Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada

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Not to be confused with Rodolfo Sánchez or Rodolfo Sancho.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Sánchez and the second or maternal family name is Taboada.

Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada
Sánchez Taboada, c. 1955
Secretary of the Navy
In office
1 December 1952 – 2 May 1955
PresidentAdolfo Ruiz Cortines
Preceded byRaúl López Sánchez
Succeeded byAlfonso Poire y Ruelas
President of the Institutional Revolutionary Party
In office
4 December 1946 – 4 December 1952
Preceded byRafael Pascasio Gamboa Cano
Succeeded byGabriel Leyva Velázquez
Governor of Baja California
In office
1 March 1937 – 31 July 1944
Acting: 22 February – 1 March 1937
Preceded byRafael Navarro Cortina
Succeeded byJuan Felipe Rico Islas
Personal details
Born(1895-03-22)March 22, 1895
San Sebastián Villanueva [es], Acatzingo, Puebla, Mexico
DiedMay 2, 1955(1955-05-02) (aged 60)
Mexico City, Mexico
Political partyInstitutional Revolutionary Party
SpouseEmma Cruz
Children3
RelativesGermán Sierra Sánchez (grandson)

Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada (22 March 1895 – 2 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.

Born in the state of Puebla, Sánchez Taboada joined the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revolution. He rose through the ranks, supporting the government during several rebellions. He eventually became the governor of Baja California, at the time still a federal territory. He then became president of the PRI, becoming the first to serve a second term in the position. Sánchez Taboada implemented an anti-communist platform for the party and directed the successful presidential campaign of Ruiz Cortines in 1952. He also acted as a political mentor to Luis Echeverría, a future Mexican president.

Family and education

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Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada was born on 22 March 1895 in San Sebastián Villanueva [es],[1] in Acatzingo, Puebla.[2][3][4][5][a] His parents were Tirso "Charro" Sánchez Limón and Margarita Taboada.[1][3] He had two brothers, Ruperto and Tirso Sánchez Taboada. Ruperto was a federal deputy from Puebla from 1946 to 1949, and Tirso was a Supreme Court justice from 1941 to 1942.[2] The family were middle-class farmers.[9]

Sánchez Taboada received his elementary education in San Sebastián Villanueva.[2] He completed his secondary education at the Colegio de San José and Hospicio de Puebla. He then attended the University of Puebla.[2][3][8] He completed two years of a pre-medical program at the university, but ended his studies in 1914 to fight in the Mexican Revolution.[2]

He was married to Emma Cruz.[2] Their children were Rodolfo,[10][11] Margarita,[12] and Matilde "Maty" Sánchez Cruz.[13][14] Sánchez Taboada had three grandchildren through his son Rodolfo Sánchez Cruz; Laura Alicia, Manuel, and Rodolfo Sánchez Corro.[10] Though his daughter Matilde Sánchez Cruz, Sánchez Taboada had another grandson, Germán Sierra Sánchez.[13][14]

Early career

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Military career

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Sánchez Taboada, c. 1925

In February 1913, during the Mexican Revolution, President Francisco I. Madero was overthrown by Victoriano Huerta. This inspired Sánchez Taboada to join the Constitutionalist forces, serving under Fortunato Maycotte.[3][8] He enrolled in the Heroic Military Academy on 10 November 1914 as a sub-lieutenant to join the medical corps.[3][15] He fought Villistas and Zapatistas in Morelos under the command of Col. Jesús Guajardo [es].[3][6][16]

Sánchez Taboada participated in Guajardo's successful operation to assassinate Emiliano Zapata in Chinameca, Morelos[6][12] in 1919.[17] Sánchez Taboada is said by some to have been the one who gave Zapata the coup de grâce, according to the magazine Zeta.[6] Sánchez Taboada reported said that he "saw Zapata fall" and was part of the forces which "liquidated" Zapata.[18] He reportedly said this in conversation with Gonzalo N. Santos and Leobardo Reynoso, who stated that he was not at the Chinameca hacienda where Zapata was killed. Sánchez Taboada and Guajardo were reportedly promoted for taking part in the operation.[19]

Sánchez Taboada supported General Álvaro Obregón's Plan of Agua Prieta[3][6][12] against President Venustiano Carranza in 1920.[20] He remained loyal to Obregón's government during the Delahuertista Rebellion[3][12] of 1923 to 1924[21] and to Emilio Portes Gil's government during the Escobar Rebellion[3][12] of 1929.[22]

