Important People of the Mexican Revolution
Benito Juarez
Benito Juarez was the President for Mexico at this time. He is important to the revolution because he led the wars and was a full blooded- Zapotec Indian. He had a hard time to come to power, but overcame the challenges and barriers along the way. Eventually, he rose to power and became President.
Porfirio Diaz
Porfirio Diaz was a dictator at this time and worked the Peons hard , and in horrible conditions. He kept tight grip on power at this time and the peons did not like what he was doing to them. This dictator was not a very positive person and did not treat his workers correctly/
Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa was a Commander of the Northern Mexico State for the Revolution. He was the Commander at Chihuahua, a Northern State and led a army. Pancho Villa advocated for the poor at this Revolution and was a good Commander.
Emiliano Zapata
Zapata was a poor, barely a peasant from the state of Morelos. He was furious with the Diaz regime, and in fact had already taken up arms long before Madero’s call for revolution. Zapata was an idealist: he had a very clear vision for a new Mexico, one in which the poor had rights to their land and were treated with respect as farmers and workers.
Fernando I. Madero
Madero, the son of a wealthy family, challenged the elderly Diaz in the 1910 elections. Things were looking good for him, too, until Diaz had him arrested and stole the election. Madero fled the country and declared that the revolution would begin in November of 1910: the people of Mexico heard him and took up arms. Madero won the Presidency in 1911 but would only hold it until his betrayal and execution in 1913.
Victoriano Huerta
Huerta, a raging alcoholic, was one of Diaz’ former generals and an ambitious man in his own right. He served Diaz in the early days of the revolution and then stayed on when Madero took office. As former allies like Pascual Orozco and Emiliano Zapata left Madero, Huerta saw his change. Seizing on some fighting in Mexico City as an opportunity, Huerta arrested and executed Madero in February of 1913, seizing power for himself.
Pascual Orozco
The Mexican Revolution was the best thing that ever happened to Pascual Orozco. A small-time mule driver and peddler, when the revolution broke out he raised an army and found he had a knack for leading men. He was an important ally for Madero in his quest for the presidency. Madero turned on Orozco, however, refusing to nominate the uncouth muleteer to an important (and lucrative) position in his administration.
Alvaro Obreqon
Alvaro Obregon was an entrepreneur and landed farmer before the revolution and the only major figure in the revolution who prospered during the crooked Porfirio Diaz regime. He was therefore a latecomer to the revolution, fighting against Orozco on behalf of Madero. When Madero fell, Obregon joined with Carranza, Villa and Zapata to bring down Huerta. Afterwards, Obregon joined with Carranza to fight Villa, scoring a huge victory at the Battle of Celaya.