Porfirio Díaz

Porfirio Díaz, full name José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz (1830-1915), Mexican soldier and statesman, born in Oaxaca de Juárez. He entered the army and served with distinction in three wars: the Mexican War (1846-1848); the civil war (1858-1860) between liberals and conservatives, called the War of the Reform, in which he supported the liberal cause led by Benito Juárez; and the patriotic war (1863-1867) against Maximilian.

Díaz was an unsuccessful candidate in 1867 and 1871 for the presidency of Mexico. After each defeat he led an unsuccessful military uprising, ostensibly to terminate the power and influence of foreign capitalists in Mexico, but in reality to further his personal ambition for power. In 1876 he overthrew the government of President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada and was installed as president the following year. Because, under the Mexican constitution, he could not serve two consecutive terms, Díaz relinquished the presidency in 1880. He was reelected in 1884, secured passage of an amendment to the constitution permitting a succession of presidential terms, and remained in power until 1911.

His regime was marked by notable achievements, but also by a brutal tyranny. Under Díaz, the finances of Mexico were stabilized, and the country experienced an unprecedented economic development. Foreign capital, especially American, was invested in the exploitation of the country's mineral resources; the mining, textile, and other industries were expanded; railroad and telegraph lines were constructed; and foreign trade increased about 300 percent. On the other hand, foreign investors drained a great part of the country's wealth, much of the ancient communal lands (ejidos) of the Native Americans was concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of landowners, and poverty and illiteracy were widespread. Manifestations of the resulting social discontent were suppressed by Díaz with an iron hand until the Mexican Revolution of 1910, led by Francisco Indalécio Madero, among others. Díaz was compelled to resign and leave the country. He died in exile in Paris.