Jose Maria Pino Suarez he was a politician, writer and journalist born in Mexico in 1869. In 1911, he became vice president of the first government to emerge from the Mexican Revolution, chaired by Francisco I. Madero. In addition, he held other political positions such as the governorship of Yucatan, the secretariat of Public Instruction and Fine Arts and the Ministry of Justice..
His entry into politics occurred in the final stage of the Porfiriato, when he participated with Madero in the creation of anti-reelection movements. Apart from these activities, Pino Suárez also worked as a journalist. In this aspect, the foundation of El Peninsular stood out, a newspaper from which he fought a tough battle in defense of freedom of expression..
Pino Suárez's stage as vice president did not last long. Two years after being elected, an uprising led by Victoriano Huerta ended the government. President Madero and Pino Suárez himself had to resign and were subsequently assassinated by supporters of the coup.
In addition to his political vocation, Pino Suárez stood out for his poetic and journalistic work. While still very young, some of his poems were published in various magazines and, later, two of his books were very successful both in Mexico and in Europe..
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José María Pino Suárez was born on September 8, 1869 in Tenosique, Tabasco, into a wealthy family. His mother passed away shortly after he was born and his father, who owns several businesses, hired a private tutor to take care of his education..
When he was a teenager, Pino Suárez moved to Mérida, Yucatán, to continue his training. In that city he entered a school run by the Jesuits, the Colegio de San Ildefonso. This institution had adapted the study plans used in French high schools and was considered one of the best in the country..
At the end of this educational stage, the young Pino began to study Law at the School of Jurisprudence of Yucatán, in which he graduated in 1894.
Pino Suárez's first jobs were related to his studies and he went on to open his own law firm in Mexico City, where he had established his residence after marrying in 1896.
During this period he began to build a certain reputation as a writer. Without neglecting his work as a lawyer, he began to publish his poems in some publications, among which the weekly Pimienta y Mostaza stood out..
Pino Suárez returned to Mérida three years later. There he entered the business world in association with his father-in-law.
The success of these businesses allowed Pino Suárez to buy a printing press and, in 1904, to found his own newspaper: El Peninsular. Its beginnings were very promising and in just one year it had built a significant readership.
In its pages appeared several reports that denounced the systematic exploitation to which the laborers of the estates of the area were subjected. These complaints caused landowners to put pressure on the companies that were advertised in the publication, jeopardizing their economic viability..
The future vice president did not hesitate to wage a battle in defense of freedom of publication and expression. Among other actions, he founded with other colleagues the Association of the Yucatecan Press.
That confrontation with the most powerful sectors was Pino Suárez's first approach to the world of politics. However, at that time he showed no interest in getting fully involved in this activity and, between 1906 and 1909, he kept away from any public visibility..
A fortuitous event changed the way of life of Pino Suárez. In 1909, Porfirio Díaz seemed to have admitted the possibility of other candidates running for the next election. Before the announcement, some opposition groups began a campaign to present a candidate, Francisco I. Madero.
In June of that same year, Madero visited Veracruz to promote his candidacy. The visit was a failure, as it was only received by six people, including José María Pino Suárez.
Pino Suárez had been impressed after reading the book La Sucesión Presidencial en 1910, written by Madero. From the moment that both coincided, their political destiny was united.
As part of the Madero team, Pino founded the Mérida Anti-reelection Club, of which he was president. In addition, he organized other loyal groups in Yucatán and Tabasco.
José María Pino presided over the National Convention of Affiliated Parties, in which Madero was elected as a candidate for the presidency and Francisco Vázquez Gómez for the vice-presidency.
Meanwhile, Porfirio Díaz had changed his mind about the elections and ordered the arrest of Madero. Likewise, he issued an arrest warrant against Pino Suárez, but he managed to escape and hide in Tabasco.
During the time that Madero spent in the San Luis Potosí prison, Pino Suárez wrote to him regularly to inform him about the progress he was making in the states of Tabasco and Yucatán..
In 1909, still under the Porfirian regime, Pino Suárez appeared with the support of the Madero National Anti-reelection Party in the elections to elect the governor of Yucatán. His rivals were Delio Moreno Cantón, for the also opposition Independent Electoral Center, and the official Enrique Muñoz Arístegui.
The fraud during the voting was evident and Muñoz Arístegui was declared the winner. Pino Suárez and Moreno Cantón later suffered fierce political persecution that forced them to flee the state.
On the other hand, Francisco Madero was released after the elections, which, with clear signs of fraud, had been won by Porfirio Díaz. On this occasion, his opponents did not accept the result and proclaimed the Plan of San Luis.
