Biography of Porfirio Diaz - Essay Example

of Affiliation Biography of Porfirio Diaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori, who is a renowned Mexican politician, president and dictator, was born of a mixed European -Indian heritage in 1830 in a state called Oaxaca. He was barely three years of age when his father Faustino Diaz died. Porfirio Díaz spent most of his early years living in an inn owned by the family. Here, he interacted with travelling army men and many other people who mattered in the society such as merchants and peddlers (Creelman 45).

Four years later, after his father’s death, the family resorted to sell the inn, a factor that necessitated their move to a place called Toronja on the other side of the city to live in a house they had inherited. It is at this place that Porfirio turned to become a carpenter’s apprentice and got the privilege to do some learning in a school called La Amiga. Following abject poverty experienced by the family, Porfirio dropped out of school before gaining complete literacy.Sometime later in life he joined a group of guerillas who by then were engaged in a fight against a resurgent by the name Antonio López de Santa Anna.

This period served to stir up his inner call to military, a factor that saw him spent his later years fighting in the army in opposition to the French and in the Mexico civil wars of mid to late 19th century. During his service in the army, he came to know a liberal politician by the name Benito Juárez who at one point became the president of Mexico. It was after the death of Juárez that Porfirio came to power with the help of the Catholic Church and the United States. The records have it that in 1876 he matched armed forces into Mexico City, overthrowing President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.

During his reign, which lasted for a period of 35 years i.e1876 to 1911, Mexico experienced great advancement and modernization that saw its economy blossom. His tenure ended when he lost power in 1910-1911 following a rigged election that sparked the Mexican insurgency of 1910-1920.he died in 1930.Works CitedCreelman, James. Diaz, master of Mexico. New York and London: D. Appleton, 1911. Print.Tweedie, Alec. The maker of modern Mexico, Porfirio Diaz. New York: J. Lane, 1986. Print.