Huerta, Victoriano
Huerta, Victoriano
(vēktōryä`nō), 1854–1916, Mexican general and president (1913–14). He served under Porfirio Díaz. After the revolution of Francisco I. MaderoMadero, Francisco Indalecio, 1873–1913, Mexican statesman and president (1911–13). A champion of democracy and social reform, he established various humanitarian institutions for the peons on his family's vast estates in Coahuila.
..... Click the link for more information. (1911) he aided the new president, who, reluctantly, made him (1912) commander of the federal forces. In 1913 he plotted secretly with Madero's enemies, including U.S. ambassador Henry Lane Wilson, and overthrew the president. Huerta established a military dictatorship, notable for political corruption and rule by imprisonment and assassination. Numerous counterrevolutions broke out; the most important insurgent leaders were Venustiano CarranzaCarranza, Venustiano
, 1859–1920, Mexican political leader. While senator from Coahuila, he joined (1910) Francisco I. Madero in the revolution against Porfirio Díaz.
..... Click the link for more information. , Francisco VillaVilla, Francisco
, c.1877–1923, Mexican revolutionary, nicknamed Pancho Villa.
His real name was Doroteo Arango.
When Villa came of age, he declared his freedom from the peonage of his parents and became notorious as a bandit in Chihuahua and Durango.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Emiliano ZapataZapata, Emiliano
, c.1879–1919, Mexican revolutionary, b. Morelos. Zapata was of almost pure native descent. A tenant farmer, he occupied a social position between the peon and the ranchero, but he was a born leader who felt keenly the injustices suffered by his people.
..... Click the link for more information. . U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was openly hostile to Huerta, and unpleasant international incidents occurred at Tampico and Veracruz. Steady insurgent military pressure forced Huerta to resign in July, 1914. He fled to Europe and returned to the United States, where he was subsequently arrested for revolutionary activities; an alcoholic, he died in El Paso shortly after being released from an army jail.