Jara Corona, Heriberto (1879–1968)

Heriberto Jara Corona, born on July 10, 1879, in Nogales, in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, is one of the most symbolic figures of the Mexican Revolution. A distinguished fighter for social causes, he was active in the ranks of Ricardo Flores Magón's Mexican Liberal Party. In 1910 Jara joined the Madero movement, which opposed the reelection of Porfirio Díaz. When Madero won, Jara served as deputy in the twenty-sixth congress, representing the textile region of Orizaba. As a deputy he fought Victoriano Huerta, who had taken over the presidency of Mexico after overthrowing Madero, and in 1913 joined the constitutionalist forces of Venustiano Carranza. In 1914 he served as military governor of Mexico City. At the head of the Ocampo brigade, he oversaw the withdrawal of the U.S. Army from the Port of Veracruz. As a constituent deputy (1916–1917), Jara participated in preparing article 123 of the 1917 constitution, which established the social rights of workers. He collaborated with the government of Lázaro Cárdenas and in 1938 led the Party of the Mexican Revolution. He served as secretary of the navy from 1940 to 1946. After a lifetime devoted to the pursuit of peace, he died on April 17, 1968, in Mexico City.

See alsoCárdenas del Río, Lázaro; Carranza, Venustiano; de la Huerta, Adolfo; Flores Magón, Ricardo; Mexico, Political Parties: Partido Liberal Mexicano; Mexico, Political Parties: Party of the Mexican Revolution (PRM); Mexico, Wars and Revolutions: Mexican Revolution; Río Blanco Strike.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

González Marín, Silvia. Heriberto Jara, un luchador obrero en la Revolución Mexicana (1879–1917). México, D.F.: Sociedad Cooperativa Publicaciones Mexicanas, 1984.

Zapata Vela, Carlos. Conversaciones con Heriberto Jara. México, D.F.: Costa-Amic Editores, 1992.

                                Silvia Gonzalez Marin