Adolfo de la Huerta: Encyclopedia II - Adolfo de la Huerta - Presidency

Adolfo de la Huerta - Presidency

With Caranza dead, Congress named de la Huerta interim president of Mexico until presidential elections could be held and a new president sworn into office on November 30, 1920. De la Huerta traveled from Sonora to Mexico City to assume the presidency on July 1. The major accomplishment of the de la Huerta administration was, after almost a decade of civil war, to achieve the pacification of Mexico. Carranza had clashed with numerous groups: the Revolutionary followers of Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, counterrevolutionaries such as Manuel Pelaez and Félix Díaz, states' rights movements in Oaxaca and Chiapas, and many others. Now that Carranza, their old enemy, was dead, de la Huerta was able to convince the rebels to lay down their arms. Some were integrated into the new government; others, such as Pancho Villa, retired to private life. Only Félix Díaz was forced into exile.

In contrast to the harder line taken by his fellow Sonorans Obregón and Calles, de la Huerta developed a more conciliatory style of government. He formed a cabinet that represented a wide range of anti-Carranza groups. He named José Vasconcelos, who had been living in exile, rector of the national university, and he presided over a veritable educational revolution. De la Huerta's six-month term of office saw considerable labor unrest, but he was able to contain the conflicts. De la Huerta's greatest problem was the United States' refusal to recognize his government. All of de la Huerta's overtures failed, and the problem remained unresolved when he handed the reigns of government to Obregón in 1920.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Presidency", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki