ADOLFO RUIZ CORTINES: BIOGRAPHY, GOVERNMENT, CONTRIBUTIONS - HISTORY - 2025

Adolfo Ruiz Cortines was a Mexican politician who held the presidency of the country between 1952 and 1958. Born in Veracruz in 1890, his term took a progressive turn from the more conservative policy developed by his two predecessors. Some of its measures were the granting of the right to vote to women and the promotion of education and public health.

During his presidency, Ruiz Cortines tried to modernize the country by introducing new economic policies. Its purpose was to find a balance between private companies and public participation in the economic sphere.

Ruiz Cortines on the cover of TIme magazine in 1953 - Source: Boris Chaliapin / Public domain

The early death of his father caused the situation of his family, until then well-off, to worsen. Only the help of some of his uncles and his grandfather allowed the young man to train in various educational centers. However, at the age of 16 he had to abandon his studies to start working.

In 1913 he supported the Mexican revolutionaries in their fight against the dictatorship of Victoriano Huertas. After the revolution ended, Ruiz Cortines began his political career, holding various positions during the following decades. In 1951 he was nominated by the Institutional Revolutionary Party as a candidate for the presidency and, the following year, he won the elections.

Biography

Adolfo Ruiz Cortines was born on December 30, 1890 in Veracruz, Mexico. His father, who worked at the customs office in the city's port, passed away shortly after the birth of his son.

Until that moment, the family of the future president had a well-off position. However, the death of Ruiz Cortines' father caused their economy to be greatly affected, to the point that they lived through stages of true poverty.

María Cortines Cotera, Adolfo's mother, had no choice but to move to live with a relative. This, Ruiz Cortines' great-uncle, represented an important influence for the young man, who years later stated that he had taught him “the value of personal neatness, admiration for the men of the Reformation, and the need for order in all aspects. of the life

Education

Ruíz Cortines family. The widow María Cortines Cotera with her children María and Adolfo Ruiz in a photograph taken around 1895 in Veracruz.

Ruiz Cortines received his early education at home, at the hands of his mother. At the age of four, he entered the Escuela Amiga and, later, a school run by the Jesuits. In September 1901, the young Adolfo began studying accounting at the Instituto Veracruzano.

The political future was intended to continue training to make a professional career. However, at the age of 16, the family economic situation forced him to leave the Veracruzano Institute to start working. His first occupation was in a commercial clothing company, where he worked as an accountant until the end of 1912.

Mexican Revolution

The outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 prevented Ruiz Cortines from resuming his studies.

On the other hand, in 1908, the young man began to be interested in politics motivated by the publication of the book The Presidential Succession of 1910, written by Francisco I. Madero.

In 1912, when he was 23 years old, Ruiz Cortines left Veracruz to move to Mexico City. There he lived the events caused by the coup d'état of Victoriano Huertas, the so-called Tragic Week of 1913.

This coup ended with the assassination of the president, Francisco I. Madero. Huerta seized power and Ruiz Cortines joined his opponents. At first, he was placed under the command of Alfredo Robles, whom Carranza had appointed responsible for the constitutional forces in the south and center of the country.

Francisco I. Madero

In August 1914, Robles was appointed governor of the Federal District. Ruiz Cortines, who then held the rank of second captain, was part of his group of assistants, since he kept when Heriberto Jara replaced Robles.

Marriage and military promotion

Ruiz Cortines married on December 31, 1915 with Lucia Carrillo Gutiérrez, with whom he had three children. In the following years, he continued his military wagon and achieved several promotions.

As captain, he fought Adolfo Santibáñez in the Tehuantepec campaign. In 1917 he became an assistant to Heriberto Jara who had been appointed Governor and Military Commander of Veracruz.

Ruiz Cortines participated in 1920 in the Agua Prieta Plan, against Venustiano Carranza. When he was overthrown, the future president was commissioned to deliver the national treasure, transferred from Aljibe to Mexico City, to the new president, Adolfo de la Huerta.

At age 37, in 1926, Ruiz Cortines decided to end his military career. When he retired from the army he received the decoration of "Veterans of the Revolution, second term: years 1913-1916".

Entry into politics

Ruiz Cortines' first steps in politics occurred even before he left the army. Thus, he took charge of the private secretary of Jacinto B. Treviño during the brief time in which he held the Secretariat of Industry and Commerce. Later, in 1922, he worked with Manuel Padrés in the reorganization of the country's railways.

