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Plutarco Elías Calles

Plutarco Elías Calles

President of Mexico
Order:  48th President
Term of office:  1924 - 1928
– Preceded by: Álvaro Obregón
– Succeeded by:  Emilio Portes Gil
Date of birth: 25 September 1877
Place of birth: Guaymas , Sonora
Date of death: 19 October 1945
Place of death: Mexico City
First Lady:
Occupation: Schoolteacher, soldier, politician
Party: PNR

Plutarco Elías Calles (25 September 187719 October 1945) was President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928.

He founded the Partido Nacional Revolucionario – which would later rename itself the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) – in 1929.

Plutarco Elias Calles was born in 1877 in Guaymas, Sonora as Plutarco Elias to a prominent Lebanese descendent. However prominent his father was, Calles still grew up in poverty and deprivation. Calles took the last name of Calles from his uncle who raised Calles after his mother?s, Maria de Jesús Campuzano, death. Calles worked many different jobs from a bartender to a school teacher. Calles supported many different presidents to maintain political clout. Calles was a strong supporter of Francisco Madero who made Calles a police commissioner. Calles ability to align himself with winners allowed him to quickly move up the ranks.

Venustiano Carranza promoted Calles governor and military ruler of his home state Sonora from 1915-16. In 1920 Calles aligned himself with Alvaro Obregon to overthrow Carranza. Obregon named Calles head of the interior ministry or gobernación . Calles used his ability to draw in labor class votes to come to power with Obregon and as president. Calles brought the National Revolutionary party into power during his term. Calles was president of Mexico from 1924-28. Calles controlled the government until 1934, when Lázaro Cárdenas became president, using his prowess to oversee the president. In 1929 Calles made himself minister of war marine to defeat a military rebellion. Calles appointed and removed presidents at will until 1934.

Calles rose to power during the 1910?s with the anti-Catholic movement of the Mexican Revolution. On June 14, 1926, Calles signed a decree known officially as "The Law Reforming the Penal Code" and unofficially as the Calles Law . The Calles Law fined those wearing church decorations up to 500 pesos and up to 5 years in prison for questioning the law. Due to these strict laws people in strongly catholic areas began to oppose Calles. This opposition led to the Cristero War from 1926-29. Calles sponsored the Callistas, prominent financiers and industrialists who controlled Mexico?s economy at the time. Calles became Jefe Máximo the political chieftain of Mexico with the Callistas.

Calles became more and more right wing as his power grew, known to have been moving toward fascism he was even reading Mein Kampf when captured for exile. Calles was placed into exile on April 9, 1936 to the United States. Calles was allowed to return to Mexico in 1941 after Cárdenas term, where he lived to be 68 dying in 1945. Today there is a statue of Calles in his home state of Sonora.


Last updated: 11-10-2004 20:13:28