Biography of Manuel Mondragón, who was he and what did he do?
Manuel Mondragón was a Mexican soldier who supported the coup d’état that Victoriano Huerta carried out against the government of Francisco I. Madero, which is why he is considered another of the great traitors of Mexico..
Mondragón was born in the State of Mexico in 1859 and died on September 28, 1922 in San Sebastián, Spain. Little is known about his childhood, but not about his training, since while he was still a teenager he began to study at the Heroic Military College of Chapultepec. While there he specialized as a gunner.
When he graduated from the College it was in the middle of the Porfirista era, so Manuel Mondragón went to work in the area of war materials. While there he had the initiative to perfect a cannon and a rifle, obtaining good results, so he quickly gained prestige and respect from the Porfirista military.
Thanks to his cunning and skill, in 1907 he was appointed Director of the Artillery Department. In that same year he patented the Mondragón Self-Loading Rifle, a semi-automatic weapon that fired up to 60 shots per minute.
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Already During the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, Mondragón remained loyal to Porfirio Díaz and fought against Maderismo without success., although he remained part of the Army. In 1911 he requested a license and in 1913 he rejoined to participate in the Coup d’état against Madero.
The role of Manuel Mondragón in the Tragic Ten
One of the aspects that the revolutionaries most criticized in the government of Francisco I. Madero was its passivity and tolerance towards the allies of the Porfiriato that remained in power. One of those allies was precisely Mondragón.
Manuel Mondragón played an important role during the Coup d’état against the Maderista government that culminated in La Decena Trágica.one of the most violent moments of the Revolution.
It all began on February 9, 1913. That day, in the country’s capital, Mondragón took up arms against Madero. Mondragón left Tacubaya accompanied by 500 artillerymen and then went to the prison where generals Bernardo Reyes and Félix Díaz were held to free them.
These soldiers and their troops confronted the defenders of Maderismo. Among the latter was Victoriano Huerta, who had fought Villa and Zapata, so Madero commissioned Huerta to confront the coup plotters. However, Manuel Mondragón allied himself with Pascual Oroco and together they persuaded Huerta to betray Madero..
A few days after the uprising, the Coup d’état against Francisco I. Madero was carried out. Victoriano Huerta rose to the presidency with the help of Manuel Mondragón, which is why both have been considered the great traitors of Mexico.
The last days of Mondragón
When Huerta reached the presidential chair he appointed Manuel Mondragón as Secretary of War and Navy. However, during Venustiano Carranza’s uprising, Mondragón proved unable to confront him.
He even faced accusations of focusing more on accumulating wealth than on fighting the constitutionalists. Mondragón was accused of betraying Huerta himself and was forced to resign from his position. He then went into exile in Spain, where he suffered economic hardship and took refuge in alcoholism.
Finally, Manuel Mondragón died due to stomach tuberculosis in 1922 in Spain.
Stephanie Cisneros Lover of literature, photography and discovering the treasures of Mexico.