In 1925, after receiving a statistics course, Ruiz Cortines became director of National Statistics and, at the beginning of the 1930s, participated in the National Migration Convention.

In addition to these positions, Ruiz Cortines published various technical articles in magazines such as Crisol or newspapers such as El Nacional. His publications were about the need for large cities to decongest and the importance of demographics.

federal District

In 1935, after 20 years of marriage, Ruiz Cortines divorced his wife. That same year, he held the post of Senior Officer of the Federal District Department, an important political position.

During his tenure in that department, Ruiz Cortines befriended Miguel Alemán Valdés, who was then serving as a magistrate in the Superior Court of Justice. This friendship was decisive for his later political career.

Government of Manuel Ávila Camacho

From left to right, Manuel Ávila Camacho, President of Mexico, and Franklin Roosevelt, President of the United States

Ruiz Cortines failed in 1936 in his attempt to become governor of Veracruz. The following year, however, he did manage to be a deputy in the Congress of the Union.

The proximity of the presidential elections unleashed, in 1939, the internal battle within the Party of the Mexican Revolution (antecedent of the PRI) to be named candidate. The final chosen one was Manuel Ávila Camacho and Miguel Alemán became his campaign manager. He called his friend Ruiz Cortines to take charge of the treasury.

Ruiz Cortines carried out that job until the end of January 1940, when he was appointed Secretary of the Government of Veracruz.

With the victory of Ávila Camacho in the elections, Miguel Alemán became Secretary of the Interior and, once again, he had Ruiz Cortines again. On this occasion, his position was that of Senior Officer of the secretariat.

On the other hand, the future president remarried in early 1941.

Governor of Veracruz

In 1944, Ruiz Cortines tried again to become governor of his native state, Veracruz. After an intense campaign, this time he did achieve his goal and on December 1 of that year he took office.

Four years later, Ruiz Cortines left his post after being required by the federal government to occupy the Ministry of the Interior during the government of Miguel Alemán.

From that position he carried out important work that allowed him to come into contact with many social sectors, from politicians to trade unionists, through businessmen or agricultural leaders.

Candidacy for the 1952 presidential election

Although the next presidential elections did not have to be held until 1952, friction within the party to choose a candidate began three years. First, when Alemán seemed to want to extend his mandate, although he had to back down after the statements against Lázaro Cárdenas and Manuel Ávila.

Alemán then began probing possible candidates. His first choice was Fernando Casas, but this name aroused much rejection among party members. Finally, the chosen one was Ruiz Cortines, despite his advanced age and poor health.

In mid-October 1951, Ruiz Cortines was officially named the presidential candidate. During his campaign, he toured much of the country with the slogan "Austerity and Work." He also attached great importance to women, to whom he promised to grant them the right to vote.

Elections

The elections took place on June 6, 1952 and Ruiz Cortines was declared the winner of them.

The opposition candidates denounced some irregularities, such as the refusal to allow their representatives to observe the voting, the refusal to collect the minutes, the falsification of some of those minutes, or the blocking of roads in areas favorable to non-official lists.

These protests led to a large, violently stifled demonstration on the same election night.

President of Mexico (1952-1958)

Adolfo Ruiz Cortines was 62 when he became president of Mexico. As he had advocated during his campaign, he wanted to set an example from day one and organized a very austere inauguration ceremony.

For his government, he chose a series of collaborators who stood out for their experience and for their lack of relationship with the previous president, Miguel Alemán.

The delicate nature of his health was a concern within his environment. The new president hid from the population that he had had to undergo surgery just five weeks after taking office. To keep the secret, he even ordered an operating room to be prepared in his residence.

Despite this, Ruiz Cortines ended his presidential term without problems. It was a relatively quiet legislature and his figure did not garner much criticism.

Post-presidency

When he left office, Ruiz Cortines and his wife moved to live in a house in the capital. The politician received some offers to return to public life, without accepting any.

This situation lasted until December 8, 1961. That day it was announced that several former presidents, including Pascual Ortiz Rubio, Portes Gil, Lázaro Cárdenas and Ruiz Cortines himself, had received an offer to work in the government. scored by López Mateos.

Ruiz Cortines accepted the position of fiduciary delegate of Nacional Financiera, although he did not want to collect any salary. The former president maintained this occupation until the death of his son, on April 22, 1962.