According to the postulates of the Plan, Madero formed a provisional government and appointed Pino Suárez governor of Yucatán, a position he held between June 5 and August 8, 1811.
In September of that same year, he assumed the Secretary of Justice, which he held until November 13.
At the same time, new elections were called in Yucatán, held in September, shortly before Madero assumed the presidency of the country. The same candidates as the previous time participated in the voting, but this time it was Pino Suárez who achieved the victory and assumed the governorship on October 17.
With the Madero-led rebellion spreading across the country, Porfirio Díaz had no choice but to negotiate his departure from power. On May 21, 1911, he signed the Treaties of Ciudad Juárez with the rebels, in which he promised to leave office..
The presidency was assumed, on an interim basis, by Francisco León de la Barra, who would have the mission of calling new presidential elections.
Meanwhile, according to the postulates of the San Luis Plan, Madero formed a provisional government and appointed Pino Suárez governor of Yucatán, a position he held between June 5 and August 8, 1811.
In September of that same year, he became the Secretary of Justice, which he held until November 13.
At the same time, new elections were called in Yucatán, which were held in September, shortly before Madero assumed the presidency of the country. The same candidates as the previous time participated in the voting, but this time it was Pino Suárez who achieved the victory and assumed the governorship on October 17.
On November 15, 1911, Pino Suárez requested an indefinite leave of office as governor to become vice president of the country. In addition, he also assumed the position of Secretary of Justice and Fine Arts.
The new Mexican government, headed by Madero and Pino Suárez, had to face a large number of political enemies from the first moments. Both some former revolutionaries, such as Emiliano Zapata, as supporters of Porfirio and conservative sectors, made the task of governing almost impossible.
Finally, in February 1913, a coup led by Victoriano Huerta and Félix Díaz (Porfirio's nephew) caused Madero and Pino Suárez to resign from their positions..
The conspirators had promised Pino Suárez and Francisco Madero that their lives would be spared if they resigned from their positions. However, on February 22, 1913, they were released from Mexico City prison and executed..
When news of the killings became public, many revolutionaries, including those who had opposed the Madero government, joined together to fight the Huerta dictatorship..
In 1986, the remains of Pino Suárez were transferred to the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons in the Mexican capital..
Francisco I. Madero's candidacy for the presidency was clear even before the Plan of San Luis. However, that of Pino Suárez for the vice presidency was not so easy to decide.
Within the Maderista movement there were other possible candidates who tried to take over the position and, in addition, Francisco León de la Barra also ran for the position.
For many Maderistas, the normal thing was that the candidate for vice president was the same one who had accompanied him in the elections against Porfirio Díaz: Francisco Vázquez Gómez. However, both had had some serious discrepancies and, for that reason, Madero preferred Pino Suárez.
Finally, in September 1911 the convention of the Progressive Constitutional Party was held, the name that Madero had chosen to stand in the elections. At that meeting, the Madero-Pino Suárez list was approved.
The elections took place on November 5 and Madero and Pino Suárez won very comfortably.
The situation in the country before the elections was quite tense. The provisional presidency of Francisco León de la Barra, which lasted for 6 months, had increased the tension.
De la Barra had tried to dismantle the revolutionary forces, but Emiliano Zapata refused to give up his arms before the failure to comply with the distribution of land promised by Madero in the Plan of San Luis.
This tension continued after Madero and Pino Suárez assumed power and led to the rupture between the government and the revolutionaries..
Pino Suárez took office as vice president of Mexico on September 6, 1911. In addition, he also took charge of the Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, a decision that generated numerous criticisms among some deputies and in the country's press..
The new leaders tried to reconcile the demands of the revolutionaries with the structures inherited from the Porfiriato. In the end, they failed to satisfy either of the two sectors.
Among the most relevant measures is the creation of a more democratic regime with greater freedoms. Likewise, the government enacted some timid land redistributive measures, but without actually approving the Agrarian Reform demanded by Emiliano Zapata or Francisco Villa..
More accepted were other measures that affected health and education, as well as the reduction of working hours.
Madero demanded that the revolutionary leaders who were still fighting to lay down their arms. Many of them, such as Pascual Orozco and Emiliano Zapata, refused to do so..
Zapata had suffered the persecution unleashed by the interim government of León de la Barra, which caused him to consider Madero as a traitor to the revolution. On November 28, 1911, the agrarian leader launched the Ayala Plan, by which he denounced Madero and recognized Orozco as legitimate president..
