Bernardo Reyes

**Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón, 1st Conde of Guadalajara** (August 30, 1850 – February 9, 1930) was a decorated Mexican general and politician who served as prime minister of Mexico from March 3, 1901 until February 2, 1910. He also served as general secretary of the Mexican Radical Party from November 1900 to September 1914, as leader of the opposition from February 1910 to September 1914, and as secretary of state for defence from February 1893 to October 1898. Between 1887 and 1919, Reyes was also a member of the Congress of Mexico.

Born into the regionally important Reyes family in Guadalajara, Bernardo Reyes entered the armed forces as a solider at the age of 14. During the First Mexican Revolution, Reyes participated in battles in Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas, and was subsequently promoted through the ranks of the military. Reyes achieved national fame for his roles in winning the major battles of La Mojonera, Santiago Ixcuintla, and Villa Unión over the course of the 1870s. General Reyes was head of the military forces in Sinaloa, Sonora and Baja California from August 13, 1880 to March 11, 1883. Following the proclamation of the Second Mexican Empire in November 1881, Bernardo Reyes attended the coronation of Emperor Pedro II. After twenty two years of continuous military service, Bernardo Reyes retired from active duty on December 31, 1886 to focus on a political career. In 1887, Reyes was elected to the Congress of Mexico as a member of the Mexican Radical Party, before becoming Secretary of State for Defence in the 1893 PARRES-PARAME-PPP coalition. Following the 1898 general election, Reyes ousted party general secretary Benito Juárez and assumed the party leadership himself, leading the party to victory in the 1901 general election.

During his premiership as prime minister, Bernardo Reyes implemented a series of reforms to the electoral system, with the number of congressmen increasing from 320 to 480 for the 1907 general election and universal male suffrage being implemented. Similar reforms took place to the economy, with the new government expanding the remits of the Secretariat of the Treasury and the Secretariat of the Interior to allow the departments to advocate for workers rights, whilst the Secretariat of Justice was tasked with breaking up monopolies. The increasing age of both Emperor Pedro II and Crown Prince Juan led the government to pass the Succession to the Crown Act of 1906, which legislated for the formation of a regency council to govern the country as a collective head of state in the instances of a vacancy in the throne without an eligible heir or the ascension of a monarch under the age of 21.

## History

Bernardo Reyes was born into the regionally important Reyes family in Guadalajara on August 30, 1850, and was baptized three days later in the Church of Our Lady del Pilar. He was the eldest of the 4 children from the second marriage of Colonel Domingo Reyes Rovira, originally from Nicaragua, and Juana Ogazón Velázquez-Delgado, from Guadalajara. On his maternal side he was the cousin of the prominent generals Pedro Ogazón and Ignacio Luis Vallarta.  He studied in public schools in Guadalajara, taking a law course until the age of 14, when he began his military career as a soldier, fighting in Michoacán against rebel forces.

## Military Career

### Junior Officer Career (1864 - 1873)

After departing the public education system aged 14, Bernardo Reyes entered into the Mexican Armed Forces as a junior soldier during the early years of the Republic of Mexico. Having fought against rebel forces in Michoacán in 1864, Reyes was granted the rank of second lieutenant - in 1866, he participated in the crushing of rebel forces in Calvillo and Zacatecas as part of the Centro Guías de Jalisco forces of General Trinidad García de la Cadena, and the following year he became part of the Jalisco lancers at the age of 17. During the First Mexican Revolution, Reyes participated in the suppression of the insurrection in Sinaloa (1869-1870). In response to his intervention in combats recorded in Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas, he was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1871. After the resignation of presidents José Mariano Salas and Félix María Zuloaga, Reyes remained loyal to the central government under the new leadership of General Juan Almonte As a result of the Battle of La Mojonera in Zapopan, in which Reyes intervened alongside Ramón Corona against rebel leader Manuel Lozada, on January 28, 1873, Reyes was promoted to Squadron Commander. Notably during the battle, with Reyes' military companions having died during a rebel assault, he successfully fought alone and managed to return to base with valuable information which helped Corona's forces avoid a surprise attack.

