PASCUAL ORTIZ RUBIO: BIOGRAPHY, GOVERNMENT, CONTRIBUTIONS - BIOGRAPHIES - 2025

Pascual Ortiz Rubio was a Mexican politician, geographer and historian who held the presidency of the Republic between 1930 and 1932. Born in Morelia in 1877, Ortiz participated in the Mexican Revolution supporting Francisco Madero and, after the Huertas rebellion, with the Constitutionalists of Carranza.

After the conflict ended, Ortiz was appointed governor of Michoacán, a position he held for three years. Later, he was a member of the governments of Adolfo de la Huerta and Álvaro Obregón. Tired of politics, Ortíz left the country to travel to Spain and Egypt. However, President Obregón requested him to serve as Ambassador to Brazil.

Pascual Ortiz Rubio - Source: National Photo Company Collection.

Obregón's murder marked the beginning of the stage known as Maximato. Despite having several presidents during that period, the true strong man in power was Plutarco Elías Calles. It was he who convinced Ortiz to run for the 1929 elections.

Pascual Ortiz was the winner of those elections, although the accusations of fraud were massive. As soon as he took office, the new president suffered an attack that left him with psychological consequences. His government was quite weak, with Calles controlling all decisions. Given this, Ortiz submitted his resignation only two years later.

Biography

Pascual José Rodrigo Gabriel Ortiz Rubio was the full name of this Mexican politician born in Morelia, in the state of Michoacán. The future president came to the world on March 10, 1877 in the bosom of a family interested in political life. His father, with the same name, had held various positions in the federal and state administration.

The young Ortiz began studying engineering at the University of San Nicolás, but was expelled in 1895 for carrying out anti-reelection political activities. For this reason, he had to finish his career as a surveying engineer at the National School of Mining.

Mexican Revolution

After finishing his studies, Pascual Ortiz returned to Michoacán, where he practiced his profession until the beginning of the Revolution, in which he actively participated.

With the arrival of Francisco Madero to the presidency, Ortiz was a federal deputy. The uprising of Victoriano Huerta caused him to be imprisoned along with the rest of the legislators. During his stay in prison, he took the opportunity to write "Memories of a penitent."

Once released, Ortiz joined the Constitutionalist Army led by Carranza to fight Huertas. During the conflict he reached the rank of colonel, in addition to gaining popularity that served to be assigned government tasks when the rebellion triumphed. Thus, Ortiz is sent to the United States in search of paper money that could not be forged.

Political career

Between 1917 and 1920, Pascual Ortiz served as Governor of Michoacán. One of his measures during that stage was to convert the institution in which he had studied into a university.

In 1920, Ortiz joined the Agua Prieta Plan, led by Plutarco Elías Calles. It was a manifesto against the president, Venustiano Carranza. In just a couple of weeks, the rebels gained control of most of the country. Finally, after Carranza's murder, adolfo de la Huerta held the highest Mexican magistracy on an interim basis.

Ortiz was appointed Secretary of Communications and Public Works by De la Huerta and, after the elections, he was ratified in office by the winner, Álvaro Obregón.

Europe and Middle East

The period during which Ortiz held the position of Secretary of Communications was quite short. Very soon he began to clash with other members of the government and, in 1921, he resigned. In addition, he decided to leave Mexico and move to Spain, where, together with his wife, he opened a tobacco shop and a bookstore.

Later Ortiz changed his residence again. This time he chose Egypt, the country in which he lived for six months. During that time he was studying the irrigation systems built by the English.

Ambassador

In 1925, Álvaro Obregón offered him the post of Mexican ambassador to Germany. Ortiz took advantage of his stay in that European country to make friends with senior German army officers.

According to his biographers, Ortiz had adapted very well to his life in Germany. For this reason, he showed his displeasure when the Mexican government decided to offer him the embassy in Brazil. However, the politician ended up accepting the appointment and remained in the South American country for three years, until 1929.

