Deaths on February 22

Francisco I. Madero, Mexican president and author (b. 1873)

Francisco Ignacio Madero González (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈsisko iɣˈnasjo maˈðeɾo ɣonˈsales]; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, landowner, reformist, writer and statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was forced to resign in a right wing coup d'etat in February 1913, during which he was assassinated. He was a member of a large and extremely wealthy landowning family in the northern state of Coahuila. Despite his wealth, he was an advocate for social justice and democracy. Madero was notable for challenging long-time President Porfirio Díaz for the presidency in 1910 and being instrumental in sparking the Mexican Revolution. Following his being jailed before fraudulent elections in the summer of 1910, he called for the violent overthrow of Díaz as a last resort in his 1910 Plan of San Luis Potosí. Histories of Mexico date the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution to this plan.

Until he ran for president in the 1910 elections, he had never held office, but he authored the book entitled The Presidential Succession in 1910, (1908). Madero called on voters to prevent the sixth reelection of Porfirio Díaz, which Madero considered anti-democratic. His vision would help lay the foundation for a democratic, twentieth-century Mexico, attempting to do so without polarizing the social classes. He bankrolled the opposition Anti-Reelectionist Party and urged voters to oust Díaz in the 1910 election. Madero's candidacy against Díaz garnered widespread support in Mexico. He was possessed of independent financial means, ideological determination, and the bravery to oppose Díaz when it was dangerous to do so. Díaz had Madero arrested before the elections, which were then seen as illegitimate. Madero escaped from prison and issued the Plan of San Luis Potosí from the United States. For the first time, he called for an armed uprising against the illegitimately elected Díaz, and outlined a program of reform.

Madero's support was in northern Mexico and was aided by the access to arms and finances in the United States. The revolution "could not have succeeded without the United States". In Chihuahua, Madero recruited wealthy Chihuahua landowner Abraham González to his movement, appointing him provisional governor of the state. González recruited Francisco Villa and Pascual Orozco as leaders of the revolutionaries in Chihuahua. Madero crossed from Texas into Mexico and took command of a band of revolutionaries, but they were defeated in Casas Grandes by the Federal Army and Madero left leading men into battle to those more able. Madero feared a battle to take Ciudad Juárez would cause casualties in the U.S. city of El Paso, on the other side of the Rio Grande, and prompt the U.S. to intervene. He ordered Orozco to retreat, but Orozco disobeyed the order and took Juárez. Díaz's resigned on 25 May 1911, after the signing of the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez. Madero retained the Federal Army and dismissed the revolutionary fighters who had forced Díaz's resignation.

Madero was enormously popular among many sectors, but he did not immediately assume the presidency. An interim president was installed and elections were scheduled for fall 1911. Madero was elected president on 15 October 1911 by almost 90% of the vote, and sworn into office on 6 November 1911. His administration soon encountered opposition both from more radical revolutionaries and from conservatives. He did not move quickly on land reform, which was a key demand of many of his supporters. Former supporter Emiliano Zapata declared himself in rebellion against Madero in the 1911 Plan of Ayala; similarly, in the north of the country, Madero faced an insurrection from former loyalist Pascual Orozco. These were significant challenges to Madero's presidency. Labor also became disillusioned by his moderate policies. Foreign entrepreneurs were concerned that Madero was unable to maintain political stability that would keep their investments safe, while foreign governments were concerned that a destabilized Mexico would threaten the international order.

In February 1913, a military coup took place in the Mexican capital led by General Félix Díaz, nephew of Porfrio Díaz, and General Bernardo Reyes, and joined by General Victoriano Huerta, the military commander of the city. It was supported by the United States ambassador. Madero was arrested and a short time later assassinated along with his vice-president, José María Pino Suárez, following the series of events now called the Ten Tragic Days.

After his assassination, Madero became a unifying force for disparate elements in Mexico opposed to the regime of Huerta. In the north of the country, Venustiano Carranza, then Governor of Coahuila, led the Constitutionalist Army against Huerta; meanwhile Zapata continued in his rebellion against the Federal Government under the Plan of Ayala. Once Huerta was ousted in July 1914, the opposition coalition dissolved and Mexico entered a new stage of civil war.