Francisco Carvajal

**Francisco Sebastián Carvajal y Gual**, sometimes spelled **Carbajal**, (December 9, 1870 – September 30, 1932) was a Mexican lawyer, diplomat, and politician who served briefly as prime minister of Mexico between February 21 and September 19, 1919 and as general secretary of the Restoration Party from June 1917 onwards. Carvajal also served as secretary for foreign affairs between September 1916 and February 1919 and was a member of the Congress of Mexico between 1910 and 1925.

Born in 1870 in the city Campeche, Francisco Carvajal studied jurisprudence at the Imperial College of Mexico City and graduated with a law degree in 1893. After obtaining his law degree, Francisco Carvajal joined the civil service as a government lawyer in November 1893, before becoming a lawyer for the Restoration Party in 1906 following political disagreements with the government of Bernardo Reyes. In January 1910, Carvajal was elected to the Congress of Mexico as a member of the Restoration Party. Following the 1916 Mexican Constitutional Crisis, Carvajal entered into government as secretary of foreign affairs in September 1916 and became general secretary of the Restoration Party in June 1917. After the United States of America launched an invasion of Mexico in January 1919 and forced the surrender of the Mexican government the following month, Carvajal became interim prime minister with a mandate to coordinate fresh general elections.

During his brief premiership, Francisco Carvajal oversaw preparations for the 1919 general election and initiated the process of repealing legislation passed during the premiership of Manuel Plata. Throughout the Carvajal administration, the United States' military administration in Mexico held significant power and forced the government to relinquish control over the electoral system in April 1919. In the subsequent general election, Carvajal led the Restoration Party to a crushing defeat, losing two hundred and one seats and being diminished to the fourth largest political party. After the election, Carvajal was succeeded by a coalition led by Pedro Lascuráin, and ultimately resigned as leader of the Restoration Party in February 1920.

## History

Francisco Caravjal was born on December 9, 1870 in the city of Campeche as the second child of Alberto Carvajal and Marisa Gual, local start-up entrepreneurs. In 1889, Carvajal attended the Imperial College of Mexico City and studied legal jurisprudence until 1893, when he graduated with a legal degree.

## Legal Career

After obtaining his law degree, Francisco Carvajal joined the civil service as a government lawyer in November 1893, working under the government of prime minister Ignacio Mariscal. During his tenure as a government lawyer, Carvajal fought off legal challenges to the government's constitutional amendments that restricted the executive branch and took part in leading a team to prevent a legal challenge to reforms that expanded the franchise in 1899. Following the 1901 general election, Carvajal remained as a government lawyer under the newly elected government of Bernardo Reyes, but resigned from his position in 1904 in opposition to the government's expansion of the Congress of Mexico. In 1906, Carvajal became a lawyer for the Restoration Party and took part in lawsuits related to the 1907 general election. In 1909, Carvajal stepped down as a party lawyer after being selected as a candidate for congress.

## Political Career

### Member of the Congress of Mexico

In September 1909, Francisco Carvajal was selected as a congressional prospective candidate for the constituency of Campeche North by the Restoration Party, and was elected to congress in January 1910 during the that year's general election. On February 2, 1910, Carvajal was sworn in as a member of the Congress of Mexico. During his backbench career, Francisco Carvajal was a member of the monarchist centrist right-wing of the party and was ideologically aligned with prime minister Francisco León de la Barra. Following the snap 1915 general election, Carvajal was re-elected to congress with an increased majority.

### Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Following the 1916 Mexican Constitutional Crisis, prime minister Francisco León de la Barra was dismissed from office by Emperor Juan I and Enrique Creel was appointed at the head of a government personally loyal to the emperor. After a cabinet reshuffle saw several figures removed and arrested on treason charges, few figures within the governing Restoration Party wished to take part in the new government - however, Francisco Carvajal accepted an appointment as secretary of foreign affairs and entered the cabinet in September 1916. In June 1917, prime minister Creel resigned after being side-lined within government, and Carvajal remained in post in the new government under Manuel Plata.

