Manuel Palafox | |
|---|---|
 Palafox,c. 1915 | |
| Birth name | Manuel Palafox Ibarrola |
| Born | 1887 Puebla,Puebla, Mexico |
| Died | (1959-04-25)25 April 1959 (aged 72)[1] Mexico City, Mexico |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Liberation Army of the South, laterCarranza |
| Years of service | 1911–1918[2] |
| Rank | General and advisor |
| Battles / wars | Mexican Revolution |
Manuel Palafox Ibarrola (1887 – 25 April 1959), known asEl Ave Negra (English:The Black Bird), was a Mexicanmilitary who participated in theMexican Revolution with the title ofgeneral, as well as being the trusted emissary, personal secretary and one of the most close revolutionaries toEmiliano Zapata.[3][4]
He was born inPuebla de Zaragoza, state ofPuebla, approximately in 1887, the son of Ismael Palafox and Antonia Ibarrola. He was an engineering student in his hometown and worked as a salesman and administrator for various companies in various parts of the Republic, fromOaxaca toSinaloa. He is described as a short, thin, pockmarked man. He metEmiliano Zapata in October 1911, when he was a trusted employee at the Tenango and Santa Clara haciendas, owned by Luis García Pimentel, in whose name he made Zapata an offer.
He was taken prisoner but little by little he gained Zapata's trust. In the middle of 1912 he was commissioned to speak withEmilio Vázquez Gómez who at that time was in exile inSan Antonio, U.S. Upon his return, his administrative and political talents were recognized, thus consolidating his position as secretary at the headquarters and his influence overEmiliano Zapata; by1913 he already exercised considerable control of the affairs of the movement.
When the Zapatistas entered Mexico City, Palafox maneuvered to appear within the conventionist government. In December 1914 he was appointed Secretary of Agriculture and Colonization, a position he held in the cabinets ofEulalio Gutiérrez Ortiz,Roque González Garza andFrancisco Lagos Cházaro and where he proposed put into practice the agrarian cause of the Zapatista movement. As of January 1915 he organized his secretariat, founded the National Rural Credit Bank, ordered the establishment of regional agricultural schools and a national factory of agricultural implements. Likewise, it created a special office for land distribution, appointed young agronomists from the National School of Agriculture to form part of the commissions in charge of demarcation and land distribution in the states ofMorelos,Puebla,State of Mexico and even inMexico City. He also confiscated all the mills and distilleries ofMorelos, which worked as public companies managed by revolutionary bosses. On 28 October 1915 he promulgated the Agrarian Law, of which he was the creator.
In addition to being an agrarian activist, Palafox was a very active politician within Zapatismo and in its relationship with other factions. The Zapatistas nicknamed him"El Ave Negra", for his ability to intrigue. He acted in the council of war of GeneralLuis G. Cartón, in 1914, and in that ofOtilio Montaño Sánchez in 1917.
There was a rumor among the military that Palafox washomosexual, a secret that he had managed to keep hidden and thatEmiliano Zapata knew, without having any problems with it.[5] However, since the latter was governed by the principle of executing those who were too "feminine" and seemed to have no problem with the presence of Palafox, who behaved in this way, little by little the gossip gained more strength, and finally in 1918, Zapata removed him from his position asgeneral and main Zapatista emissary.[2] In October of that year, he fled to the camp of GeneralCirilo Arenas Pérez, and in November he launched a manifesto ignoring Zapata and inviting the southerners to join an agrarian movement organized by him. To his misfortune, he did not receive an answer, since all the main chiefs remained faithful to the South Attila, with the exception ofVictorino Bárcenas. On August 6, 1919, along with other generals, he launched the so-called Milpa Alta Plan. In 1920 he joined the revolutionary unification and figured in theMexican Army, without again having an important position like the one he came to exercise.
On April 25, 1959, Palafox died inMexico City aged 72. Other sources indicate that he could have beenexecuted due to his sexual orientation, but there are no historical records to verify this version.[2] His body was buried inPanteón Jardín, located in the same city.[1]