It was then that Emilio Portes Gil, who held the presidency after the assassination of Álvaro Obregón, asked him to return to the country to occupy the Ministry of the Interior.

Presidential candidacy

In reality, that appointment was only the first step for Ortiz to be a candidate for the presidency. Plutarco Elias Calles, a strong man in the country, believed that Ortiz's lack of support among the political parties made Ortiz manageable.

In order for him to be named a candidate, Elías Calles had to remove his party's favorite, Aarón Sáenz, in a maneuver called "early morning."

Ortiz himself, in his memoirs, would write that “(Calles) asked me to accept being a Pre-candidate for the Presidency for the Party organized by him, competing with Sáenz for whom he gave me to understand that the majority perhaps did not accept it and there was the danger of dissolution of the revolutionary family; that I was in exceptional condition to lead the party due to my absence from the country for many years and my no political commitment to the ruling factions… »

To this he added the following:

«In case of my triumph, he gave me a group completely addicted to him, rather slavish to Calles, and it was presumably difficult to handle it. But there was no other option: I accepted to be a candidate for his party and I had to fulfill my commitment ”.

Ortiz's candidacy became official in March 1929, at the convention that took place in Querétaro.

Bell

The electoral campaign began at the end of May 1929. Facing Ortiz's candidacy was that of José Vasconcelos, of the Anti-reelectionist Party, as well as Pedro Rodríguez, of the Communist Party.

An armed uprising, led by Gilberto Valenzuela and Antonio I. Villarreal forced the campaign to stop, which did not resume again until the rebels were defeated by General Calles.

Elections

The elections were held on November 17, 1929. As it was an extraordinary call due to Obregón's assassination, the winner had to hold office only until 1934.

The Mexican political context was quite turbulent. Vasconcelos had won the support of young people from the north and based his campaign on denouncing the, in his opinion, undemocratic practices of Elías Calles.

After the voting, there were reports of fraud, to the point that these elections are considered by many historians as the most fraudulent of Mexican democracy. Despite the documentary evidence presented by Vasconcelos on the manipulation of votes, Pascual Ortiz was declared the winner.

Attempt

Pascual Ortiz took office on February 5, 1930. The ceremony took place in the National State and when it ended he moved to the National Palace to receive the congratulations of his supporters.

A car was waiting for him at the gate of the stadium to carry out the transfer, but Ortiz preferred to use his wife's vehicle, who was also there. That change of plans prevented the assassination of the new president, since it was a more robust car.

As the car moved forward, Daniel Flores González shot Ortiz, wounding him in the cheek. The injuries suffered, although not fatal, forced the president to convalesce for two months in hospital.

For his part, the shooter was arrested and sentenced to 19 years in prison. However, after a year in jail, he was found dead in his cell.

Presidency

In addition to the physical consequences caused by the shooting, Ortiz also suffered psychological problems as a result of the attack. According to the biographers, the politician suffered from a neurosis that made it difficult for him to return to public life.

To the above, we must add the control that Elías Calles wanted to maintain over all the decisions made. All this ended up making the position of Ortiz untenable, who resigned after two years of presidency, in 1932.

His words upon leaving office were the following:

"I go out with my hands clean of blood and money, and I prefer to leave, and not stay here supported by the bayonets of the Mexican army."

Last years and death

The replacement for Pascual Ortiz Rubio in the presidency of the Republic was Abelardo L. Rodriguez. After leaving power, Ortiz moved to the United States and remained outside his country until 1935.

That year, President Lázaro Cárdenas, a personal friend of Ortiz, offered him the management of the Petromex company. In addition to occupying this position, the politician also carried out other activities commissioned by the president.

After this, Ortiz concentrated on his personal businesses, in addition to traveling around the country. Her death occurred on November 4, 1963 in Mexico City, when she was 84 years old.

government

The presidential period of Pascual Ortiz cannot be understood without taking into account the political context in which he passed: the so-called Maximato. This period lasted six years, between 1928 and 1932, and was marked by the figure of Plutarco Elías Calles, known by the nickname of "the maximum chief."