Among his complaints, Zapata made express reference to the work of Pino Suárez, as well as how he had been chosen for the position:
“The President of the Republic, Francisco I. Madero, has made of the Effective Suffrage a bloody mockery of the people, already imposing against the will of the people themselves, in the Vice-presidency of the Republic, the lawyer José María Pino Suárez, or already the governors of the States (…) "
In addition to the one led by Zapata, other insurrections broke out in the country. Vázquez Gómez proclaimed his Plan of Tacubaya on October 31, 1911 and Bernardo Reyes did the same with his Plan of Solitude on November 16.
Those rebellions led by the revolutionaries eroded support for Madero and Pino Suárez. However, the fall of the government was not caused by these groups, but by supporters of the old Porfirian regime.
Although the revolutionaries accused the rulers of having been too permissive with the more conservative sectors, they considered Madero and his vice president as a threat to their interests, especially the Catholic Church and the landowners..
In February 1913, Félix Díaz, Porfirio's nephew, was in prison for having revolted the previous year in Veracruz. Despite this, he managed to organize a new insurrection with the support of Victoriano Huerta. The conspirators enlisted the help of the American ambassador, Henry Lane Wilson, a fierce anti-Maderista.
The hostilities lasted 10 days, in an episode that has gone down in history as the Tragic Ten. The coup plotters managed to defeat the government forces and Pino Suárez and Madero were arrested and sent to prison..
After betraying his comrades in the coup, Huerta ran for president, a position that, in principle, was destined for Félix Díaz.
Huerta, to give an appearance of legitimacy to his arrival in power, devised a parliamentary strategy that involved Lascuráin Paredes, secretary of Foreign Relations in the Madero government. To be successful, the first thing was to get the president and vice president to resign.
When the news of the arrest of Madero and Pino Suárez was made public, the governments of Germany, the United Kingdom, Cuba, Chile and Brazil demanded that the lives of the two leaders be respected. His intervention, however, was of no use.
In circumstances that have not yet been fully clarified, Lascuraín convinced the two politicians to submit their resignation in exchange for saving their lives and to protect their families. Madero and Pino Suárez ended up accepting, without knowing that Gustavo, the president's brother, had already been assassinated..
The coup plotters made the two coup plotters believe that they were going to be transferred to Cuba safe and sound. The very morning of his death, Madero collapsed upon learning of his brother's death.
On February 22, 1913, at 10 p.m., Colonel Joaquín Chicarro announced to Madero and Pino Suárez that they were going to be transferred. The two politicians were loaded into different cars bound for the Lecumberri Palace.
Madero was forced to get out of the vehicle and was immediately shot in the head.
Pino Suárez, when his turn came, received a first non-fatal bullet. The politician, wounded by the first shot and shouting "help, they assassinate me", tried to flee when he saw the corpse of the president, but was again shot by Lieutenant Rafael Pimienta and the soldiers who accompanied him.
José María Pino Suárez was shot 13 times in the head. The official version of what happened was that “When they reached the final stretch of the road to the Penitentiary, they were attacked by an armed group, in the middle of the attack the prisoners tried to flee for which they were killed. they knew the real facts.
Pino Suárez, as vice president, played a very important role in some of the decisions made by the Francisco Madero government. Its protagonism was even greater in those measures related to culture and education.
Just one day after taking office, the new government amended the Mexican Constitution to prohibit the reelection of president, vice president and state governors.
On November 30, the authorities promulgated the law of compulsory military service and decreed the abolition of the lev, which was replaced by the replacement of casualties in the army by civilians chosen by lot..
On December 19, a reform of the electoral law was approved that established direct voting in federal elections..
In addition, the government issued two important decrees: the first allowed the deported Yaqui Indians to return to their lands; the second annulled the provisions that had allowed the landowners to treat their workers as true slaves.
On the other hand, Madero approved the free association of workers in unions and the founding of the Casa del Obrero Mundial. Likewise, it began to carry out some reforms in land ownership, which happened, although very timidly, to be based on the ejido.
From his position as secretary of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, Pino Suárez developed a special education program for indigenous people.
Likewise, it promoted the construction of dining rooms and houses for students, the opening of Sunday schools for workers, the reform of the study plans of the National Preparatory School and convened a congress on primary education..
In addition to his political vocation, Pino Suárez cultivated another passion throughout his life: poetry. According to critics, his style was similar to that of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, with a late romanticism.
His two most outstanding works were Melancholy (1896) and Procelaries (1903), which were not only published in Mexico, but also in Europe.
On the other hand, Pino Suárez collaborated with the magazine Pimienta y Mostaza and was the author of the prologue of Memoirs of an Ensign, by Eligio Ancona.
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