Álvaro Obregón

President of Mexico

19, 1880 Siquisiva, Navojoa, Sonora

July 17, 1928(1928-07-17) (48) San Ángel, Mexico City

December 1, 1920 – November 30, 1924

Mexican politician, president of Mexico For other uses, see Álvaro Obregón (disambiguation). In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Obregón and the second or maternal family name is Salido. Álvaro Obregón Salido (Spanish pronunciation:  ; February 19, 1880 – July 17, 1928) was a general in the Mexican Revolution who was the 46th President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. He supported Sonora's decision to follow Governor of Coahuila Venustiano Carranza as leader of a revolution against the Victoriano Huerta regime. Carranza appointed Obregón commander of the revolutionary forces in northwestern Mexico and in 1915 appointed him as his minister of war. In 1920, Obregón, Plutarco Elías Calles, and Adolfo de la Huerta, all revolutionary generals from Sonora, launched a revolt against the civilian Carranza and his plan to place a political nobody in the presidency to succeed him. Carranza was assassinated while fleeing the capital on a train carrying most of the nation's gold. De la Huerta became interim president and when elections were held, Obregón won the subsequent election with overwhelming popular support. Obregón's presidency was the first stable presidency since the Revolution began in 1910. He oversaw massive educational reform (with Mexican muralism flourishing), moderate land reform, and labor laws sponsored by the increasingly powerful Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers. In August 1923, he signed the Bucareli Treaty that clarified the rights of the Mexican government and U.S. oil interests and brought U.S. diplomatic recognition to his government. In 1923–24, Obregón's finance minister, Adolfo de la Huerta, launched a rebellion when Obregón designated Calles as his successor. De la Huerta garnered support by many revolutionaries who were opposed to Obregón's apparent emulation of Porfirio Díaz's example. Obregón returned to the battlefield to crush the rebellion. In his victory, he was aided by the United States with arms and 17 U.S. planes that bombed de la Huerta's supporters. In 1924, Obregón's fellow Northern revolutionary general and hand-picked successor, Plutarco Elías Calles, was elected president. Although Obregón ostensibly retired to Sonora, he remained influential under Calles. Calles pushed through constitutional reform to again make re-election possible, but not continuously. Obregón won the 1928 election. He was assassinated that year, before beginning his second term, by a religious fanatic. His assassination precipitated a political crisis in the country, ultimately leading to Calles founding the party that was to hold office continuously until 2000.