Sánchez Taboada achieved the rank of colonel on 4 October 1939.[2] In 1950, a group of Zapatista veterans wrote in La Prensa that Sánchez Taboada should be removed from the army for his role in assassinating Zapata.[23] He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on 1 November 1952.[2][3]

Political beginnings

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The Institutional Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Institucional), or PRI,[b] was founded in 1929 by Plutarco Elías Calles. The party would rule Mexico uninterrupted from 1929 until 2000.[24] Sánchez Taboada was a founding member of the party.[10]

Sánchez Taboada served as an assistant to President Lázaro Cárdenas in 1935. That same year, he also served as the budget director for the office of the presidency.[2]

Governor of Baja California

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On 22 February of 1937, President Cárdenas discharged the governor of Baja California, Rafael Navarro Cortina, due to complaints of gambling resurfacing along the Mexico–United States border, and appointed Sánchez Taboada to serve as governor.[27][28] Sánchez Taboada assumed the office on 1 March 1937.[3][6] At the time of his governorship, Baja California was a federal territory.[11][29] During his administration, the second Pro-State Committee (Spanish: Comité Pro-Estado) was formed in 1940, following the first in 1929.[29] The territory would ultimately become a state in 1952.[29][30]

In March of 1937, Sánchez Taboada traveled to the city of Calexico, California, and met with the city's officials in an effort to promote the Good Neighbor policy in place between Mexico and the United States at the time.[31] In February of 1941, Sánchez Taboada and California governor Culbert Olson met at the border of the two countries, then Sánchez Taboada once again visited Calexico, followed by Olsen's visit to Mexicali, the capital of Baja California.[32] In December of 1942, the governor-elect of California, Earl Warren, visited Sánchez Taboada in Mexicali, and Sánchez Taboada again traveled to Calexico.[33]

While Sánchez Taboada was serving as governor of Baja California, Manuel J. Contreras served as the military commander of the Northern District of Baja California, which left Sánchez Taboada in charge of civilian authorities and Contreras in charge of military authorities.[27][34] Parts of Mexicali were damaged in the 1940 El Centro earthquake, including by fire and flooding. Sánchez Taboada placed affected areas under governmental care and promised immediate aid in rebuilding.[35]

Like many northern governors, Sánchez Taboada supported Manuel Ávila Camacho for the PRI candidacy during the 1940 presidential election.[36] Ávila Camacho ultimately won the election.[37]

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 Taboada 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 Cárdenas, who was in charge of military operations in the Pacific zone, expanded the timeframe to one week.[38]

Sánchez Taboada's term ended on 31 July 1944.[2][3][6] He resigned, reportedly due to dissatisfaction with the perceived incompetence of his appointments.[2] He was succeeded by Juan Felipe Rico Islas, who had been chosen for the role the previous year.[39][40] After the end of his governorship, Sánchez Taboada returned to service in the army.[3] He was at the direct disposal of President Ávila Camacho from 1 August 1944 until 15 October 1945.[2]

President of the PRI

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First term

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Sánchez Taboada became the president of the PRI on 4 December 1946, succeeding Rafael Pascasio Gamboa Cano.[4][5] The latter was appointed by the then-presidential candidate Miguel Alemán Valdés in an attempt to "civilianize" the party. However, Gamboa was largely unknown and unpopular, and within less than a year Alemán replaced him with Sánchez Taboada.[41] He 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.[41][42][43][44][c]

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 Taboada 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.[45] That same year, U.S. President Harry S. Truman visited Mexico City. During the visit, Sánchez Taboada denounced communism as a "pernicious influence" and derided the left-wing politician Vicente Lombardo Toledano as an agent of Moscow.[46] Sánchez Taboada also led a push to drive communists out of the Secretariat of Public Education.[47]

Sánchez Taboada was a mentor to Luis Echeverría Álvarez (pictured), who later became president of Mexico.

