Lázaro Cárdenas

Biography

Lázaro Cárdenas del Río was born on May 21, 1895, in Jiquilpan de Juárez, Michoacán, to a working-class family. As a young man, he joined the Mexican Revolution and climbed the ranks to become a general in the Constitutionalist Army. Even though he wasn't from Sonora, where most revolutionary generals dominated politics in the 1920s, Cárdenas was picked by former president Plutarco Elías Calles to be the presidential candidate for the National Revolutionary Party (PNR). He won the 1934 general election.

Cárdenas was the 51st President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940, marking the end of the Maximato, a period where Calles had unofficially controlled Mexican politics. When Cárdenas took office, he surprised many by outmaneuvering Calles politically and forcing him into exile, showing his independence from the former leader. His presidency was known for broad social and economic changes that greatly altered Mexican society.

Some of the most important achievements of Cárdenas's presidency included large-scale land reforms that redistributed millions of acres to peasants and the nationalization of Mexico's oil industry in 1938. This expropriation led to the creation of Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company that became a symbol of Mexican economic independence. Cárdenas also reshaped the ruling party, renaming it the Party of the Mexican Revolution (PRM) and organizing it around groups like peasant leagues, labor unions, and the military.

Cárdenas's inclusion of the army into the party structure was a smart political move to reduce military influence in politics and prevent future coups. His administration supported workers' rights, backed labor unions, and welcomed political refugees like Leon Trotsky and Spanish Republicans escaping the Spanish Civil War. After his presidency, Cárdenas continued to hold various government roles, such as Secretary of National Defense, and stayed influential in Mexican politics until he passed away in Mexico City on October 19, 1970.