After this, the politician was distancing himself from his wife, to the point of abandoning his home. His main occupation was playing dominoes with his friends from La Parroquia. With the passage of time, his outings became less frequent and, even, he prohibited his relatives from visiting him.

Death

An old friend, also a politician, moved to live with him in his home in Veracruz. On December 3, 1973, Ruiz Cortines woke up with great physical discomfort. His condition worsened throughout the day, although without improving it.

That same night, Ruiz Cortines passed away at home. The doctor ruled that the cause had been heart failure caused by arteriosclerosis.

Government of Ruiz Cortines

Adolfo Ruiz Cortines invested as President of Mexico. National Institute of Anthropology and History / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

Upon reaching the presidency, Ruiz Cortines had to face the division that existed within his own party. The previous presidential term had garnered great criticism and a dissident faction led by Henrique Guzmán had emerged.

Ruiz Cortines strove to try to end corruption in the administration and make decisions that would improve the quality of life and the rights of citizens.

Economic austerity

Ruiz Cortines sought from the beginning of his mandate to distinguish himself from the previous president, Miguel Alemán. Economically, he tried to solve social problems while beginning a time of austerity.

Among other measures, the president changed the law on the responsibility of public officials with the intention of ending corruption.

Another important change affected the Mexican Constitution. Ruiz Cortines promoted the reform of its article 28 to harshly sanction monopolies that affect basic necessities.

Likewise, his government passed laws to reduce public spending and adjust it to income. With this he sought to clean up the finances of the State and prevent inflation from growing.

These measures provoked the initial discontent of the businessmen, which led to a significant flight of capital. To solve the problem, Ruiz Cortines began in 1953 a plan to boost production.

Modification of article 32 of the Mexican Constitution

Although previous presidents had taken steps in this direction, in 1952 Mexican women still did not have the right to vote. Ruiz Cortines changed article 32 of the Constitution to change that circumstance.

Sociopolitical problems

The Ruiz Cortines government dissolved the Henriist movement and, in addition, imposed discipline to remove party leaders in various states who were against its policies.

On the other hand, in April 1952, the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants appeared, an organization affiliated with the PRI. This group soon came into conflict with the CTM and the government promoted the creation of the Bloque de Unidad Obrera so that all unions and centrals were integrated.

As in other times in history, during the government of Ruiz Cortines there was no shortage of the military ready to take up arms against him. In some cases, the president took severe measures, such as the outlawing of the association to which these soldiers belonged, the Federation of Parties of the Mexican People, and their expulsion from the army.

Agrarian problem

The distribution of land slowed down during this presidential term, since the amount distributed in previous periods had been very large and there was less and less land to continue this policy.

At the beginning of 1958, there were quite a few invasions of land in the hands of latifundistas by peasants and day laborers from northern Mexico. In some states, such as Sinaloa, Sonora or Baja California, thousands of peasants participated in this occupation.

The government's reaction was different in each case. In some, the occupiers were forcibly evicted, but in Sonora, half a million hectares were expropriated from the hands of Americans.

Railroad teachers and workers

In 1956, after a split within the National Union of Education Workers, there was a rebellion by a sector of the teaching staff. The main reason was the government's decision to raise wages much lower than expected.

Part of the teachers created the Revolutionary Movement of the Teaching and came to occupy the building of the Ministry of Public Education for a few months.

In April 1958, the teachers organized a large demonstration that was violently repressed by the police. One of the leaders, Othón Salazar, was arrested and jailed. However, the mobilization of the teachers had the support of the majority of the population and the government had to grant them the improvements they requested.

On the other hand, Ruiz Cortines also had to face an important protest movement organized by the railway workers.

The workers were against Jesús Díaz León, general secretary of the Union of Railroad Workers of the Mexican Republic, in addition to having suffered a reduction in their salary between 1951 and 1957.

The lack of consensus among the workers themselves allowed Ruiz Cortines to resolve the situation. The government raised their salary and acceded to some of their social requests.

Social policy

The president ordered social security to reach the entire country and to include peasants. In addition, he tried to ensure that the budget was spent appropriately to end wasteful medical expenses.

The social situation in Mexico at that time was reflected in the report commissioned by Ruiz Cortines at the beginning of his mandate: 42% of the population was illiterate, 19 million peasants lived daily, and inequality was increasing.