During the Maximato years, three different presidents succeeded each other. The first was Emilio Portes, the second Pascual Ortiz and the third Abelardo I. Rodriguez. However, the real power was exercised by Elías Calles.

This politician had held the presidency of Mexico between 1924 and 1928. His political influence, however, did not end at that time, as he continued to make the decisions of the following governments.

The assassination of Álvaro Obregón, winner of the 1928 elections and the only politician with enough charisma to have faced Calles, marked the beginning of the Maximato.

After the crime, Calles proposed Portes Gil as interim president until new elections were called and he was also the one who promoted the candidacy of Ortiz Rubio.

Meanwhile, Plutarco Elías Calles had founded the National Revolutionary Party, the seed of the future PRI. Ortiz Rubio appeared in the elections as the candidate of that party and, with multiple accusations of fraud, won the victory.

Weak government

The aftermath of the attack suffered the same day he took office and the continuous interventions of Elías Calles in his decisions made the government very weak. The ministerial cabinet itself was an imposition of Calles, with which the real power of Ortiz was very limited.

On the other hand, Ortiz did not have his own political support, according to his biographers, he did not have a strong character. In this way, the decisions of his government were made by ministers who totally obeyed Calles.

Suspension of debt payments

Like the rest of the planet, Mexico suffered the effects of the Great Depression that broke out in the United States in 1929. The economy suffered a contraction, forcing the Ortiz government to devalue the currency. Furthermore, unemployment grew dramatically, leaving Mexican leaders with no option but to suspend debt payments for two years.

Resignation

Pascual Ortiz's situation as president became untenable. Calles, self-proclaimed "Maximum Chief of the Revolution", did not allow him any type of initiative and, furthermore, his health was not very good.

Only two years after becoming president, Pascual Ortiz Rubio presented his resignation in a tense atmosphere and with rumors of a coup.

Contributions

One of the first measures taken by Ortiz Rubio after assuming the presidency was to visit the United States. There he met with Hoover, the country's president, and the manager of Standard Oil.

Ortiz offered the Americans to end the agrarianism that had characterized Mexican politics and to provide facilities for private investment. Both aspects were well received by international banks and the US government.

Approved proposals

One of the most important measures taken by the Ortiz Rubio government was the proclamation of the Estrada Doctrine. This was made public on September 26 and supported non-intervention in the policies of other countries, in clear reference to the United States, and the right of peoples to self-determination.

In addition, the government established relations with the Spanish Republic and ordered the incorporation of Mexico into the League of Nations.

Regarding internal affairs, the Ortiz administration ratified freedom of worship and promulgated the Federal Labor Law. On the other hand, the Baja California peninsula was divided into two territories and Quintana Roo was annexed to Yucatán.

Publications

In addition to his political activity, Ortiz Rubio was the author of several books on various topics. His publications include The 1910 Revolution, Historical Notes, Memories of a Penitent, Geographical Notes of the State of Michoacán, History of Michoacán, and Memories.

References

1. Carmona Dávila. Doralicia. Pascual Ortiz Rubio. Obtained from memoriapoliticademexico.org
2. EcuRed. Pascual Ortiz Rubio. Obtained from ecured.cu
3. Herald of Mexico. Pascual Ortiz Rubio, the president of the attack and the National Tourism Commission. Obtained from heraldodemexico.com.mx
4. The Biography. Biography of Pascual Ortiz Rubio (1877-1963). Retrieved from thebiography.us
5. People Pill. Pascual Ortiz Rubio. Retrieved from peoplepill.com
6. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Ortiz Rubio, Pascual (1877–1963). Retrieved from encyclopedia.com
7. US Library of Congress. The Maximato. Recovered from countrystudies.us