Miguel Aleman Valdes

Miguel Alemán Valdés was a Mexican politician who served a full term as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952, the first civilian president after a string of revolutionary generals. His administration was characterized by Mexico's rapid industrialization, often called the Mexican Miracle, but also for a high level of personal enrichment for himself and his associates. His presidency was the first of a new generation of Mexican leaders, who had not directly participated in the Mexican Revolution, and many in his cabinet were also young, university-educated civilians, close friends from his days at university. Alemán was born in Sayula in the state of Veracruz, the son of revolutionary Gen. Miguel Alemán González and Tomasa Valdés Ledezma. Both had been married before, with Alemán González having a son by his first wife. They had two sons together, Carlos and Miguel. The family lived in straitened circumstances, with Miguel remembering when he was young that when huaraches hurt his feet, he would urinate on them to soften the leather. His father, Miguel Alemán González, began fighting before the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, a so-called "precursor" in a region of Veracruz state. He avidly read the tracts of Ricardo Flores Magón, of the Mexican Liberal Party and opposed the repressive regime of Porfirio Díaz. Alemán González left his family with his parents to fight with Cándido Aguilar, the son-in-law of Venustiano Carranza against the Díaz regime. Alemán studied law and set up practice in Mexico City, specializing in labour cases. Appointed senator from Veracruz, he became governor of the state in 1936. In 1940 he resigned to manage the successful presidential campaign of Manuel Ávila Camacho, who rewarded him with the powerful post of minister of gobernación (“interior”). Alemán became the official candidate for the presidency on the ticket of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Revolutionary Institutional Party) in 1946 and easily defeated Ezequiel Padilla. His administration saw a slowdown in Mexico’s agrarian reform but greatly accelerated industrial development and public works projects. Most notable in his construction spree was the completion of University City, which is the core of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, one of the largest universities in the world. Although his regime was charged with extensive graft and corruption, economic progress was marked during his tenure. From the early 1960s he served as president of a national tourist council, a position he held until his death. He died of a heart attack in Mexico City in 1983 and was buried in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.