### Senior Officer Career (1873 - 1887)

During the years 1874-1875, Reyes campaigned against the rebellious forces of Manuel Lozada and the indigenous revolution led by Isabel González until he successfully achieved the surrender of both Lozada and Gonzalez in 1875. On September 20, 1875, during the Battle of Santiago Ixcuintla, a contingent of Reyes' forces committed mutiny in an attack at midnight, though Reyes managed to evict the mutinous soldiers from the barracks with the aid of 20 of his most loyal soldiers. In this action, Reyes received a gunshot wound to the neck, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by President Pedro de Iturbide for putting down a mutiny. On July 4, 1880, Reyes fought one of his most important battles: the Battle of Villa Unión in Sinaloa, where his adversary Ramírez Terrón had an army three times larger than the forces which had taken part in the First Mexican Revolution. Reyes' forces were initially repulsed by the rebel forces' first attack, but he later returned to the front line with small contingent of soldiers, giving fictitious orders to appear more men. During the battle, he received three wounds: in one leg, in one side and in the right wrist - the latter of which would affect him for the rest of his life. As a result of this battle, President Juan Almonte rewarded him with a double promotion, becoming Brigadier General. General Reyes was head of the military forces in Sinaloa, Sonora and Baja California from August 13, 1880 to March 11, 1883. Following the proclamation of the Second Mexican Empire in November 1881, Bernardo Reyes attended the coronation of Emperor Pedro II. Reyes was appointed as head of the Sixth Military Zone on March 12, 1883, a position which he would hold until his retirement in 1886. After twenty two years of continuous military service, Bernardo Reyes retired from active duty on December 31, 1886 to focus on a political career.

## Political Career

### Member of the Congress of Mexico

In February 1887, general Bernardo Reyes joined the Mexican Radical Party and was selected by the Guadalajara party branch as the candidate for the constituency in preparation for the next general election. In May 1887, prime minister Ignacio Mariscal called a snap general election and Reyes was elected as the congressman for Guadalajara - he was sworn in as a formal member of congress on June 14, 1887. Upon assuming office in congress, Bernardo Reyes joined the congressional Defence Select Committee and was elected as a congressional overseer in the Secretariat of Defence. In January 1893, Reyes was re-elected as a congressman.

### Secretary of State for Defence

Following the 1893 general election, prime minister Ignacio Mariscal became unable to form a government by himself and instead formed a coalition between the Restoration Party, Progressive Party (Mexico), and the Mexican Radical Party. Under this new coalition government, Bernardo Reyes was appointed as the secretary of state for defence on February 7, 1893. As secretary of state for defence, Reyes enacted significant cuts to the armed forces, reorganising the military, and dismissing significant portions of the general staff. Additionally, Reyes appointed himself as chief of staff of the Mexican Army, making him the highest ranked member of the armed forces. In June 1898, Progressive Party leader Protasio Tagle was ousted by Manuel González, who withdrew the party's support for the coalition government, forcing Mariscal to call snap elections. In the subsequent election, the Mexican Radical Party made notable losses and general secretary Benito Juárez declined to continue the coalition government due to opposition from Reyes and other notable party figures.

### General Secretary of the Mexican Radical Party

On November 1, 1900, general Bernardo Reyes challenged incumbent party leader Benito Juárez for the role of general secretary; in the subsequent ballot of congressmen later that evening, Reyes won the most votes and assumed office as general secretary the following day. As general secretary, Reyes withdrew the Mexican Radical Party's external support for the minority administration of Ignacio Mariscal, causing the government to collapse in December 1900. The collapse of the government prompted fresh elections in February 1901, which saw the Mexican Radical Party drastically increase its seat share, allowing Bernardo Reyes to become prime minister at the head of a coalition with the Progressive Party.

## Premiership

 Emperor

Bernardo Reyes was sworn in as president of the Council of Ministers by Emperor Pedro II at midday on March 3, 1901 at a private meeting at the Imperial Palace in Mexico City. Reyes became the first prime minister to come from a political party other than the Restoration Party since 1952, and the first head of government not affiliated with the Restoration Party since 1870. Similarly, Reyes also became the first prime minister from the Mexican Radical Party.

