Francisco Madero in Texas

Madero's schooling crossed three countries: the Jesuit school of San Juan in Saltillo, Mount St. Mary in Baltimore, a business school in Paris and a year of agriculture at the University of California at Berkeley. Back home he helped develop the Laguna cotton region, and in 1903 he married Sara Pérez. His book La sucesión presidencial en 1910 praised Díaz while blaming his advisers. In San Antonio his plan, issued in November, was dated October 5, his last night in San Luis Potosí, to avoid the appearance of violating United States neutrality law.

What the plaque says

Francisco Madero in Texas Francisco Ignacio Madero, a Mexican revolutionary and president known as the "Apostle of Democracy," was born in 1873 to an affluent family with long Texas connections. He ran against Mexican ruler Porfirio Díaz in the 1910 presidential election, and Díaz ordered his arrest in San Luis Potosí. Upon his release on bail, Madero escaped, crossing the U.S. border into Laredo. He moved to San Antonio, selecting this site of the former Hutchins Hotel as headquarters. Here, he wrote the plan of San Luis Potosí, an influential document prompting political change in Mexico. He later moved to New Orleans and then Dallas before returning to Mexico, where a full rebellion had begun in November. San Antonio remained a vital center of operations. Madero became president in 1911, but a coup forced him from office in 1913, followed by his assassination. Francisco Ignacio Madero, revolucionario y presidente mexicano conocido como "el apóstol de la democracia," nació en 1873 en el seno de una familia prominente con contactos estables en texas. Madero se opuso al gobernante mexicano porfirio díaz en las elecciones presidenciales de 1910. Díaz ordenó su arresto en san luis potosí. Tras su liberación bajo fianza, madero escapó, cruzando la frontera con estados unidos por laredo. Se trasladó a San Antonio, escogiendo este emplazamiento del antiguo hotel hutchins como cuartel general. Aquí escribió el "plan de san luis potosí," un influyente documento que propulsaba el cambio político en méxico. Más tarde, madero se trasladó a nueva orleans y después a dallas antes de regresar a méxico donde una gran rebelión había comenzado en noviembre. San antonio continuó siendo un centro de operaciones vital. Madero llegó a presidente en 1911, pero fue derrocado en un golpe de estado en 1913, y posteriormente fue asesinado. (2007)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Antonio River Walk — 0.2 mi
  A Depression-era park one level below downtown, built because San Antonio refused to pave its river after the 1921 flood, and designed by an architect the project later fired.
• San Fernando Cathedral — 0.2 mi
  The Canary Islanders' parish church on Main Plaza, where Bowie married and Santa Anna raised a red flag, rebuilt in Gothic Revival around the walls of the 1750s church.
• La Villita Historic Arts Village — 0.3 mi
  The little village across the river from the presidio, where Cos surrendered San Antonio in 1835, rebuilt by Depression-era youth crews as a working crafts village.
• Casa Navarro State Historic Site — 0.3 mi
  The adobe and caliche-block home of José Antonio Navarro, a native-born signer of the 1836 declaration, and the last remnant of the Tejano neighborhood called Laredito.

More markers nearby

• Erasmo Seguin — steps away
• Bowen's Island — steps away
• San Antonio Mutual Aid Association — steps away
• Site of the Home of Dr. Ferdinand Ludwig Herff — steps away