Francisco José Múgica
Francisco José Múgica Velázquez (3 September 1884 – 12 April 1954) was a military revolutionary, Major General and Mexican politician. He participated in the Constitutional Assembly of 1917 that produced the Constitution of Mexico and served governor of the states of Tabasco and Michoacán as well as the then-Territory of Baja California Sur and Islas Marías; additionally, he headed the secretariats of National Economy and Communications and Public Works during the government of Lázaro Cárdenas.[1]
Beginnings and revolutionary life
Francisco J. Múgica was born in Tingüindín, Michoacán. His father was a school teacher, which meant Múgica had to move from one place to another, causing him to complete his primary education in various schools. After completing his preparatory studies, he began working as a journalist, being a liberal contributor to several newspapers, including Regeneración of Enrique Flores Magón and his brothers. In Zamora, Michoacan, he completed his studies in seminary and started a small opposition newspaper against Porfirio Díaz.
Years later, he would move to Mexico City, where he would have contact with various figures in conspiracies for the Mexican Revolution; in 1910 he traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to begin the organization of the Revolutionary Meetings. He joined forces with Pascual Orozco, taking what would become Ciudad Juarez in 1911; then with Lucio Blanco, they started to do the first land distribution in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in 1913. He was subsequently charged with various military activities, such as being a general and lieutenant to Venustiano Carranza and Alvaro Obregon among others. He led the revolutionary forces in Michoacán, where he met Lázaro Cárdenas, who would be his ideological pupil. His military career led to disagreements with General Álvaro Obregón, who ordered his assassination; His friendship with Cárdenas allowed him to know the intentions of Obregón and escape his executioners. At the end of his military career, he was responsible for the Heroic Military Academy (Mexico) , the Commander in the South and was Governor of Tabasco and President of the Military Court.[2]
Constituent
Mugica participated in the Constitutional Assembly of 1917; for his positions and his debates with other delegates, he was always remembered as one of the best delegates and fundamental ideologists of the Mexican Revolution. He worked on items in the Constitution that concerning matters of religion, politics, economics and education. His ideology would be embodied in Articles 3, 27 and 123 of the Constitution of the United Mexican States.
Governor of Michoacán
Mugica was made Governor of Michoacán briefly from September 15, 1920, to 1921. when Lázaro Cárdenas was appointed chairman of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario and Secretary of State.
Federal secretariat
On 1 December 1934, Cárdenas became the president of Mexico and named Múgica as the Secretary of the National Economy. He immediately made himself identifiable as one of the most "Cardenista" cabinet members, compared to the "Callistas" loyal to Plutarco Elías Calles. Cárdenas had begun to deestablish the Maximato by which Elías Calles had exercised command over every president since he left office in 1928. Múgica, a great ally of Cárdenas, helped in breaking the Maximato by creating a crisis in mid-June 1935 by releasing anti-labor statements made by Calles. The unions began strong protests against the figure of Jefe Máximo (Calles), which were immediately exploited to get rid of his influence on the government to seek and obtain the resignation of his entire cabinet and oust all Callistas. This included Calles's son, the Secretary of Communications and Public Works, whom Cardenas substituted with the appointment of Múgica.
Presidential candidate
Múgica was a natural successor to Cárdenas: he was a strong leftist and believed in many of his major reforms. However, Múgica was perceived as much more radical than Cárdenas; his supporters saw him as the great consolidator of the social work begun by Cárdenas, while his opponents saw him as a great danger that would make Mexico a copy of the Soviet Union.
By 1939, the popularity of Cardenas had fallen seriously. Two figures on the right were arising to challenge the Cárdenas legacy: Joaquín Amaro and Juan Andrew Almazán. Cárdenas then realized that the candidacy of Múgica might not be well received by the country or internationally, and that he needed a centrist candidate that was much less radical, could unify the divided population and, above all, counter the rising popularity of Almazán. For Cárdenas, this represented the candidacy of Manuel Ávila Camacho, the Secretary of Defense; Múgica ultimately had no choice but to withdraw his candidacy and endorse Ávila Camacho, with whom he had never had a close relationship.
Governor of Baja California Sur
After the elections, serious conflicts and an electoral fraud pulled off the victory for Ávila Camacho over Almazán, Múgica was an uncomfortable character for the new government. He had not only been a great competitor of the new president, but also represented the "old" ideas and reforms from which Ávila Camacho sought to distance himself. However, due to his revolutionary career and power, leaving him out of the government was not feasible. The solution was to appoint him Governor of the Territory of Baja California Sur, one of the most remote, sparsely populated and underdeveloped areas of the country.
Final years and death
Years prior to his death, Múgica was involved in various private activities and running a number of prisons, including the Islas Marías. He died in Mexico City at 69 years of age.