BENJAMÍN ARGUED: BIOGRAPHY OF THE LION OF THE LAGOON - ARTE - 2025

Benjamín Argumedo (1876-1916), also called the “León de la Laguna”, was a rebel who participated in the Mexican Revolution. He is usually classified as an ambiguous character in his political positions, but in general he was characterized by supporting the rebellion of Pascual Orozco.

He is considered one of the most tenacious opponents of Francisco Villa, highlighting his fights in the Torreón and Zacatecas captures. His fame was favored through one of the best known corridos of the Mexican Revolution.

General Benjamín Argumedo. Source: General Archive of the Nation

He is known as one of the leaders of the colorados, a gang from the Lagunera region that was inspired by the ideals of the Mexican Liberal Party. It was made up of artisans, small businessmen or people from the middle sectors, as well as those born from free peoples, tenants and farm workers.

Biography

His place of birth is unknown exactly, but some historical versions indicate that Benjamín Argumedo was born in the Hidalgo congregation of the city of Matamoros, Coahuila state, around 1876. He did not own land except that he was a tailor, saddler and horse trainer.. He had a reputation for having a bad temper but also for a partygoer.

It is not clear if he participated in prerevolutionary activities, but his first known action was in the early morning of November 20, 1910. About 300 men took Gómez Palacio, Durango, with the intention of starting a revolution.

In parallel, under Argumedo's leadership, a score of men seized the Hidalgo Congregation, Matamoros municipality, without even a shot.

These rebel groups were made up of artisans, small merchants and people from the middle sectors, as well as tenants, farm workers and small owners of free towns.

The revolutionary foci of that night were dispersed without much difficulty by the federal troops towards the mountains, where they took refuge.

The La Laguna sector, between 1910 and 1911, was a hotbed of revolutionaries who would later be led by Sixto Ugalde, Enrique Adame Macías and José Isabel Robles, as well as Argumedo.

The Chinatown Massacre

In May 1911 Gómez Palacio fell into the hands of the rebels. After a few days the same thing happened with Torreón. The secondary chiefs and their men, along with Argumedo, starred in one of the most memorable events of the “León de la Laguna”.

The less disciplined soldiers, under the influence of alcohol, went to Torreón, released the prisoners, set fire to the political headquarters and the jail, while looting the shops.

In this context, historians indicate that Argumedo arrived with about fifty men and without stopping the disturbances ordered them to loot and kill those who were in the Wah-Yick Bank (or "Chinese Bank) from where the rebels who were trying to take area.

The soldiers carried out orders and continued the slaughter of Chinese at the neighboring Port of Shanghai, while Argumedo did nothing to regain control. The Chinese colony of Torreón was made up of about 600 people.

As the day broke, Orestes Pereyra and Emilio Madero put an end to the disturbances that took place and in which about 300 Chinese were massacred.

Opposition to Madero

One of the first to rise up, once Madero took power, was Argumedo who was gaining the support of many in the region due to the high levels of unemployment.

They opposed the Ciudad Juárez Accords and decided to fly the program of the Mexican Liberal Party (PLM) together with the red flag, for which they began to be called "colorados."

In February 1912, Argumedo tried to take San Pedro de las Colonias under the command of some 600 men, but he was unsuccessful in the place but in Matamoros Laguna. In his journey, more guerrillas joined under his command, until he reached almost a thousand men.

Now on the Orozquista side, his successful fight in the capture of Mapimí in March and Pedriceña in April 1912 stand out. By that time he was already leading about 3,000 men.

The Mexican rebel had been one of the signatories of the March 25 Manifesto, or Plan de la Empacadora, which listed a series of provisions to be carried out with the triumph of the revolution.

Among them the ignorance of the debts and contracts contracted by the State, the recognition of land ownership, respect for the powers and governments that adhere to the plan and the election of an interim president for one year.

After the signing and together with other revolutionaries, Argumedo toured the fields of La Laguna and Durango, setting fire to farms and taking towns to sabotage the march of General Victoriano Huerta and achieve Orozco's consolidation in arms, but he was unsuccessful.

Pascual Orozco's defeat in May 1912 was followed by his defeat in mid-June at the hands of General Aureliano Blanquet. This forced him to go to the borders of Zacatecas and Durango, at the head of a small guerrilla force.

From there he operated assassinating local Maderista authorities and attacking farms until finally Madero fell from power and was assumed by Victoriano Huerta.

Defense of the Huerta government

The Sierra de Banderas, place of the confrontation between Francisco Villa, Benjamín Argumedo and «Cheché» Campos. Source: José Cortina

The Orozquistas, now allied to the Huerta government, were assigned to fight the opponents in the garrison of Chihuahua, Durango and Torreón. The latter was delegated to Argumedo, who was a key player in defending it against Venustiano Carranza and some 6,000 rebels. This fact led him to be promoted to brigadier general and receive a decoration in August 1912.

In the following period, the fighting against the rebels continued and in June 1914 the constitutionalist forces under the command of Francisco “Pancho” Villa recovered the City of Torreón. They later defeated Argumedo again in the Battle of Zacatecas, where nearly 9,000 men from their ranks were wounded or killed.

Return to the rebel ranks

With the fall of Huerta in the hands of the constitutionalists, Argumedo returns to the side of the rebels but this time from the ranks of Zapata. During this phase, the defense of Mexico City against Carranza's forces stands out, a combat that lasted about 20 days and from which it had to withdraw forces.

After this fall, Argumedo settled with the Zapatista forces towards the Toluca area and later, when he lost his troops in one of the many combats of the time, he established an alliance with some Villistas.

Argumedo, a refugee in the San Miguel de Mezquital region of Zacatecas, was seriously ill when he was taken as a prisoner by the forces of General Francisco Murguía.

In February 1916, within the Durango Penitentiary, he was executed without his last wish being fulfilled: that of being publicly shot, as claimed by his famous popular corrido.

References

1. Salmerón Sanginés, Pedro. (2004). Benjamín Argumedo and the colorados of La Laguna. Studies of modern and contemporary history of Mexico, (28), 175-222. Recovered in scielo.org.mx
2. Naranjo, F. (1935). Revolutionary Biographical Dictionary. Mexico: Publishing House «Cosmos».
3. Ulloa, B. (1979) History of the Mexican Revolution. Mexico: College of Mexico.
4. Valadés, JC (2007). The Revolution and the Revolutionaries. Mexico: National Institute for Historical Studies of Mexican Revolutions
5. García, RM (2010). Benjamín Argumedo: the lion of the lagoon. Editorial of the Juárez University of the State of Durango.