Manuel Avila Camacho He was a prominent military man, politician and president of the United Mexican States from December 1, 1940 to November 30, 1946. He was called by citizens as the "gentleman president" due to the commitment to freedom he acquired for his country.
Under the militancy of the Party of the Mexican Revolution (PRM), the most relevant elements of his presidency were the change from military power to the citizen, the end of confrontational anticlericalism, the decline of socialist ideals and the union of labor relations with the States. United during World War II.
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Ávila was born in Teziutlán, Puebla, on April 24, 1897 and his parents were Manuel Ávila Castillo and Eufrosina Camacho Bello.
He studied at the Liceo Teziuteco, in the city of Puebla and, although he did not study at the university due to the difficult conditions given by the Mexican Revolution, he finished high school at the National Preparatory School..
His adolescence was marked by joining the army at the early age of 15, when he joined the Maderista forces in support of the Mexican businessman and politician Francisco Madero..
His first combat was when he was 18 years old and he fought in the Sierra de Puebla against the followers of the Mexican engineer and military man Victoriano Huerta..
After this his military career rose in 1920, when he achieved the rank of colonel and served as chief of staff of the former Mexican president and general Lázaro Cárdenas, who at the time was the military chief and governor of the state of Michoacán. The relationship between the two quickly turned into a good friendship..
On the other hand, in his personal and sentimental life, Ávila was known to have been married since December 16, 1925 to Soledad Orozco, who two years later participated as a soldier in the pacification of the rebellion of the Cristeros of Michoacán, Jalisco and Guanajuato.
Under the orders of General Cárdenas, in 1929 he returned to the fight and that time it was against the Escobarista rebellion, an uprising that José Gonzalo Escobar started in opposition to the government of President Emilio Portes Gil..
During Álvaro Obregón's constitutional government, Ávila was promoted to brigadier general. Later, under the mandate of Pascual Ortiz Rubio and Abelardo L. Rodríguez, he was appointed senior officer of the Secretary of War and Navy -which later became the Secretary of National Defense-, one of his most important achievements..
After two years, and during the government of his friend Lázaro Cárdenas, he was in the same secretariat from 1936 to 1939.
At the end of the Cárdenas government, the candidacies of those who aspired to the presidency began. Manuel Ávila Camacho and Francisco José Múgica ran for the National Revolutionary Party (PNR) - later known as the Institutional Revolutionary Party; while the opponent of Cárdenas, of the National Unification Revolutionary Party, was Juan Andreu Almazán.
In addition to the obvious friendship relationship, Cárdenas claimed to support Ávila, considering him a military man with patriotism, commitment and dedication for his country. Given this, Múgica resigned his candidacy, thus leaving Ávila as an official candidate for the presidency..
On July 7, 1940, Ávila was elected as president, with 2476641 votes for his election. However, during the elections there were clashes between the militants of the Almazán and Ávila parties.
The result was a balance of approximately 30 dead and 158 injured in Mexico City, as there were also riots in other locations in the country.
Ávila Camacho's government ended after six years. He isolated himself from politics to share with his wife a striking social life on his La Herradura ranch, where invited politicians, princes and dukes passed..
Manuel Ávila died on October 13, 1955 and his remains were for a time at his ranch. Then they were transferred along with those of his wife to the French pantheon in Mexico City.
The seizure of power occurred on December 1, 1940 and, from then on, took over the country's internal political rivalries due to the events on election day. In addition, he had to deal with external factors, such as the consequences of the Second World War..
His model of government was characterized by a moderate and centrist policy, with which he sought national unity. To do this, on September 15, 1942, he called an assembly with the former presidents of Mexico..
These former presidents were Adolfo de la Huerta, Plutarco Elías Calles, Emilio Portes Gil, Pascual Ortiz Rubio, Abelardo L. Rodríguez and Lázaro Cárdenas.
The objective was to create dialogues between the different thoughts; Thus, it obtained the support of organizations from different fields and its popularity increased.
The tendency of the Avillista government presented a capitalist economic model that boosted the bourgeois class, despite the fact that at one point the currency suffered a devaluation that caused an inflationary crisis.
However, the nation benefited from agricultural raw materials and minerals from which war materials were produced. For this reason, industrial, agricultural and mining machinery were equipped.
The National Peasant Confederation (CNC) was used by the government and the peasants were dispossessed.
On the other hand, the Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM) supported the government, as did the workers and Mexican politician Fidel Velázquez. As a consequence, the State took over the unions.
The Social Security Law was enacted and the Mexican Institute of Social Security was created, as well as the Children's Hospital of Mexico and the National Institute of Cardiology.
Despite the support he received from the public, Ávila was not without detractors. This was evidenced in an attack he received on April 10, 1944 in the National Palace, when an artillery lieutenant named José Antonio de la Lama y Rojas shot him after having a brief friendly greeting with the president, who finally left unscathed.
- One of his main non-tangible contributions was the elimination of socialist education in the country and the creation of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), with the aim of educating citizens in favor of having a dignified and fruitful work culture.
- Permission was granted for the promotion of private and religious education.
- In the public and urban context, transport routes were expanded and built throughout the country and the means of communication such as the mail, the telegraph and the radio were modernized..
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