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Timeline of the Mexican Revolution

Citizens throng around The Citadel (La ciudadela) building during La decena tragica in 1913.

La decena tragica (The Ten Tragic Days) February 9 - February 22, 1913 was a battle and series of events in Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution, that culminated in a coup d'etat and the murder of Mexican President Francisco I. Madero and Vice President José María Pino Suárez. Image File history File links Timeline_icon. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México, México D.F. or simply México, pronounced IPA: ) is the capital city of the nation of Mexico. ... A graphical timeline is available here: Timeline of the Mexican Revolution Many portions of this article are translations of excerpts from the article Revolución Mexicana in the Spanish Wikipedia. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state of Mexico. ... Term of office: 6 November 1911 – 18 February 1913 Preceded by: Francisco León de la Barra (interim) Succeeded by: Pedro Lascuráin (interim) Date of birth: 30 October 1873 Place of birth: Parras, Coahuila Date of death: 22 February 1913 Place of death: Mexico City Profession: Businessman First Lady... José María Pino Suárez (September 8, 1869 – February 22, 1913) was a Mexican politician. ...

Rise and tribulations of Madero

Madero and his supporters deposed the regime of dictactor Porfirio Diaz in 1911. While Madero succeeded in becoming President, his vacillating and accomodating stance to others of his high social standing, led him to allow many of the officials of the previous regime remain in office rather than make a wholesale purge of potential opponents. Many Mexicans had expected widespread changes in government and a clean sweep of hated reactionary bureaucrats, and were surprised and disappointed to find Madero following many of the same policies and employing the same personnel as the Diaz government and thus accused Madero of abandoning his Revolutionary principles. This resulted in widespead discontent, as evidenced by Emiliano Zapata's issuance of the Plan of Ayala, and outbreak of revolts against the Madero regime. Meanwhile, Madero had allowed himself to be surrounded by bureaucratic piranhas who not only hated maderismo, but had little compunction about manipulating the President and taking advantage of his generous nature. Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was President of Mexico, considered a dictator, who ruled Mexico from 1876 until 1911 (with the exception of one single four-year period). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Photo of Emiliano Zapata (right) and his brother Eufemio Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919) was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz that broke out in 1910. ... Genera Catoprion Citharinus Pristobrycon Pygocentrus Serrasalmus The piranhas or pirañas are a group of carnivorous freshwater fish living in South American rivers. ...

Madero's fear of public revolts led him to commission Victoriano Huerta as chief general of the Federal Armies. Huerta was effective in crushing rebellions, but the same cunning, ruthless and ambitious nature that made Huerta effective at suppressing discontent, made him a threat to Madero that the trusting Madero was blind to. Term of office: February 19, 1913 – July 14, 1914 Preceded by: Pedro Lascuráin Interim Succeeded by: Francisco S. Carvajal Interim Date of birth: December 23, 1850 Place of birth: Colotlán, Jalisco Date of death: January 13, 1916 Place of death: El Paso, Texas, United States Profession: Soldier First...

Beginning of La decena tragica

After smashing a rebellion by Pascual Orozco , Huerta with the Mexican federal army he commanded, held the majority of military power in Mexico. Huerta saw an opportunity to make himself dictator and began to conspire with cronies such as Bernardo Reyes, Félix Díaz (nephew of Porfirio Diaz) and US Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson. Reyes and Diaz were imprisioned at the time, having been captured by Huerta during an earlier failed revolt. Pascual Orozco (28 January 1882 – 30 August 1915) was a Mexican revolutionary leader. ... Huertas Federal Army, also known as the Federales in popular culture was the force headed by Victoriano Huerta during his reign as president of Mexico between 1913 and 1914. ... Dictator was the title of a magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the state in times of emergency. ... Bernardo Reyes (born in Guadalajara, Mexico, August 1850) was a Mexico under Porfirio Díaz, governor of Nuevo León and father of the writer Alfonso Reyes. ... Felix Diaz is a American right-handed Major League starting pitcher in baseball, currently with the Chicago White Sox. ... Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was President of Mexico, considered a dictator, who ruled Mexico from 1876 until 1911 (with the exception of one single four-year period). ... Henry Lane Wilson (1927-1938) born in Columbus, New Mexico, was involved with Álvaro Obregón, Venustiano Carranza, Pancho Villa, and Gustavo A. Madero in the Mexican Revolution. ...

This conspiracy resulted in La decena tragica, which began when military academy cadets quartered in Tacubaya revolted (under the leadership of Porfirista generals Gregorio Ruiz and Manuel Mondragón), released Reyes and Diaz from prision, then began an attack against the Palacio Nacional, on the Zocalo in downtown Mexico City. Machine guns mounted on the top of the Palacio kept the attackers at bay, and killed Reyes. The attackers then retreated to The Citadel (La Ciudadela) building. ^[1] Madero and Suarez hastily returned to the Palacio to address the crisis, and called in reserves from the military academies of of Tlalpan, San Juan Teotihuacán, Chalco and Toluca, and the forces of Felipe Angeles in Cuernavaca to assist in defense. Meanwhile, Huerta convinced Madero to allow him to take over defense of the Palacio Nacional in place of wounded general Lauro Villar. ^[2] The attack thus had its desired effect, to force Madero to hole up in the palace and trick Madero into accepting Huerta's "protection". ^[3] The Zócalo in Mexico City A zócalo is a central town square or plaza, usually located in Mexican cities. ... Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México, México D.F. or simply México, pronounced IPA: ) is the capital city of the nation of Mexico. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... The Ajusco Mountains in Tlalpan, Mexico City Tlalpan is the largest of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexicos Federal District (Mexico City) is divided. ... Teotihuacán[1] [teh-oh-tee-WAH-kahn] (Nahuatl: place of those who have the road of the gods) was, at its height in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, the largest city in the Americas. ... Toluca is a city in México State in central Mexico, at 19. ... Felipe Ángeles (1868-1919) was a Mexican military officer, noteworthy for his participation in the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1920. ... Cuernavaca is the capital city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. ...

