Luis N. Morones

Luis napoleon morones

Luis Napoleon Morones (1890 – 1964) was a Mexican union boss who served as Secretary General of the Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (Confederación Regional Obrera Mexicana, CROM) and as secretary of economy under President Plutarco Elías Calles, 1924-1928. He is considered the "most important union leader of the 1920s...and undoubtedly decisive in Mexico's post-Revolutionary reconstruction."[1]

Morones was born in Tlalpan, a delegación of the Mexican Federal District, and worked as an electrician. He joined the radical Casa del Obrero Mundial (House of the World Worker) in 1913, then helped found the electricians' union, Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME, Mexican Syndicate of Electricians), based in the Mexican Telephone and Telegraph Co., in 1915. The SME later joined the COS.[2]

During the Revolution, he supported Constitutionalist Venustiano Carranza, leader of the winning faction. From 1916 to 1918 he participated in political and labor organizations and congresses and by 1920 he was head of the CROM and helped to broker General Álvaro Obregón's accession to the presidency.

In 1922, he founded the Mexican Labor Party (Partido Laborista Mexicano PLM) and its organ El Sol, and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, where his prime role consisted of mediating between the working class and government elites.[3] His cooperation brought him into conflicts with communist and socialist elements of the union movement.

Calles rewarded him for his loyalty by appointing him as the nation's Secretary of Economy in 1924. After Obregón's death at the hands of a religious fanatic in 1928, however, Calles forced Morones to resign.[4][5] Morones and CROM broke with Obregón's Mexican Laborist Party as well.[6] Morones and other leaders of the CROM had enriched themselves through corrupt practices in the 1920s. Morones possessed large property holdings in his Tlalpan neighborhood and owned a luxury hotel in Mexico City.[5] He flaunted his ill-gotten wealth with displays of diamond rings and expensive cars, leading to charges of hypocrisy and corruption.

The influence of the CROM was weakened as a result among its rank-and-file base and unions in the confederation began deserting it. Morones lost more of his political power in the period from 1928 to 1932 during the period of Calles's indirect rule, known as the Maximato.

In 1936, Morones was arrested in connection with the attempted dynamiting of a train, which the Cárdenas government regarded as part of a conspiracy against it. Morones was forced into exile, along with Calles and the last remaining highly influential callistas in Mexico.[7][8] He lived in Atlantic City, New Jersey, returning to Mexico years later.

References

  1. ↑ Javier Aguilar García, "Luis Napoleón Morones," in Encyclopedia of Mexico, vol. 2, p. 953. Chicago: Fitzroy and Dearborn 1997.
  2. ↑ Aguilar García, "Luis Napoleón Morones," p. 953.
  3. ↑ Monday, Sept. 14, 1925 (1925-09-14). "Foreign News: In Manhattan". TIME. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  4. ↑ Monday, July 30, 1928 (1928-07-30). "MEXICO: Must keep calm!". TIME. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  5. 1 2 Aguilar García, "Luis Napoleón Morones," p. 954.
  6. ↑ Monday, Dec. 17, 1928 (1928-12-17). "MEXICO: Crom Crisis". TIME. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  7. ↑ Monday, Apr. 20, 1936 (1936-04-20). "MEXICO: Solution Without Blood". TIME. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  8. ↑ Aguilar García, "Luis Napoleón Morones," p. 955.


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