Plutarco Elías Calles

Plutarco Elías Calles (1877-1945), Mexican soldier and statesman, born in Guaymas, in the state of Sonora. Calles gave up a teaching career to help the revolt of General Venustiano Carranza against President Victoriano Huerta in 1914. During the Carranza administration, Calles was governor of Sonora and secretary of industry, commerce, and labor from 1919 to 1920. In 1920 Calles assisted General Álvaro Obregón in overthrowing Carranza and was made secretary of the interior from 1920 to 1923 while Obregón was president. In 1924 Calles succeeded Obregón as president of Mexico. Notable among the achievements of his administration were the construction of many new highways and a number of irrigation projects; the founding of the Bank of Mexico; amortization of the public debt; encouragement of public education and the organization of labor; and the effective application of land reform laws, including division of large estates among small farmers. In 1928 Calles retired to private life, but returned to serve in various offices and was an adviser to the three presidents who succeeded him. He was exiled in 1936 because of his criticism of the social reform policies of President Lázaro Cárdenas; he returned to Mexico in 1941.