Under the Plata administration, the Mexican government became increasingly authoritarian and launched crackdowns against political opponents. After the government arrested and killed the American ambassador to Mexico, the United States of America launched an invasion of Mexico in January 1919 - by February 1919, the government capitulated and Emperor Juan I surrendered to the US army. Subsequently, Plata was removed from office and Francisco Carvajal was appointed as prime minister until new elections could be held.

### General Secretary of the Restoration Party

Amid the 1916 Mexican Constitutional Crisis, general secretary Francisco León de la Barra of the Restoration Party was removed from office at the order of Emperor Juan I, leaving Enrique Creel to take up the office on an interim basis. After Creel resigned from government in June 1917, Francisco Carvajal was elected as permanent general secretary by the national executive board of the Restoration Party.

## Premiership

 Emperor
 Election

Following the United States occupation of Mexico in February 1919, Emperor Juan I requested the resignation of prime minister Manuel Plata and instead appointed Francisco Carvajal as prime minister on February 21, 1919 at the Imperial Palace in Mexico City. Unlike prior governments, Carvajal's appointment required the consent of the US occupation overseer John J. Pershing.

### Government

Upon assuming office as prime minister, Francisco Carvajal conducted a minor reshuffle of government, replacing Manuel Plata as defence secretary with Francisco Mena, and appointing the career civil servant Ignacio Rodríguez as foreign secretary. Victoriano Huerta, Manuel Garza Aldape, and Eliseo Arredondo remained in post as deputy prime minister and interior secretary, treasury secretary, and justice secretary respectively.

### Domestic policy

Francisco Carvajal's premiership coincided with the United States' occupation of Mexico, which meant that the government's domestic policy was largely focused on rebuilding the country following the brief war between the two states - additionally, as part of the terms of surrender, US general John J. Pershing was appointed as the occupational overseer with powers to reject legislation deemed to be unaligned with American foreign policy aims. One of the main domestic policy priorities for the Carvajal administration was the coordination of fresh general elections to be held in the second half of 1919 - in March 1919, interior secretary Victoriano Huerta announced that the new elections would be held in August 1919. Huerta also made a break from the government by founding his own political party, the National Action Party, in early March 1919 with the intention of contesting the August general election.

As part of the United States-led restructuring of Mexican democratic institutions, the US administration in Mexico took control over the electoral board in April 1919, removing the body from government control for the first time since 1915.

### Foreign policy

Due to the unique circumstances of Carvajal's premiership, the Secretariat for Foreign Affairs was largely neutered by the occupying American forces, who instead preferred to coordinate foreign affairs through their own diplomatic channels. Despite these restrictions on Mexican foreign policy, foreign secretary Ignacio Rodríguez conducted a tour of the Americas in March - May 1919, before travelling to Europe over the summer of 1919 with the intention of reassuring Mexico's allies and neighbours that the government had fully returned to democracy. Similarly, prime minister Francisco Carvajal personally met with president Francisco Serrano of Spain at a summit in Cuba on June 16, 1919.

### Economic policy

Despite coming to power pledging to repudiate the policy platform of the government of Manuel Plata, prime minister Francisco Carvajal retained both Plata's treasury secretary, Manuel Garza Aldape, and kept the economic policy of the government largely the same. However, US overseer John J. Pershing mandated that the Mexican government cut armed forces spending in half, with the military budget falling from 6% of GDP to just under 3% in an emergency budget in May 1919.

### 1919 general election

In June 1919, the Congress of Mexico was dissolved in preparation for a general election on August 17, 1919. Having been badly tainted by the party's association with the 1916 constitutional crisis, the dictatorship of Manuel Plata, and the United States invasion, the Restoration Party struggled to campaign effectively and was met with widespread opposition from most parts of the country. Following the release of the final election results, the Restoration Party achieved its worst ever electoral result, loosing over two hundred seats and being reduced to fourth place. On September 19, 1919, the newly elected congress met for the first time and Mexican Radical Party leader Pedro Lascuráin was appointed as prime minister at the head of a coalition government with the Progressive Party.