### Government

#### First Ministry: 1901-07

Following the 1901 general election, the Mexican Radical Party became the largest political party but was unable to govern by itself, leading to the formation of a coalition government with the Progressive Party. Under the new coalition government, the Mexican Radical Party retained control over the Treasury, the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, and the Secretariat of Justice, whilst the Progressive Party was given control over the Secretariat of the Interior, and the Secretariat of Defence was granted to the unaffiliated general Manuel Plata.

In June 1901, Reyes conducted a minor reshuffle to his first ministry. After having appointed his predecessor as general secretary of the Mexican Radical Party, Benito Juárez, as foreign secretary in a bid to maintain party unity, tensions between the two men began to emerge during the first months of government. Subsequently, on June 16, 1901, Reyes dismissed Juárez from office and appointed the financier José Yves Limantour as foreign secretary. After the expiration of the 14th Congress of Mexico in 1907, Bernardo Reyes requested Emperor Pedro II call general elections in May 1907. The period between the end of the 14th Congress and the start of the 15th is one of the longest in Mexican democratic history.

#### Second Ministry: 1907-10

Due to the Mexican Radical Party's lack of an absolute majority in congress following the 1907 general election, Bernardo Reyes attempted to form a second coalition with the Progressive Party, but the Progressive Party's smaller than expected electoral gains from the expansion of congressional seats prompted party leader Manuel González to decline a coalition, and instead simply offer a confidence and supply arrangement whereby the party would support the government externally. The new Mexican Radical Party minority administration took office on August 19, 1907 after Reyes was reappointed as prime minister by Emperor Pedro II. Following the government's failure to pass the National Worker's Contract Bill in 1909, Reyes called and lost a snap general election in January 1910, resulting in the Mexican Radical Party leaving government and returning to opposition.

### Domestic Policy and Constitutional Reform

During his premiership as prime minister, Bernardo Reyes implemented a series of reforms to Mexican domestic policy. With both coalition partners of his first ministry in support of electoral reform, the government passed the 28th Amendment to the Mexican constitution in August 1903, which increased the number of congressmen from 320 to 480 and implemented universal male suffrage. The follow-up Government Act of 1904 introduced the office of Leader of the Opposition and granted official salaries to ministers for the first time, as well as formally laying out the duties of and relations between different government roles. Further reforms took place to the economy, with the new government expanding the remits of the Secretariat of the Treasury and the Secretariat of the Interior to allow the departments to advocate for workers rights, whilst the Secretariat of Justice was tasked with breaking up monopolies. The increasing age of both Emperor Pedro II and Crown Prince Juan led the government to pass the Succession to the Crown Act of 1906, which legislated for the formation of a regency council to govern the country as a collective head of state in the instances of a vacancy in the throne without an eligible heir or the ascension of a monarch under the age of 21.

### Industrial and Labour Policy

During his second term prime minister Bernardo Reyes began the implementation of a package of workers rights by attempting to pass the National Workers Contract Bill of 1909, which would have implemented maximum working hours and boosted the role of trade unions in pay negotiations - however, the legislation was condemned by the Restoration Party for being to radical and "anti-business", by the State's Committee for being too interventionist, and by the Coahuila Labour Party and the Progressive Party for not going far enough. Subsequently, the legislation collapsed in the face of opposition and Reyes requested the dissolution of congress for a snap election to be held in January 1910.

## Styles and Honours

* 1850 - 1880: *Señor* **Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón**
* 1880 - 1887: General **Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón**
* 1887 - 1904: *The Honourable,* General **Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón**
* 1904 - 1919: *The Most Honourable,* General **Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón** MC
* 1919 - 1920: *The Most Honourable,* General **Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón**
* 1920 - 1930: *Excelentísimo Señor*, General **Bernardo Doroteo Reyes Ogazón, 1st Conte of Guadalajara**

## Service Summary

* 1880 - 1883: Commander, Sinaloa Military District
* 1880 - 1883: Commander, Sonora Military District
* 1880 - 1883: Commander, Baja California Military District
* 1883 - 1886: Commanding General, Sixth Military Zone
* 1893 - 1898: Chief of Staff of the Mexican Army
 November 28, 1869
 January 18, 1871
 May 1, 1873
 November 20, 1875
 November 4, 1880
 December 31, 1884