Huerta, José Victoriano

(1854–1916)

   President of Mexico (1913–1914), Victoriano Huerta rose to the rank of general and fought against both the Mayan people of the Yucatán and the rebel Emiliano Zapata. After the revolution of 1910, Huerta was officially loyal to the new government of Francisco Madero yet plotted simultaneously, with the knowledge and cooperation of the United States, to overthrow Madero. The ensuing power struggle saw Huerta emerge triumphant as the provisional president of Mexico in February 1913. He established a dictatorship, which provoked from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson a demand for democratic elections. When Huerta refused, Wilson sent American forces to seize the Mexican port of Veracruz. This united Huerta’s enemies against him, and, after a series of military defeats, he resigned the presidency and went into exile.

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   FURTHER READING:

    Kirkwood, Burton. The History of Mexico. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000.

   CARL CAVANAGH HODGE