Maximino Ávila Camacho

Who was Maximino Ávila Camacho?

Maximino Ávila Camacho was the wilder brother of Manuel Ávila Camacho who was President of Mexico from 1940 to 1946. Maximino Ávila Camacho was a three-star general** in Mexico's revolutionary forces and then emerged as the political boss of his home state of Puebla, famed for his carousing and womanizing, as well as for violence against foes. He was governor of Puebla from 1937 to 1941 and served as secretary of public works in his brother's Cabinet.

Violent, ruthless, authocratic and arrogant, Maximino was the opposite of his brother, President Manuel Ávila Camacho, whose good manners and mild temper were famous. The President had trouble protecting his brother from himself, Maximino got into fights, seduced women and dispensed public funds at will. His arrogance reached its limits when he proclaimed that he would be the next President because, since his brother had been President he had the right to be his successor.

In 1945 as the PRI prepared to nominate a candidate for the 1946 presidential elections, Maximino was determined to become the candidate or, at least, have a great influence on the decision. He swore that if the party nominated Miguel Alemán Valdés he would kill him. Maximino died of a heart attack on February 17, 1945, before the party’s convention, and the party nominated Maximino’s hated enemy, Miguel Alemán, who went on to succeed Manuel Ávila as president.