The Embassy Pact -- Betrayal and murder

8 days of street battles back and forth between the Palacio and the Ciudadela had the desired dual effects of maintaining Huerta's façade as defender of the government and cowing the population and the press. Huerta then felt that he had Madero and Pino Suarez isolated well enough to make his move. He was encouraged in this by Ambassador Wilson, who made ominous suggestions that armed US intervention might follow if Madero was not deposed. Huerta thus expected his plot to receive the blessings of the US government. On February 17, Huerta had Madero and Pino Suarez arrested and locked up in a room inside the Palacio. Meanwhile, Madero's brother Gustavo A. Madero, who had been invited to the Citadel building by offers to make peace entreaties, instead had his remaining eye poked out and was beaten to death in broad daylight while he staggered blindly around a plaza outside the building. February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Gustavo A. Madero (1875 -18 February 1913) born in Coahuila, Mexico, was involved with the Mexican Revolution against Porfirio Díaz. ...

While Madero and Pino Suarez were sequestered in the Palacio, Huerta and Diaz met at the US Embassy where Ambassador Wilson presided over the signing of what became known as "The Embassy Pact", which provided for Huerta to assume office within 72 hours, send Madero into exile, and for the replacing of maderistas in the government with pro-Huerta and pro-Diaz elements. Huerta forced Madero and Pino Suarez to sign resignations, offering them safe passage to Cuban exile if they complied, then presented the resignations to a forced meeting of Congress, and named Pedro Lascuráin temporary President. The next day Huerta asked Ambassador Wilson what he should do with Madero -- exile him or put him in an asylum. Wilson replied that Huerta "ought to do what is best for the country.", which Huerta saw as a US endorsement of his disposing of Madero as he felt like - in those days, summary executions were commonplace, so the implications of Ambassador Wilson's comment were obvious. Madero's wife's appeals to the Ambassador and President Taft to intervene on her husband's behalf came to naught. Term of office: February 18, 1913 – February 18, 1913 Preceded by: Francisco I. Madero Succeeded by: Victoriano Huerta Interim Date of birth: May 8, 1856 Place of birth: Mexico City Date of death: July 21, 1952 Place of death: Mexico City Profession: Lawyer First Lady: María Flores Party: Pedro... William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930) was an American politician; the 27th President of the United States, the 10th Chief Justice of the United States; a leader of the progressive conservative wing of the Republican Party in the early twentieth century; a chaired professor at Yale Law...

On the night of February 22, Huerta ordered Madero and Pino Suarez to be transferred to be Lecumberri penetentiary, ostensibly to be held for transfer to exile. Before the car reached the prison, it was pulled over by armed men and Madero and Pino Suarez were shot and killed. That same night, Huerta attended a dinner at the Embassy where he and the Ambassdor toasted George Washington's birthday - February 22.^[4] February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... George Washington (February 22, 1732–December 14, 1799) commanded Americas war for independence (1775–1783), and was the first President of the United States, from 1789 to 1797. ...

The Huerta government claimed that bodyguards were forced to shoot Madero and Pino Suarez, during a failed rescue attempt by Madero's supporters. This story was met with general incredulity, but it was endorsed by the US Ambassador himself. The reaction of most European powers to all this was to reflexively recognize Huerta's government, it took another month for the the outrage to build and for Venustiano Carranza to issue his Plan of Guadalupe. New US President Woodrow Wilson withdrew Henry Lane Wilson as ambassador almost as soon as he assumed office on March 15. President Wilson did not appoint a new ambassador, but appointed ex-Minnesota governor John Lind as his personal envoy for Mexican affairs. Venustiano Carranza Garza (December 29, 1859 – May 21, 1920) was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. ... The Plan of Guadalupe (Spanish: Plan De Guadalupe) was a document drafted on March 23, 1913 by Venustiano Carranza in response to the overthrow and execution of Francisco I. Madero, then President of Mexico. ... Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States (1913–1921). ... Henry Lane Wilson (1927-1938) born in Columbus, New Mexico, was involved with Álvaro Obregón, Venustiano Carranza, Pancho Villa, and Gustavo A. Madero in the Mexican Revolution. ... Tim Pawlenty, the 39th and current Governor of Minnesota. ... John Lind (March 25, 1854 – September 18, 1930) was an American politician. ...

References

1. ^ Cronología- Antecedentes Históricos Consejo Directivo de La Ciudadela
2. ^ Del Siglo XX - La Decena Trágica Instututo Latinoamericano de la Comunicación Educativa
3. ^ Usurper: The Dark Shadow of Victoriano Huerta by Jim Tuck ©1999
4. ^ GLORIOUS INNOCENT:THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF FRANCISCO IGNACIO MADERO by Jim Tuck ©1999