por Jose Maria Pino Suarez He was a politician, writer, and journalist born in Mexico in 1869. In 1911, he became Vice President of the first government to emerge from the Mexican Revolution, headed by Francisco I. Madero. In addition, he held other political positions such as the governorship of Yucatan, the Secretary of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, and the Secretary of Justice.
His entry into politics occurred in the final stage of the Porfiriato, when he participated with Madero in the creation of anti-reelection movements. Apart from these activities, Pino Suárez also worked as a journalist. In this facet, he highlighted the founding of El Peninsular, a newspaper from which he fought a hard battle in defense of freedom of expression.
Pino Suárez’s stage as vice president did not last too long. Two years after being elected, an uprising led by Victoriano Huerta ended the government. President Madero and Pino Suárez himself had to resign and were later assassinated by supporters of the coup.
In addition to his political vocation, Pino Suárez stood out for his poetic and journalistic work. While still very young, some of his poems were published in various magazines and, later, two of his books were very successful both in Mexico and in Europe.
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Biography
Childhood and studies
José María Pino Suárez was born on September 8, 1869 in Tenosique, Tabasco, into a wealthy family. His mother passed away shortly after his birth and his father, a business owner, hired a private tutor to take care of his education.
As a teenager, Pino Suárez moved to Mérida, Yucatán, to continue his training. In that city he entered a school run by the Jesuits, the Colegio de San Ildefonso. This institution had adapted the study plans used in French high schools and was considered one of the best in the country.
At the end of that educational stage, the young Pino began to study Law at the Yucatán School of Jurisprudence, from which he graduated in 1894.
first jobs
Pino Suárez’s first jobs were related to his studies and he went on to open his own law firm in Mexico City, where he had established his residence after getting married in 1896.
During this period he began to carve out a certain reputation as a writer. Without neglecting his work as a lawyer, he began to publish his poems in some publications, among which the weekly Pepper and Mustard stood out.
Pino Suárez returned to Mérida three years later. There he entered the business world in association with his mother-in-law.
Journalist
The success of these businesses allowed Pino Suárez to buy a printing press and, in 1904, found his own newspaper: El Peninsular. Its beginnings were very promising and in just one year it had achieved a significant reader base.
Several reports appeared on its pages that denounced the systematic exploitation to which the laborers of the haciendas in the area were subjected. These complaints caused landowners to put pressure on the companies that advertised in the publication, jeopardizing their economic viability.
The future vice president did not hesitate to launch a battle in defense of freedom of publication and expression. Among other actions, he founded, along with other colleagues, the Yucatecan Press Association.
Meeting with Francisco I. Madero
That confrontation with the most powerful sectors was the first approach of Pino Suárez to the world of politics. However, at that time he did not show interest in getting fully involved in this activity and, between 1906 and 1909, he kept away from any public visibility.
A fortuitous event changed the way of life of Pino Suárez. In 1909, Porfirio Díaz seemed to have admitted the possibility that other candidates would run in the following elections. Before the announcement, some opposition groups began a campaign to present a candidate, Francisco I. Madero.
In June of that same year, Madero visited Veracruz to promote his candidacy. The visit was a failure, since he was only received by six people, including José María Pino Suárez.
Anti-Reelection Party
Pino Suárez had been impressed after reading the book The Presidential Succession in 1910, written by Madero. From the moment they both met, their political destiny was united.
Already as part of Madero’s team, Pino founded the Antireelection Club of Mérida, of which he was president. In addition, he organized other loyalist groups in Yucatán and Tabasco.
José María Pino presided over the National Convention of the Affiliated Parties, in which Madero was chosen as a candidate for the presidency and Francisco Vázquez Gómez for the vice presidency.
Meanwhile, Porfirio Díaz had changed his mind about the elections and ordered Madero’s arrest. Likewise, he issued an arrest warrant against Pino Suárez, but he managed to escape and hide in Tabasco.
During Madero’s time in the San Luis Potosí prison, Pino Suárez wrote to him regularly to inform him of the progress he was making in the states of Tabasco and Yucatán.
Governor of Yucatan
In 1909, still under the Porfirian regime, Pino Suárez ran with the support of Madero’s National Anti-Reelection Party in the elections to elect the governor of Yucatán. His rivals were Delio Moreno Cantón, for the also opposition Independent Electoral Center, and the official Enrique Muñoz Arístegui.
