Porfirio Díaz

Who was Porfirio Díaz?

José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican soldier and politician, who served seven terms as President of Mexico, totaling nearly three decades - one month in 1876, then from 1877 to 1880, and finally from 1884 until he was overthrown in 1911. A veteran of the Reform War and the French intervention in Mexico, Díaz rose to the rank of General, leading republican troops against Emperor Maximilian. Seizing power in a coup in 1876, Díaz and his allies would rule the country for the next thirty-five years, a period known in Mexico as the Porfiriato.

Commonly considered by historians to have been a dictator, Díaz is a controversial figure in Mexican history. The period of his leadership was marked by significant internal stability, modernization, and economic growth. However, Díaz's regime grew unpopular due to repression and political stagnation, and he fell from power during the Mexican Revolution, after he had imprisoned his electoral rival and declared himself the winner of an eighth term in office. After his downfall, Díaz fled to France, where he died in exile four years later.