Topic: Porfirio Diaz

José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (September 15, 1830 – July 2, 1915) was a Mexican War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N. Méndez as interim president, and a four-year term served by his political ally Manuel González from 1880 to 1884. Commonly considered by historians to have been a dictator, he is a controversial figure in Mexican history. The period of his leadership was marked by significant internal stability (known as the "pax porfiriana"), modernization, and economic growth. However, Díaz's conservative regime grew unpopular due to repression and political continuity, and he fell from power during the Mexican Revolution, after he had imprisoned his electoral rival and declared himself the winner of an eighth term in office. The years in which Díaz ruled Mexico are referred to as the Porfiriato.

Díaz’s military career is most noted for his service in the War of the Reform and the struggle against the French. By the time of the Battle of Puebla (May 5, 1862), General Díaz had become the brigade general in charge of an infantry brigade.

During the Battle of Puebla, his brigade was placed in the center between the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. From there, he repelled a French infantry attack that was sent as a diversion to distract the Mexican commanders' attention from the forts that were the main target of the French army. In violation of the orders of General Ignacio Zaragoza, General Díaz and his unit fought off a larger French force and then chased after them. Despite Díaz’s inability to share control, General Zaragoza commended the actions of General Díaz during the battle as "brave and notable".