Victoriano Huerta: Enter The Villain

Clear cut intentions and motives contribute to the bulk of any good story that involves heroes and villains. Some villains are heroes to many, and some heroes wear the cloak of the villain to others, depending on the agenda of people. It takes a lot of wrangling, and outright disinterest in the welfare of a nation, for it's people to revile you almost completely for a full century. Incredibly, Victoriano Huerta managed just that, and his disfavor began with the beginnings of the Mexican Revolution. In his office of President of Mexico, he became so vilified that he is still referred to as The Jackel ('El Chacal') by modern day Mexicans.

Before his impact on Mexico's history can be understood, it's important to know who he was. Victoriano was born in 1850 in the state of Jalisco and while little is known about his childhood, he learned to read and write very early on. At the age of nineteen he was selected as the personal secretary of a major general in the army; he was ambitious and his career prospects looked good. Huerta was enrolled in the National Military Academy in 1872, with the aid of Liberal President Benito Juarez.

When Porfirio Diaz took over the presidency in 1876, the military found themselves serving a large role as their leader became more and more dictatorial. He helped to quash rebels like Emiliano Zapata, amongst others, and eventually rose to the rank of general; however, when the President was overthrown in 1910 and the Revolution began, Victoriano was innocuously reforming the army's uniforms and was far away from the initial action.

The new President, Francisco Madero, retained Huerta to help quash revolts against the new regime. However, despite initially pledging his allegiance to the new leader, Victoriano secretly plotted against him. He joined forces with the U.S ambassador, Henry Wilson; cashiered general Bernardo Reyes and Felix Diaz, who was Porfirio's nephew. The Ten Tragic Days was a successful coup that they engineered in the government and bloody and confused fights erupted in the streets of Mexico City.

After deposing (and eventually killing) Madero and his Vice-President, Huerta assumed the presidency in 1813 by exploiting a loophole in the constitution, giving the coup a very thin veneer of legitimacy. The United States even retaliated with hostilities, when he established a military dictatorship as soon as he gained power. Francisco's popularity had waned during his tenure, as he'd been a weak leader who was unsuited to navigating such hostile political territory. Nonetheless, his violent betrayal and death was met with riots and enraptured the country. He was the Revolution's martyr and Victoriano, is still seen as a villain (serving the country as President for only one year)..

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