The poverty of much of the population caused many to try to enter the United States illegally in search of opportunities.

The measures taken by Ruiz Cortines sought to increase workers' wages. In addition, it took up an initiative created by Lázaro Cárdenas to bring basic food to the poorest neighborhoods of the capital.

On the other hand, it financed the oil works through bond issues in order to avoid increasing the external debt.

In the health field, the government organized several campaigns to eradicate tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases.

The March to the Sea

His experience in the field of demography had convinced Ruiz Cortines that Mexico should take advantage of its two extensive coastlines. The president thought that the population could be distributed if the infrastructures were improved.

To achieve this, Ruiz Cortines promoted the Maritime Progress Program, with a budget of 750 million pesos. This program, popularly known as March to the Sea, built or improved some 70 ports. In addition, inter-oceanic communications and with the highlands were opened.

1957 earthquake

One of the hardest moments of Ruiz Cortines' mandate was the 1957 earthquake. With its epicenter in Guerrero, the earthworks destroyed buildings in the capital and in other cities. The earthquake caused 52 fatalities and 657 injuries. The government gave orders to quickly help all those affected.

Economic policy

One of the government's priorities was to increase control of public spending. The president dedicated part of the budget to build new transport infrastructure, hospitals and schools.

The decrease in public spending and the decrease in inflation allowed the economy to improve and, for the first time in years, Mexico achieved a surplus and could increase investment.

This good situation changed in 1952, when foreign investment in the country was greatly reduced. Ruiz Cortines tried to overcome the problem by approving a plan called Stabilizing Policy.

The purpose of this plan was to increase domestic production, especially food. In addition, it also used the profits of private banks to offer greater benefits to rural areas.

The plan was a success: inflation was controlled and national production was properly exploited. However, the government was forced to devalue the currency in 1954.

Contributions of Ruiz Cortines

Ruiz Cortines' contributions during his presidency were, in general, well received by the majority of the population.

Change in the economic and development scenario

One of Adolfo Ruiz Cortines' priorities was to improve the country's economic integrity, as well as its political image. From the beginning, he promoted a series of measures to prevent the corruption scandals of his predecessor from recurring and to increase the confidence of companies, both national and foreign.

His campaign slogan, which called for austerity, was applied during his tenure. This, however, did not prevent the construction of new infrastructure, health centers and the improvement of social services.

The female vote

One of the most recognized achievements of the Ruiz Cortines government was the granting of the right to vote to women. This required a constitutional reform, which was approved with a very large majority.

Investment and regional development

The president promoted an investment plan for the country's coastal areas with the intention that they develop socially and economically.

This plan, called March to the Sea, provided better conditions for urban centers and ports. In addition, large tracts of wasteland were used to invest in its development.

Eradication of monopolies and agricultural development

Ending monopolies in the production of basic necessities was another of Ruiz Cortines' priorities.

To achieve this, a series of harsh sanctions were established for those companies that monopolized production or did not respect the regulated prices of these products.

On the other hand, the government gave the peasants more than 3.5 million hectares. In 1952, he approved the Emergency Agricultural Plan, to increase production and favor investment in rural areas.

Educational and university support

In the educational field, two major initiatives stood out: the construction of primary and higher schools throughout the country and the provision of equipment for the Autonomous University of Mexico.

Safe for all Mexicans

Through the Mexican Institute of Social Security, Ruiz Cortines extended the insurance to all the inhabitants of the country. To this must be added the creation of specialized insurance in some areas, such as that applied to peasants or industrial workers.

References

1. Carmona Dávila, Doralicia. Adolfo Ruiz Cortines. Obtained from memoriapoliticademexico.org
2. Ruiza, M., Fernández, T. and Tamaro, E. Adolfo Ruiz Cortines. Obtained from biografiasyvidas.com
3. WikiMexico. Ruiz Cortines, Adolfo. Retrieved from wikimexico.com
4. Yampolsky, Mariana. Adolfo Ruiz Cortines. Retrieved from artic.edu
5. The New York Times. Adolfo Ruiz Cortines Dead at 82; Was President of Mexico '52 -'58. Retrieved from nytimes.com
6. Ernst C. Griffin, Angel Palerm and Others. Mexico. Retrieved from britannica.com
7. Findbiographies. Adolfo López Mateos Biography. Retrieved from findbiographies.com