Sánchez Taboada was a mentor to one of the most influential political groups in Mexican politics,[2] a generation which attained power in the 1970s.[48] 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.[49] Echeverría's father, Rodolfo Echeverría, had served as paymaster to an army unit that Sánchez Taboada commanded.[50] Sánchez Taboada also made him director general of press and propaganda of the PRI in 1949.[48]

Also in 1946, Sánchez Taboada appointed Teófilo Borunda, who would later serve as the governor of Chihuahua, as General Secretary of the PRI.[51] Under Sánchez Taboada's guidance, Echeverría, future Michoacán governor Agustín Arriaga Rivera, and future Baja California Sur governor Hugo Cervantes del Río served as youth members of the PRI's National Committee.[52] Other protégées of Sánchez Taboada's include future Baja California governor Milton Castellanos Everardo,[53] future Guanajuato governor Rafael Corrales Ayala,[54] future Durango governor Armando del Castillo Franco,[55] future Nuevo León deputy Margarita García Flores,[56] future Jalisco governor Flavio Romero de Velasco,[57] future Tabasco governor Leandro Rovirosa Wade,[58] future Sinaloa governor Leopoldo Sánchez Celis,[59] and future Hidalgo governor José Luis Suárez Molina.[60]

Second term

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Sánchez Taboada giving a speech, c. 1946-1952

From 2 February to 4 February 1950, the PRI held its National Assembly, and Sánchez Taboada became the first president of the PRI to be reelected to the position. To satisfy the older wing of PRI politicians, the party removed the provisions from the party's statutes that called for internal elections of candidates, and all candidates from that point on would be elected by assemblies.[61] Elements at the assembly also supported futurism, which was opposed by the higher authorities of the PRI. Sánchez Taboada did, however, attempt to control this sentiment by stating in April that he did not oppose futurism if it was a constructive attitude that emphasized the wellbeing of Mexicans.[62]

Sánchez Taboada also sought to make the party amiable with the Catholic Church. In a 1951 tour of Mexico's southeast, he arranged several church visits and assured the press of the PRI's respect for "the religious beliefs of the pueblo".[63]

In 1951, Sánchez Taboada 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.[64] On 13 October, he proposed Adolfo Ruiz Cortines as the candidate.[65] He subsequently became the candidate the following day.[66] Sánchez Taboada served as the director of his presidential campaign.[16][67] Ruiz Cortines used the slogan "austerity and work" (Spanish: austeridad y trabajo)[66] and endorsed women's suffrage.[30] Ruiz Cortines won the election with 2,713,419 votes,[68] or 74.3% of the vote.[69] He defeated three opponents: Miguel Henríquez Guzmán of the FPP, Efraín González Luna of PAN, and Vicente Lombardo Toledano of the PP.[70] Sánchez Taboada's presidency of the PRI ended on 4 December 1952. He was succeeded by Gabriel Leyva Velázquez.[4][5][42]

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Upon assuming the presidency, Ruiz Cortines nominated Sánchez Taboada to serve as secretary of the navy.[67] Succeeding Raúl López Sánchez,[71] he assumed office on 1 December 1952.[67] Sánchez Taboada named Echeverría as General Director of Accounts and Administration of the Secretary of the Navy.[72][73] Sánchez Taboada also commissioned the ship Orizaba as a training ship at the Heroica Escuela Naval Militar under the name Zaragoza II.[67]

During his term, Sánchez Taboada carried out the project Programa de Progreso Marítimo ("Maritime Progress Program"), popularly known as the Marcha al Mar ("March to the Sea").[67] The project was planned by the Ruiz Cortines administration to bring surplus populations from Mexico's highlands into costal areas and to make better use of maritime resources.[74]

Sánchez Taboada died in office of a myocardial infarction[67] on 2 May 1955[2][4][11] in Mexico City.[4][16][d] He was buried in the Panteón Francés de Puebla [es] in the city of Puebla on 3 May.[67] On 9 May, Ruiz Cortines nominated Alfonso Poire y Ruelas to succeed Sánchez Taboada.[75]

Legacy

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Mexicali International Airport (pictured) is named after Sánchez

Following Sánchez Taboada's death, Echeverría was made a senior officer of the Secretariat of Public Education.[48] He progressed through several further positions in the following years, becoming secretary of the interior in 1964 and ultimately becoming president of Mexico in 1970.[73] Echeverría attributed his political career to Sánchez Taboada, stating:

When I was received I wanted to enter into political activities and I went to ask General Sánchez Toboada for work and he gave it to me and that decided everything... he decided my life.

