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Learn about the life and career of Venustiano Carranza, a Mexican politician and president who led the Constitutionalist faction during the Mexican Revolution. Find out how he drafted the Constitution of 1917, fought against Huerta, Villa and Zapata, and was assassinated in 1920.
Learn about Venustiano Carranza, a leader in the Mexican civil war who became the first president of the new republic. Find out his role in the revolution, his political and social reforms, and his conflicts with the United States and his rivals.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Early Life
- Entry Into Politics
- Personality
- Carranza, Díaz, and Madero
- Madero and Huerta
- Carranza Takes Charge
- Carranza vs. Obregón
- Death
- Legacy
- Sources
Carranza was born into an upper-middle-class family in Cuatro Ciénegas in the state of Coahuila on December 29, 1859. His father had been an officer in the army of Benito Juárezin the turbulent 1860s. This connection to Juárez would have a profound influence on Carranza, who idolized him. The Carranza family had money, and Venustiano was sent to ex...
The Carranzas had high ambitions, and with the backing of family money, Venustiano was elected mayor of his hometown. In 1893, he and his brothers rebelled against the rule of Coahuila Governor José María Garza, a crooked crony of President Porfirio Díaz. They were powerful enough to secure the nomination of a different governor. Carranza made some...
Carranza was a tall man, standing a full 6-foot-4, and he looked very impressive with his long white beard and glasses. He was intelligent and stubborn but had very little charisma. A dour man, his lack of sense of humor was legendary. He was not the sort to inspire great loyalty, and his success in the revolution was mainly due to his ability to p...
Carranza was not confirmed as governor by Díaz and he joined the movement of Francisco Madero, who had called for rebellion after the fraudulent 1910 election. Carranza did not contribute much to Madero's rebellion but was rewarded with the post of minister of war in Madero's cabinet, which infuriated revolutionaries such as Pancho Villa and Pascua...
In 1913, Madero was betrayed and assassinated by one of his generals, a relic from the Díaz years named Victoriano Huerta. Huerta made himself president and Carranza rebelled. He drafted a Constitution that he named the Plan of Guadalupe and took to the field with a growing army. Carranza's small force largely sat out the early part of the revolt a...
Carranza had set up a government with himself as the head. This government printed money, passed laws, etc. When Huerta fell, Carranza (supported by Obregón) was the strongest candidate to fill the power vacuum. Hostilities with Villa and Zapata broke out almost immediately. Although Villa had a more formidable army, Obregón was the better tacticia...
With Villa and Zapata out of the picture, Carranza was officially elected president in 1917. He brought very little change, however, and those who truly wanted to see a new, more liberal Mexico after the revolution were disappointed. Obregón retired to his ranch, although the fighting continued—particularly against Zapata in the south. In 1919, Obr...
Obregón brought his army to Mexico City, driving Carranza and his supporters out. Carranza headed to Veracruz to regroup, but the trains were attacked and he was forced to abandon them and go overland. He was received in the mountains by local chieftain Rodolfo Herrera, whose men opened fire on a sleeping Carranza late at night on May 21, 1920, kil...
The ambitious Carranza made himself one of the most important figures in the Mexican Revolution because he truly believed that he knew what was best for the country. He was a planner and organizer and succeeded through clever politicking, whereas others relied on strength of arms. His defenders point out that he brought some stability to the countr...
Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Venustiano Carranza.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 8 Feb. 2019.McLynn, Frank. Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2000.Biografía de Venustiano Carranza, político, militar y empresario mexicano que participó en la Revolución Mexicana y fue presidente constitucional de México. Conoce su origen, su carrera política, su papel en la Constitución de 1917 y su asesinato.
Venustiano Carranza emerged as one of the most significant leaders during the Mexican Revolution, a complex and multifaceted series of uprisings and reforms that unfolded from 1910 to 1920. His rise to prominence is marked by a keen understanding of the socio-political landscape of early 20th-centur
Venustiano Carranza (b. 29 December 1859; d. 21 May 1920), first chief of the Constitutionalist forces during the Mexican Revolution (1913–1917), president of Mexico (1917–1920). Carranza was born at Cuatro Ciénegas in the northeastern frontier state of Coahuila, son of a well-to-do landed proprietor who had supported Benito Juárez.
Conoce la vida y obra de Venustiano Carranza, el político que lideró la etapa constitucionalista de la Revolución mexicana. Descubre cómo enfrentó a Victoriano Huerta, Pancho Villa y Emiliano Zapata, y cómo convocó la Constitución de 1917 y se convirtió en presidente.
