Vicente Guerrero Vicente Guerrero ( ; August 10 , 1782 – February 14 , 1831 ) was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence . He fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century , and later served briefly as President of Mexico . He was also the grandfather of the Mexican politician and intellectual Vicente Riva Palacio . Early life . Guerrero was born in Tixtla , a town 100 kilometers inland from the port of Acapulco , in the Sierra Madre del Sur , his parents were Pedro Guerrero , a Mestizo , and María de Guadalupe Saldaña , an African slave . His family consisted of landlords , rich farmers and traders with broad business connections in the south , members of the Spanish militia and gun and cannon makers . In his youth he worked for his father ’ s freight business . His travels took him to different parts of Mexico where he heard of the ideas of independence . Vicente ’ s father , Pedro , supported Spanish rule , whereas his uncle , Diego Guerrero , had an important position in the Spanish militia ; however , Vicente was opposed to the Spanish colonial government . When his father asked him for his sword in order to present it to the viceroy of New Spain as a sign of goodwill , Vicente refused , saying , " The will of my father is for me sacred , but my Fatherland is first . " " Mi patria es primero " is now the motto of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero , named in honor of the revolutionary . He married María de Guadalupe Hernández and their daughter María de los Dolores Guerrero Hernández married Mariano Riva Palacio , who was the defender lawyer of Maximilian I of Mexico in Querétaro , and had Vicente Riva Palacio . Career . Guerrero joined in the early revolt against Spain in 1810 , first fighting alongside José María Morelos . When the War of Independence began , Guerrero was working as a gunsmith in Tixtla . He joined the rebellion in November 1810 and enlisted in a division that independence leader José María Morelos had organized to fight in southern Mexico . Guerrero distinguished himself in the battle of Izúcar , in February 1812 , and had achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel when Oaxaca was claimed by rebels in November 1812 . Following the capture and execution of Morelos in late 1815 , Guerrero joined forces with Guadalupe Victoria and Isidoro Montes de Oca , taking the position of " Commander in Chief " of the rebel troops . He remained the only major rebel leader still at large , keeping the rebellion going through an extensive campaign of guerrilla warfare . He won victories at Ajuchitán , Santa Fe , Tetela del Río , Huetamo , Tlalchapa and Cuautlotitlán , regions of southern Mexico that were very familiar to him . When Mexico achieved independence , he at first collaborated with Agustín de Iturbide , who proposed that the two join forces under what he referred to as the " Three Guarantees " or " El plan de Iguala " . This plan gave civil rights to Indians but not to African Mexicans . Guerrero refused to sign the plan unless equal rights were also given to African Mexicans and mulattos . Clause 12 was then incorporated into the plan . It read : " All inhabitants . . . without distinction of their European , African or Indian origins are citizens . . . with full freedom to pursue their livelihoods according to their merits and virtues " . Iturbide and Guerrero eventually agreed on these ideological mandates – that Mexico be made an independent constitutional monarchy , the abolition of class distinctions between Spaniards , creoles , mestizos and Indians , and that Catholicism be made the state religion – earned Guerrero ' s support , and , after marching into the capital on 27 September 1821 , Iturbide was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico by Congress . However , when Iturbide ' s policies supported the interests of Mexico ' s wealthy landowners through continued economic exploitation of the poor and working classes , Guerrero turned against him and came out in favor of a Republic with the Plan of Casa Mata . When the general Manuel Gómez Pedraza won the election to succeed Guadalupe Victoria as president , Guerrero , with the aid of general Antonio López de Santa Anna and politician Lorenzo de Zavala , staged a coup d ' état and took the presidency on 1 April 1829 . Guerrero , as head of the People ’ s Party and a liberal by conviction , called for public schools , land title reforms , industry and trade development , and other programs of a liberal nature : Guerrero was elected the second president of Mexico in 1829 . As president , Guerrero went on to champion the cause not only of the racially oppressed but also of the economically oppressed . The most notable achievement of Guerrero ' s short term as president was ordering an immediate abolition of slavery on September 16 of 1829 . and emancipation of all slaves . During Guerrero ' s presidency the Spanish tried to reconquer Mexico however the Spanish failed and were defeated at the Battle of Tampico . Guerrero was deposed in a rebellion under Vice - President Anastasio Bustamante that began on 4 December 1829 . He left the capital to fight the rebels , but was deposed by the Mexico City garrison in his absence on 17 December 1829 . Guerrero hoped to come back to power , but General Bustamante captured him from his home through bribery and a group of reactionaries had him executed . After his death , Mexicans loyal to Guerrero revolted , driving Bustamante from his presidency and forcing him to flee for his life . Picaluga , a former friend of Guerrero , who conspired with Bustamante to capture Guerrero , was executed . Honors were conferred on surviving members of Guerrero ' s family , and a pension was paid to his widow . In 1842 , Vicente Guerrero ' s body was returned to Mexico City and interred there . Guerrero ’ s political discourse was one of civil rights for all . Mexicans with hearts full of pride call him the " greatest man of color " to ever live . Legacy . Guerrero is a Mexican national hero . The state of Guerrero is named in his honour . Several towns in Mexico are named in honor of this famous general , including Vicente Guerrero in Baja California and the Mexican State of Guerrero , on the mainland of Mexico .