The fraud during the voting was evident and Muñoz Arístegui was declared the winner. Pino Suárez and Moreno Cantón later suffered fierce political persecution that forced them to flee the state.
On the other hand, Francisco Madero was released after the elections, which, with clear signs of fraud, had been won by Porfirio Díaz. On this occasion, his opponents did not accept the result and proclaimed the Plan of San Luis.
In accordance with the postulates of the Plan, Madero formed a provisional government and appointed Pino Suárez Governor of Yucatán, a position he held between June 5 and August 8, 1811.
In September of that same year, he assumed the Ministry of Justice, which he held until November 13.
At the same time, new elections were called in Yucatán, which were held in September, shortly before Madero assumed the presidency of the country. The same candidates participated in the voting as the previous time, but this time it was Pino Suárez who achieved the victory and assumed the governorship on October 17.
vice presidency
With the Madero-led rebellion spreading throughout the country, Porfirio Díaz had no choice but to negotiate his removal from power. On May 21, 1911, he signed the Treaties of Ciudad Juárez with the rebels, in which he promised to leave office.
The presidency was assumed, on an interim basis, by Francisco León de la Barra, who would have the mission of calling new presidential elections.
Meanwhile, in accordance with the postulates of the Plan of San Luis, Madero formed a provisional government and appointed Pino Suárez Governor of Yucatán, a position he held between June 5 and August 8, 1811.
In September of that same year, he assumed the Ministry of Justice, which he held until November 13.
At the same time, new elections were called in Yucatán, which were held in September, shortly before Madero assumed the presidency of the country. The same candidates participated in the voting as the previous time, but this time it was Pino Suárez who achieved the victory and assumed the governorship on October 17.
vice presidency
On November 15, 1911, Pino Suárez requested an indefinite leave of absence from his position as governor to become vice president of the country. In addition, he also assumed the post of Secretary of Justice and Fine Arts.
The new Mexican government, headed by Madero and Pino Suárez, had to face a large number of political enemies from the outset. Some former revolutionaries, such as Emiliano Zapata, as well as supporters of Porfirio and conservative sectors, made the task of governing almost impossible.
Finally, in February 1913, a coup led by Victoriano Huerta and Félix Díaz (Porfirio’s nephew) caused Madero and Pino Suárez to resign their positions.
Murder
The conspirators had promised Pino Suárez and Francisco Madero that their lives would be spared if they resigned from their posts. However, on February 22, 1913, they were taken out of the Mexico City prison and executed.
When the news of the murders became public, many revolutionaries, including those who had opposed the Madero government, united to fight the Huerta dictatorship.
In 1986, the remains of Pino Suárez were transferred to the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons in the Mexican capital.
Government of Pino Suárez
Francisco I. Madero’s candidacy for the presidency was clear even before the San Luis Plan. However, Pino Suárez’s choice for the vice presidency was not so easy to decide.
Candidacy of Pino Suárez
Within the Madero movement there were other possible candidates who tried to take office and, in addition, Francisco León de la Barra also ran for the position.
For many Maderistas, the normal thing was that the vice-presidential candidate was the same one who had accompanied him in the elections against Porfirio Díaz: Francisco Vázquez Gómez. However, both had had some serious discrepancies and, for this reason, Madero preferred Pino Suárez.
Finally, in September 1911, the convention of the Progressive Constitutional Party was held, the denomination that Madero had chosen to run for election. In that meeting, the Madero-Pino Suárez list was approved.
The elections took place on November 5 and Madero and Pino Suárez won easily.
The situation in the country before the elections was quite tense. The provisional presidency of Francisco León de la Barra, which lasted for 6 months, had caused the tension to increase.
De la Barra had tried to dismantle the revolutionary forces, but Emiliano Zapata refused to lay down his arms before the breach of the land distribution promised by Madero in the San Luis Plan.
This tension continued after Madero and Pino Suárez took power and led to a break between the government and the revolutionaries.
electoral triumph
Pino Suárez took office as Vice President of Mexico on September 6, 1911. In addition, he also took over the Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, a decision that generated much criticism among some deputies and in the country’s press.
The new leaders tried to reconcile the requests of the revolutionaries with the structures inherited from the Porfiriato. In the end, they failed to satisfy either of the two sectors.
Among the most relevant measures is the creation of a more democratic regime with greater…