Spanish: Cuando me recibí quise entrar en actividades políticas y fui a pedirle al general Sánchez Toboada trabajo y me lo dio y eso decidió todo... decidió mi vida.[76]

Sánchez Taboada's son Rodolfo Sánchez Cruz was also a PRI politician representing Puebla,[2][10] as was his grandson Germán Sierra Sánchez.[13][77]

Mexicali International Airport is named after Sánchez Taboada. A borough in the area of the Tijuana River also bears his name.[12] Boulevard General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada is a street in Tijuana, Baja California. [78][79] 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.[80]

Notes

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  1. ^ Most sources cite his year of birth as 1895 without giving a specific date,[2][3][4][5][6] although Arturo Sánchez Gutiérrez mistakenly says that he was born in 1885.[7] According to Baja California's state archives, he was born on 22 March 1895.[1] Emilio Chuayffet and Salvador Cienfuegos give his date of birth as 7 May 1895.[8]
  2. ^ Origninally named the National Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Nacional Revolucionario),[22][24] its name was changed to the Party of the Mexican Revolution (Spanish: Partido de la Revolución Mexicana) in 1938,[24][25] and it adopted its current name in 1946.[26]
  3. ^ Those four were Sánchez Taboada, Gabriel Leyva Velázquez, Agustín Olachea, and Alfonso Corona del Rosa.[43][44]
  4. ^ Fernández Pavón cites his death date as 1 May at 9 PM.[67] A contemporary report in the New York Times states that he died in the morning on 2 May,[11] a date which Roderic Ai Camp and Alejandro Domínguez also give.[2][4] Chuayffet and Cienfuegos state that he died on 3 May.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Archivo Histórico 1994, p. 9
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Camp 2011, p. 887
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Fernández Pavón 2014, p. 18
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Domínguez, Alejandro (4 March 2014). "85 años del PRI: sus 45 presidentes nacionales". Milenio (in Spanish). Mexico City. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d "Dirigencias nacionales". Partido Revolucionario Institucional (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Sánchez, Carlos (16 September 2019). "General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada". Zeta (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  7. ^ Sánchez Gutiérrez 1988, p. 278.
  8. ^ a b c Chuayffet Chemor & Cienfuegos Zepeda 2014, p. 946
  9. ^ Vanderwood 2004, p. 304, note #33.
  10. ^ a b c d Fernández, Karina (27 May 2016). "Muere Rodolfo Sánchez Cruz, un histórico del PRI". Diario Cambio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d "Gen. Sanchez Taboada; Secretary of Mexican Navy Is Dead at the Age of 60". The New York Times. 3 May 1955. ProQuest 113310033.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Falleció hija de Sánchez Taboada". Agencia Fronteriza de Noticias (in Spanish). 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018.
  13. ^ a b c Camp 2011, p. 915
  14. ^ a b "Crónica. Aguas frescas en el cumpleaños 98 de Luis Echeverría". El Universal (in Spanish). 17 January 2020. ProQuest 2339968922. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  15. ^ Chuayffet Chemor & Cienfuegos Zepeda 2014, pp. 946–947.
  16. ^ a b c d Chuayffet Chemor & Cienfuegos Zepeda 2014, p. 947
  17. ^ Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, p. 36.
  18. ^ Bartra 2002, p. 98.
  19. ^ Bartra 2002, p. 98, footnote #15.
  20. ^ Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, pp. 43–44.
  21. ^ Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, pp. 56–58.
  22. ^ a b Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, p. 74.
  23. ^ Rath 2013, p. 161.
  24. ^ a b c Helfgott, Alexandra (24 October 2023). "El Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) - Explainer". Wilson Center. Archived from the original on 4 January 2024.
  25. ^ Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, p. 119.
  26. ^ Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, pp. 192–193.
  27. ^ a b "Cardenas Acts to End Gambling". The New York Times. 22 February 1937. ProQuest 102290809.
  28. ^ Vanderwood 2004, pp. 162–163.
