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Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna dominated Mexican politics. His popularity relied on numerous military victories and he served as president 5 times between 1833 and 1855. He began his career aligned with liberal reformers, however as his power increased his rule became more conservative. He was exiled from the country several times, and only returned to power when his enemies were defeated. In 1855, a group of reformers overthrew and exiled Santa Anna, and he did not return. -
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez was a leader of reformers and reduced power of Catholic Church and the military. Conservatives were outraged by these efforts and soon a civil war erupted. With support from the US government, Juárez and his liberal allies triumphed. -
Napoleon III
French emperor Napoleon III wanted to restore French empire in America. In 1861, Napoleon sent French troops into Mexico, overthrew government, installed Austrian archduke Maximilian as emperor of Mexico. In 1862, French emperor established a French client state in Mexico. Mexican resistance caused Napoleon to order French withdrawal in 1867. He coined the term Latin America. The term was used to suggest that there were cultural similarities between the region and France. -
Austrian Archduke Maximilian
In 1863, he accepted the throne of Mexico, believing the Mexican people had voted him for king. The conservative Mexicans supported Maximilian in hopes he would restore power to the church. When the French withdrew their troops, he did not have enough support to stay in power and was forced to surrender. He was executed by republican troops. -
José Marti
José Martí was a Cuban poet and journalist, who communicated to Cubans through his writing, urging them to continue to fight for independence. He founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party and in 1895, he returned to Cuba to join an uprising against the Spanish. He was killed in 1985 due to the Spanish responding brutally to the uprising. -
Emilio Aguinaldo
During Spanish-American War, nationalists believed that it would grant the Philippines independence. However, the U.S. made the Philippines an American colony. Emilio Aguinaldo, a rebel leader who cooperated with U.S. forces against the Spanish, felt betrayed by this decision. Until 1935, U.S. ruled Philippines and in 1946, the Philippines was granted full independence. -
Teddy Roosevelt
Since Colombia refused the building of the canal, U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, sent warships to Colombia to support an uprising. When Panama gained independence, a treaty was signed granting the U.S. land to build the canal. The Panama Canal Zone became ruled directly by the U.S. In 1904, the European creditors threatened to use military action to collect their debts from the Dominican Republic. To protect U.S. interests, Roosevelt announced the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. -
Porfirio Diaz
After the death of Benito Juarez, Diaz came to power. He maintained law and order in Mexico. He imprisoned his opponents and used the army to keep the peace at any cost. Diaz helped modernize Mexico by encouraging foreign investment and soon Mexican exports boomed, and railroads expanded quickly. In the election of 1910, Diaz controlled the outcome, he jailed his opponent (Francisco Madero). In 1911, the city of Juarez was captured, which led to Diaz being forced to resign. -
Francisco Madero
Diaz’s opponent in the 1910 election. He was put in jail, however, after he was let out he fled to Texas, declaring himself the president of Mexico and called for a revolution against the Diaz government. When Madero returned to Mexico, he found a rebellion against government forces. Later that year, Madero was elected president. -
Pancho Villa
Francisco “Pancho” Villa was one of the lower class reformers who attacked the government forces and supported Madero’s ideas. He led band of rebels supporting Madero’s ideas; disgraced Diaz’s government by capturing city of Juarez in 1911 -
Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata was the other reformer Madero found back in Mexico. He led group of indigenous peasants and called for land reforms -
Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta, an army chief, seized power and imprisoned Madero within months of his leadership. Former supporters of Madero disliked Huerta and in the north, Pancho Villa's army rose up against him. The U.S. intervened, almost causing a war, which made Huerta struggle to stay in power and led him to reign and flee to Spain. -
Venustiano Carranza
With Huerta gone, Venustiano Carranza declared himself president. Zapata and Villa refused to support him and the nation had another civil war. In 1915, Carranza defeated his rivals. His political position was secure and in 1917, a new constitution went into effect. This new constitution allows the government to redistribute land, limited the power of the church, and protected the rights of citizens.