Científico
Encyclopedia
The Científicos were a circle of technocratic
advisors to President of Mexico
Porfirio Díaz
.
Steeped in the positivist "scientific politics
", they functioned as part of his program of modernization at the start of the 20th century.
Leading Científicos included:
There were other factions within the Díaz government that were opposed to the Científicos, most notably that led by former general Bernardo Reyes
.
Technocracy (bureaucratic)
Technocracy is a form of government where technical experts are in control of decision making in their respective fields. Economists, engineers, scientists, health professionals, and those who have knowledge, expertise or skills would compose the governing body...
advisors to President of Mexico
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American 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...
.
Steeped in the positivist "scientific politics
Scientific politics
Scientific politics was a late 19th century political theory based on the positivist philosophy of Auguste Comte. Proponents of scientific politics advocated a society and political system that was to be organized in accordance with the laws of nature....
", they functioned as part of his program of modernization at the start of the 20th century.
Leading Científicos included:
- Gabino BarredaGabino BarredaGabino Barreda was a Mexican physician and philosopher oriented to French positivism.After participating in the U.S.-Mexican War defending his country as a volunteer, he studied medicine in Paris . There he became acquainted with Auguste Comte's doctrine, before his first publications in philosophy...
(1820–1881), a precursor of the group. A physicianPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and professorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of medicine, Barreda studied in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
under Auguste ComteAuguste ComteIsidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
between 1847 and 1851 and is widely credited with introducing positivism in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Put in charge of fulfilling the 1857 Constitution's promise of secular public education by the early JuárezBenito JuárezBenito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
government, Barreda organized the National Preparatory School, the first secular school of higher learning in Mexico, which opened in 1868 and became the training ground for many of the younger Científicos. - Ramón CorralRamón CorralRamón Corral was the Vice President of Mexico under Porfirio Díaz from 1904 until their deposition in 1911.-Early Years:...
(January 10, 1854 - November 10, 1912) was the Vice PresidentVice presidentA vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
under Porfirio DíazPorfirio DíazJosé de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American 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...
from 1904 until their deposition in 1911. - Manuel Romero Rubio (1828–1895), Secretary of the InteriorSecretary of the Interior (Mexico)The Mexican Secretary of the Interior is the head of the Secretariat of the Interior, concerned with the country's internal affairs, the presentation of the president's bills to Congress, their publication and certain issues of national security. The country's main intelligence agency, CISEN,...
from 1884 to 1895 and the father of Porfirio Díaz' second wife Carmen (they were married in 1881); a founding member of the group. - José Yves LimantourJosé Yves LimantourJosé Yves Limantour was a Mexican politician, Secretary of the Finance of Mexico from 1893 until the fall of the Porfirio Díaz regime in 1911.José Yves Limantour was the illegitimate son of Joseph Yves Limantour....
(1854–1935), Ministro de Hacienda (Secretary of the Treasury) from 1893 until the fall of the Díaz regime in 1911; considered the political leader of the faction. - Justo SierraJusto SierraJusto Sierra Méndez , was a prominent Mexican writer, journalist, poet and political figure of the second half of the nineteenth century. He was the son of Mexican novelist Justo Sierra O'Reilly, who is credited with inspiring his son with the spirit of literature...
, the leading intellectual and spokesman of the circle. - The writers and journalists Francisco BulnesFrancisco BulnesFrancisco Bulnes may refer to:*Francisco Bulnes , Mexican politician and historian*Juan Francisco Bulnes, municipality in the Honduran department of Gracias a Dios...
(1847–1924) and Emilio Rabasa (1856–1930), co-founders of the newspaper El UniversalEl Universal (Mexico City)El Universal is a major Mexican newspaper.El Universal was founded by Félix Palavicini and Emilio Rabasa in October 1916, in the city of Santiago de Queretaro to cover the end of the Mexican Revolution and the creation of the new Mexican Constitution...
in 1888), both considered spokesmen for the Científicos. - Enrique CreelEnrique CreelEnrique Clay Creel Cuilty, sometimes known as Henry Clay Creel was a Mexican businessman and politician member of the powerful Creel-Terrazas family of Chihuahua...
(1854–1931), a wealthy businessman and landowner, an influential member of the powerful Creel-Terrazas FamilyCreel-Terrazas familyThe Creel-Terrazas family is a powerful and wealthy family based in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.- Events: During the rule of President Porfirio Díaz and the Mexican Revolution, this family was part of the científico faction. The científicos were conservative civilian technocrats and...
that dominated the northern state of Chihuahua, of which he was governor from 1904 until the fall of the Díaz regime in 1911. - Luis TerrazasLuis TerrazasLuis Terrazas, born José Luis Gonzaga Jesús Daniel Terrazas Fuentes , was a Mexican politician, businessman, rancher and soldier. He was a pivotal figure in the history of the state of Chihuahua from the middle of the 19th century through the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution...
(1829–1923), Founder of the Creel-Terrazas FamilyCreel-Terrazas familyThe Creel-Terrazas family is a powerful and wealthy family based in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.- Events: During the rule of President Porfirio Díaz and the Mexican Revolution, this family was part of the científico faction. The científicos were conservative civilian technocrats and...
, father-in-law of Enrique Creel, and one of the richest landowners in the Republic of Mexico; he helped to bankroll the faction. - The lawyers Pablo Macedo and Joaquín Casasús.
- Nemesio García Naranjo (1883–1963), who later became Secretary of Education under Victoriano HuertaVictoriano HuertaJosé Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
in 1913. - Emilio Pimentel, lawyer, governor of OaxacaOaxacaOaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
from 1902 to 1911. - Rosendo Pineda, lawyer, influential backer of Porfirio Díaz in the state of Oaxaca.
- Rafael Reyes Spíndola (1860–1922), founder (in 1896) and publisher of the Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
newspaper El ImparcialEl ImparcialEl Imparcial, founded in 1918, was a Puerto Rican newspaper.In the 1970s Miguel A. García Méndez bought the newspaper. The building where the newspaper was run then was destroyed by political sabotage in a fire...
, considered the "semi-official newspaper of the Porfiriato."
There were other factions within the Díaz government that were opposed to the Científicos, most notably that led by former general Bernardo Reyes
Bernardo Reyes
Bernardo Reyes was a General in the army of Mexico under Porfirio Díaz. He served as governor of Nuevo León he helped in the modernization of that state. While governor of Nuevo León, Reyes approved a workers compensation law. He was the father of the writer Alfonso Reyes, and grandfather of the...
.
Source
- Hernández Chávez, Alicia. Mexico: A Brief History. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006), p. 194.
- Ruiz, Ramón EduardoRamón Eduardo RuizRamón Eduardo Ruiz was an American historian of Mexico and Latin America. He was the author of fifteen books on Mexican and Latin American history and in 1998 he was awarded the US National Humanities Medal....
. Triumphs and Tragedy: A History of the Mexican People (New York: Norton, 1992), p. 274 - Martínez Vázquez, Víctor Raúl, editor. La revolución en Oaxaca, 1900-1930, p. 38.