Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada
Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada (22 March 1895 – 1 May 1955) was a Mexican military officer and politician who served as secretary of the navy from 1952 until his death in 1955, during the presidency of Adolfo Ruiz Cortines. He previously served as the governor of the territory of Baja California from 1937 to 1944 and as president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) from 1946 to 1952. As president of the PRI, Sánchez implemented an anti-communist platform. He also directed the successful presidential campaign of Ruiz Cortines in 1952, and acted as a political mentor to Luis Echeverría, a future Mexican president. Youth and familyRodolfo Sánchez Taboada was born in San Sebastián Villanueva, in Acatzingo, Puebla, on 22 March 1895.[1][2][3][a] His parents were Tirso "Charro" Sánchez Limón and Margarita Taboada.[1][2] He attended primary school at the Colegio de San José, and secondary school at the state college.[2][4] He was married to Eva Sánchez de Sánchez Taboada, and they had two children.[5] His son, Rodolfo Sánchez Cruz, who was also a PRI official, died in 2016.[6] His daughter, Margarita Sánchez, died in 2018.[7] Though his son, Sánchez Taboada had three grandchildren: Laura Alicia, Manuel, and Rodolfo Sánchez Corro.[6] In February 1913, during the Mexican Revolution, President Francisco I. Madero was overthrown by Victoriano Huerta. This inspired Sánchez to join the revolutionary forces, serving under Fortunato Maycotte.[2][4] Political careerGovernor of Baja CaliforniaSánchez was elected to serve as the governor of Baja California on 1 March 1937.[2] At the time of his governorship, Baja California was a federal territory.[5][8] During his administration, the second Pro-State Committee (Spanish: Comité Pro-Estado) was formed in 1940, following the first in 1929.[8] The territory would ultimately become a state in 1952.[8][9] During World War II, a national directive was issued that ordered governors to remove their Japanese populations to designated zones of Mexico City and Guadalajara. Sánchez quickly rounded up his state's Japanese population and forced them on trains and trucks bound for the zones. He gave them only twenty-four hours to evacuate, but ex-president Lázaro Cárdenas, who was in charge of military operations in the Pacific zone, expanded the timeframe to one week.[10] Sánchez's term ended on 31 July 1944. Afterwords, he returned to service in the army.[2] President of the PRISánchez became the president of the PRI on 4 December 1946, succeeding Rafael Pascasio Gamboa Cano.[3] Sánchez had been appointed Mexican President Miguel Alemán Valdés. Sánchez's predecessor was largely unknown and unpopular, and had been an attempt at "civilianizing" the party. Sánchez became the first of four PRI presidents in a row from 1946 to 1964 who were all generals and some of Mexico's most prominent military figures.[11][12] Following the declaration of the Truman Doctrine in the United States in 1947, the PRI followed its lead in adopting increasingly anti-communist stances. The party declared itself to be "neither extreme left nor extreme right" (Spanish: ni extrema izquierda ni extrema derecha). Sánchez declared that from that point on the PRI would not accept people from other parties, which was intended to allow for the expulsion of communists from the party.[13] .jpg) In 1946, while he was serving as president of the PRI, he hired Luis Echeverría Álvarez to serve as his personal secretary. Echeverría would later serve as president of Mexico from 1970 to 1976.[14] Echeverría has been described as a protege of Sánchez, and the latter as Echeverría's mentor.[15][16] Sánchez also made him director general of press and propaganda of the PRI in 1949.[17] Echeverría later stated of Sánchez and his entry into politics:
In 1951, Sánchez called for a national convention to select the PRI's presidential candidate for the 1952 election, to be held from 11 October to 14 October.[19] On 13 October, Sánchez proposed Adolfo Ruiz Cortines as the candidate.[20] He subsequently became the candidate the following day.[21] Sánchez served as the director of his presidential campaign.[22] Ruiz Cortines used the slogan "austerity and work" (Spanish: austeridad y trabajo)[21] and endorsed women's suffrage.[9] Ruiz Cortines won the election with 2,713,419 votes,[23] or 74.3% of the vote.[24] He defeated three opponents: Miguel Henríquez Guzmán, Efraín González Luna, and Vicente Lombardo Toledano.[25] Sánchez's presidency of the PRI ended on 4 December 1952. He was succeeded by Gabriel Leyva Velázquez.[3][12] Navy secretary and deathUpon assuming the presidency, Ruiz Cortines nominated Sánchez to serve as secretary of the navy.[22] Succeeding Raúl López Sánchez,[26] he assumed office on 1 December 1952.[22] Sánchez named Echeverría as General Director of Accounts and Administration of the Secretary of the Navy.[15][27] Sánchez Taboada died in office of a myocardial infarction at 9 PM on 1 May 1955[22] in Mexico City.[3][28] He was buried in the Panteón Francés de Puebla in the city of Puebla on 3 May.[22] On 9 May, Ruiz Cortines nominated Alfonso Poire y Ruelas to succeed Sánchez.[29] Following Sánchez's death, Echeverría was made a senior officer of the Secretariat of Public Education.[17] LegacyMexicali International Airport is named after Sánchez. A borough in the area of the Tijuana River also bears his name.[7] A bust of Sánchez Taboada existed on a street named after him in Guaymas, Sonora, but it was stolen in 2012. In 2020, a replacement bust was unveiled.[30] Notes
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