Мигель Алеман Вальдес: Мексика Президенті (1946-1952)

President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952

Miguel Alemán Valdés (miˈɣel aleˈman; 29 September 1900 – 14 May 1983) 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 es, the son in law of Venustiano Carranza against the Díaz regime. In 1920 the family moved to Mexico City, but with the accession to power of the Sonoran generals Adolfo de la Huerta, Álvaro Obregón, and Plutarco Elías Calles, Alemán González continued in opposition to the government. He was implicated in the murder of one of Obregón's commanders, es, and was on the run. The general met his end in March 1929 in a hail of bullets, probably committing suicide. Young Miguel had experienced first hand the disruption of the impacts of the continuing violence in Mexico. Alemán's schooling was sporadic in his early years, because of needing to move frequently; he attended schools in Acayucan, Coatzacoalcos, and Orizaba. For a time, he worked at the British owned Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company, where he first learned English and became fluent in it. He recalled his father advised him of "the usefulness of returning to my studies and choosing an occupation more stable than the military." Alemán did that, attending the National Preparatory School in Mexico City from 1920 to 1925, founding the newspaper Eureka. He then went to the School of Law at the National University (UNAM) until 1928, completing his law degree with his thesis on occupational diseases and accidents among workers. At UNAM, he was the leader of a group of classmates, all of whom went on the prominence in Mexican life. They included Ángel Carvajal Bernal; Manuel Sánchez Cuen, who served as subdirector of PEMEX in the Alemán administration; es; es; Manuel Ramírez Vázquez; es, who became rector of UNAM during Alemán's presidency; Antonio Carrillo Flores, who was director of the Fondo de Cultura Económica; and es, head of the Confederación de Cámaras Industriales. As a successful attorney, his first practice was in representing miners suffering from silicosis. He won two notable legal victories in representing workers against corporations—the first was in securing compensation for dependents of railroad workers who were killed in revolutionary battles, the second was to gain indemnities for miners injured at work. The appointment can be seen as a political reward from the Cárdenas administration for helping oust Plutarco Elías Calles during the intra party struggle. From 1940 to 1945, he served as Secretary of the Interior (Gobernación) under Manuel Ávila Camacho after directing Ávila's national presidential campaign. As Secretary of the Interior during World War II, he dealt with Axis espionage and the clerical fascist Sinarquistas.

Alemán was inaugurated as President of the Republic on 1 December 1946 and served until 1952, when barred from running from re election, he returned to civilian life. He was enormously popular prior to his presidency and in his early years as president, but lost support in the waning days of his term. His Secretary of the Interior, Héctor Pérez Martínez; Secretary of Public works, Ángel Carvajal; and Secretary of Labor, both Manuel Ramirez Vázquez and Andrés Serra Rojas had all been part of his close knit group from the Faculty of Law at UNAM.

Alemán directed government spending to state sponsored industrial development and reduced military spending as had his predecessors. That development included investments in infrastructure, especially public works. Dam building helped control flooding, expand irrigation, which allowed for the expansion of large scale agriculture, and provided hydroelectric power. In 1947 he initiated a huge project in the state of Oaxaca, culminating with the opening of the Miguel Alemán Dam in 1955. In 1951 he oversaw completion of the diversion of the Lerma River, bringing to an end Mexico City's water supply problems. Extending the nation's rail network, building and improving highways brought remote regions into the national economy. In Mexico City an existing airfield was enlarged and became the Mexico City International Airport. His administration also built a new campus for the National University (UNAM) in the south of the city, moving it from its previous location in downtown Mexico City. In 1952 his administration elevated Baja California to state status. Also during his term, he asserted power by forced imposition of state governors. He played a major role in the development and support of the city of Acapulco as an international tourist destination. Rampant political corruption and crony capitalism would mark his administration, however, and this would shape the relationship of politics and big business in Mexico until the present day. His successful economic policy led to talk about the Mexican miracle, but only a small elite benefited from economic growth. His administration took an anti communist stance and supported the US during the Cold War. He negotiated a major loan from the United States in 1947. Alemán and US President Harry S. Truman rode in a parade in Washington that attracted an estimated 600,000 well wishers. Internationally, he signed peace agreements with Japan, Germany and Italy following World War II, had a hand in a truce between Pakistan and India and worked with the US on the issue of braceros.

Alemán accumulated a fortune during his lifetime. In his post presidential years, he directed Mexico's tourism agency and a significant figure in the ownership of Mexican media, including the large television channel Televisa. In politics, he was the leader of the right wing of the PRI. In 1961, he was named the president of the national tourist commission, and was influential in bringing the 1968 Summer Olympics to Mexico. In addition, he was the first president of the Mr. Amigo Association in 1964, which celebrates the bi national friendliness between the United States and Mexico in the Charro Days and Sombrero Festival celebrations held in Matamoros, Tamaulipas and Brownsville, Texas. In 1987, his memoirs, entitled Remembranzas y testimonios, were published. His son Miguel Alemán Velasco is the CEO of Grupo Alemán (Galem), which included Interjet.