the factions in the Mexican Revolution that had defeated Victoriano Huerta's Federal Army and forced his resignation and exile in July 1914 ...

, where he was one of the most outstanding figures. He was chosen to preside at the Convention, and was one of the editors of the ''Manifiesto'' that the Convention published on November 13, 1914. On the fall of Conventionalist President

Eulalio Gutiérrez Eulalio Gutiérrez Ortiz (February 2, 1881 – August 12, 1939) was a general in the Mexican Revolution from state of Coahuila. He is most notable for his election as provisional president of Mexico during the Aguascalientes Convention and le ...

, he was chosen by the Convention as Gutiérrez's replacement. As a Conventionalist, he was in opposition to the Constitutionalist president,

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920), known as Venustiano Carranza, was a Mexican land owner and politician who served as President of Mexico from 1917 until his assassination in 1920, during the Mexican Re ...

. González's term of office ran from January 16, 1915 to June 10 of the same year. On the latter date, by agreement of the Convention, he turned over power to Francisco Lagos Cházaro and reentered private life in Mexico City. The victory of the Constitutionalists forced him into exile, where he remained several years, until after the death of Carranza. Years later he collaborated in the administration of General

Manuel Ávila Manuel Ávila (born July 4, 1992) is an American professional boxer. He is the IBA Americas Featherweight Champion & NABF Superbantamweight Champion. Personal life He has three children, Married to a woman named Cynthia Avila his parents Manuel a ...

. He was coauthor of the books ''La Batalla de Torreón'' (1914) and ''Apuntes para la Historia'' (1914), which recounted the events of the Mexican Revolution.

Revolutionary Mexicanist Action

In 1933, González Garza co-founded the fascist paramilitary Revolutionary Mexicanist Action along with many other militants of the Mexican Revolution. He led the paramilitary group until 1934 where he was succeeded by Nicolas Rodriguez Carrasco. Although no longer leader, he maintained his prominence in the group. In March of 1935, González Garza and Ovidio Pedrero Valenzuela led the group on horseback raiding and destroying the newly established

Mexican Communist Party The Mexican Communist Party (, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its name to the ''Mexican Communist ...

headquarters 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 ...

Later life and death

During the presidency of

Manuel Ávila Camacho Manuel Ávila Camacho (; 24 April 1897 – 13 October 1955) was a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the president of Mexico from 1940 to 1946. Despite participating in the Mexican Revolution and achieving a high rank, he cam ...

, he held governmental positions. He was awarded the rank of major general, was president of the Legion of Honor. In 1962, President López Mateos appointed him head of works in Meztitlán, Hidalgo. González Garza wrote books on the history of the revolution. Roque González Garza died in

on November 12, 1962.

Notes

References

Bibliography

*"González Garza, Roque", ''Enciclopedia de México'', vol. 6. Mexico City, 1996, . *García Puron, Manuel, ''México y sus gobernantes'', v. 2. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrúa, 1984. *Orozco Linares, Fernando, ''Gobernantes de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Garza, Roque Presidents of Mexico Mexican fascists Mexican anti-communists Politicians from Saltillo 1885 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Mexican politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) 20th-century presidents of Mexico