  29. ^ a b c "Transformación Política de Territorio Norte de la Baja California a Estado 29". Baja California: Gobierno del Estado (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 September 2019.
  30. ^ a b Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, p. 221
  31. ^ "New Mexican Governor Pays Calexico Visit". Los Angeles Times. Calexico. 4 March 1937. ProQuest 164699745.
  32. ^ "Governors Meet at Calexico: Alta and Baja California Officials Honored at Desert Cavalcade". Los Angeles Times. Calexico. 22 February 1941. ProQuest 165095485.
  33. ^ "Warren Feted at Calexico: Mexico District Governor Joins in Greeting at Prosecutors' Convention". Los Angeles Times. Calexico. 2 December 1942. ProQuest 165378332.
  34. ^ Vanderwood 2004, p. 163.
  35. ^ Shawhan, Ralph F. (20 May 1940). "Quake-Torn Valley Faces Water Crisis: Imperial Losses Rise to $1,000,000 as Epidemic Threat Fought". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165031695.
  36. ^ Hernández Chávez 1979, p. 201.
  37. ^ Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, p. 137.
  38. ^ García 2014, pp. 152–153.
  39. ^ "Poder Ejecutivo". Diario Oficial de la Federación (in Spanish). 23 December 1943.
  40. ^ "Rico Takes Over in Baja California". Los Angeles Times. Mexicali. 3 August 1944. ProQuest 165544448.
  41. ^ a b Camp 1992, p. 79
  42. ^ a b Peschard 1984, p. 68
  43. ^ a b Suárez Farías 1988, p. 315
  44. ^ a b Loaeza 2010, p. 355
  45. ^ Delgado de Cantú 2002, p. 265.
  46. ^ Loaeza 2010, pp. 341–343.
  47. ^ "COMMUNISM LOSES GROUND IN MEXICO: Government Is Aware That It Is Still a Potential Threat in a National Emergency". The New York Times. 4 January 1950. ProQuest 111385359.
  48. ^ a b c Durán Gómez, Lizbeth Liliana (16 July 2022). ""Echeverría es un asesino"". La Crónica de Hoy (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 September 2022.
  49. ^ "Del 2 de octubre al Halconazo ¿Quién fue Luís Echeverría?". Forbes México (in Spanish). 9 July 2022. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022.
  50. ^ Camp 2011, pp. 282–283.
  51. ^ Covarrubias Dueños 2010, p. 64.
  52. ^ Camp 2011, pp. 64–65, 197–198.
  53. ^ Camp 2011, pp. 174–175.
  54. ^ Camp 2011, p. 224.
  55. ^ Camp 2011, p. 255.
  56. ^ Camp 2011, p. 356.
  57. ^ Camp 2011, pp. 835–836.
  58. ^ Camp 2011, p. 844-845.
  59. ^ Camp 2011, p. 876-877.
  60. ^ Camp 2011, p. 933.
  61. ^ Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, p. 214.
  62. ^ Medina 1979, p. 195.
  63. ^ Gillingham 2010, p. 210.
  64. ^ Gaytán Apáez 2006, p. 82.
  65. ^ Gaytán Apáez 2006, pp. 85–86.
  66. ^ a b Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, p. 220
  67. ^ a b c d e f g h Fernández Pavón 2014, p. 19
  68. ^ "González Luna, Efraín". Los universitarios sin universidad: El interregno universitario, 1861 - 1925 (in Spanish). Vol. III. Universisdad de Guadalajara. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019.
  69. ^ Aguilar Plata & García 2006, p. 86.
  70. ^ Aguilar Casas & Serrano Álvarez 2012, p. 222.
  71. ^ Fernández Pavón 2014, pp. 16–17.
  72. ^ "De joven entusiasta del PRI al "Halconazo": Luis Echeverría Álvarez y sus 100 años de vida". Infobae (in Spanish). 17 January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022.
  73. ^ a b "Luis Echeverría: Línea de tiempo de 100 años". El Universal (in Spanish). 9 July 2022. Archived from the original on 28 May 2025.
  74. ^ Bermúdez Gorrochotegui, Gilberto (2006). "Personajes Veracruzanos: Adolfo Ruiz Cortines (1889-1973)". Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  75. ^ Fernández Pavón 2014, p. 21.
  76. ^ "Luis Echeverría vivió en Tamaulipas y vendió agua de limón para comprarse una bicicleta". Milenio (in Spanish). 9 July 2022.
  77. ^ Covarrubias Dueños 2010, p. 44.
  78. ^ "Sentencian a operador de los Arellano Felix". El Norte (in Spanish). Monterrey. 1 February 2000. ProQuest 316086590.
  79. ^ "Enfrentamiento entre sicarios y policías de Tijuana dejó dos muertos". Infobae. 19 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  80. ^ Alejandri, Claudia (26 August 2020). "Develan nuevo busto del General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada". Expreso (in Spanish). Guaymas. Archived from the original on 15 October 2024.

Bibliography

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