VICTORIANO HUERTA PRESIDENT AND DICTATOR OF MEXICO

 

Ex-Military Officer, President and Dictator of Mexico, Victoriano Huerta, pressured by people, resigned and fled to Europe with 20 lakh pesos, on 15th July 1914

Victoriano Huerta was a Mexican military officer. He was the President of Mexico from February 19, 1913, to July 15, 1914. Born in 1850 in Colotlán, Jalisco, Huerta rose through the ranks of the Mexican Army under President Porfirio Díaz and Francisco Madero during the early Mexican Revolution (1910–1920). Huerta came to power through a coup known as the Ten Tragic Days, a violent uprising in Mexico City from February 9–19, 1913. He betrayed President Francisco Madero, assassinated him, and Vice President José María Pino Suárez. Huerta assumed the presidency with support from conservative factions, the military, America, and European powers. His regime was marked by repression, censorship, and the suspension of constitutional liberties. He dissolved the Mexican Congress, suppressed political opposition, and relied on the military to control. Huerta faced opposition from revolutionary leaders like Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, and Venustiano Carranza, who formed the Constitutionalist Army to overthrow him. His brutal tactics alienated the population. Initially supported by U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson, Huerta’s regime lost favor with America after President Woodrow Wilson took office. The U.S. occupied Veracruz in 1914 to weaken Huerta. The Constitutionalist forces, united under Carranza’s Plan of Guadalupe, gained momentum against Huerta. By mid-1914, his regime crumbled due to military defeats, economic instability, and lack of popular support. On July 15, 1914, Huerta resigned and fled to Europe. He later tried to return to Mexico with German support during World War I. He was arrested in America in 1915 and died suspiciously in custody in 1916.