Felipe Carrillo Puerto

Felipe Carrillo Puerto was a Mexican journalist, politician and revolutionary who became known for his efforts at reconciliation between the Yucatec Maya and the Mexican government after the Caste War. He was governor of the Mexican state of Yucatán from 1922 to 1924. He was born in the town of Motul, Yucatán, and was of partly indigenous Maya background. He was a socialist who favored land reform, women's suffrage, and rights for the indigenous Maya people. He was also a newspaper owner, editor and reporter. He joined the Mexican Revolution and supported the Maderista movement. He became the leader of the Socialist Party of the Southeast and was elected governor of Yucatán in 1922. He initiated a series of radical reforms, such as distributing land to the Maya peasants, granting voting rights to women, opening schools and libraries, and restoring pre-Columbian sites. He also had a romance with a United States journalist, Alma Reed, who wrote about his achievements and struggles. He was assassinated in January 1924 by insurgent federal troops allied with powerful members of Yucatán's henequen oligarchy, who opposed his reforms and policies. He is considered one of the most enduring martyrs of Mexico's twentieth-century revolution and a hero of the Maya people.