Carlos A. Madrazo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor of Tabasco | |
| In office 1 January 1959 – 31 December 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Miguel Orrico de los Llanos |
| Succeeded by | Manuel R. Mora |
| Member of theChamber of Deputies for theFederal District′s2nd district | |
| In office 1 September 1943 – 2 February 1945 | |
| Succeeded by | Marcelino Iñurreta de la Fuente |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carlos Alberto Madrazo Becerra (1915-07-07)7 July 1915 |
| Died | 4 June 1969(1969-06-04) (aged 53) |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Political party | PRI |
| Spouse | Graciela Pintado Jiménez |
| Children | Roberto Madrazo, Carlos Armando Madrazo, Sergio Madrazo, Javier Madrazo, and Raul Madrazo |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Carlos Alberto Madrazo Becerra (July 7, 1915 – June 4, 1969) was a Mexican reformistpolitician.
Madrazo was born on theranchería ofParrilla, in thestate ofTabasco, to Píoquinto Madrazo López, a businessman, and Concepción Becerra, a schoolteacher. His childhood was marked by poverty, but his mother taught him the will to overcome adversity. He was an avid learner, studying at theJosé N. Rovirosa Institute, where his oratory skills led to his being selected to give a speech onBenito Juárez on the hero's birthday.Tabasco governorAusencio Conrado Cruz andTomás Garrido Canabal, president of the pro-CallesCentral Resistance League, both present as the event, were impressed with his eloquence. Following the event, Garrido Canabal invited Madrazo on his statewide speaking tours, where he became known as "the young tribune".
Madrazo received a scholarship from the state government of Tabasco and studied atJuárez University where he organized theConfederation of Southeastern Socialist Students (Confederación de Estudiantes Socialistas del Sureste), which also drew support frompeasants and labor. He also wrote for the newspaperRendición.
He moved toMexico City to continue his studies at theNational Preparatory School, and in 1937 represented the Society of National Preparatory School Students as their president at the Second Congress of Mexican Socialist Students inUruapan,Michoacán. In the same year, he earned his law degree from theNational Autonomous University and joined theParty of the Mexican Revolution (PRM, later renamed PRI), becoming itspresident from 1938 to 1939. He also presided over theConfederation of Mexican Youth. In 1942 he was appointed General Director of Social Action of theMexican Federal District (DF) and in 1944 became Director of the National School of Archivists and Librarians.
In the1943 mid-terms, he was elected to theChamber of Deputies for thesecond electoral district of the DF,[1] but as a supporter ofJavier Rojo Gómez, who aspired to succeedPresidentManuel Ávila Camacho, he was targeted by Rojo Gómez's rivals, who implicated him in a scheme to disperse fraudulentBracero Program cards to would-be migrants. As a result, he was imprisoned.
In 1952, Madrazo was named Chief of the Legal Department of the Sugarcane Commission. The same year his sonRoberto Madrazo, who would later go on to represent the PRI in the2006 Mexican presidential election, was born. In 1954 he wroteAnécdotas de Personajes Famosos ("Anecdotes of Famous People"). He represented the Tabasco state government in Mexico City, and supportedAdolfo López Mateos's successful bid for the presidency, campaigning on his behalf. When López Mateos arrived in Tabasco, he proposed the development of the Southeast of Mexico as the country's prime source of income.
On April 20, 1958, Madrazo took the oath of candidacy for the office of Governor of Tabasco, and was elected in 1959. His governorship saw public improvements such as 100 kilometers of roadway and the opening of hundreds of schools and hospitals in addition to private developments such as milk rehydration and pasteurization plants and the industrialization of thecacao industry atCárdenas.
Following his governorship, PresidentGustavo Díaz Ordaz appointed Madrazo to the presidency of the PRI, hoping that his energetic but loyal leadership would placate the youthful faction of the party without disrupting the old guard's control of the party. But Madrazo took his appointment as a mandate to democratize the party. He replaced old and corrupt party officials with dynamic members of the new generation, and tried to institute such reforms as open primaries for local offices, and a "Commission of Honor" to investigate and punish political corruption. These proposals lay bare the empty nature of Mexican "democracy" and earned him enemies within the PRI, and in 1965 he was forced to resign his leadership of the party.
After being relieved of his duties, he returned to his position as the head of the national librarian school. He continued to be active in the PRI, beginning "an unprecedented campaign of sniping at the government from the sidelines", whence he "gathered a considerable body of opinion behind him".[2]
On 4 June 1969, he died in theMexicana Flight 704 plane crash in theCerro del Fraile mountain range inMonterrey,Nuevo León, with his wife Graciela Pintado.
| Preceded by | Governor of Tabasco 1959–1965 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Institutional Revolutionary Party 1964–1965 | Succeeded by |
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