Agustín Vales Castillo facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Agustín Vales Castillo


Mayor of Mérida
In office 1902–1908

Personal details
Born	Agustín Vales Castillo 1857 Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
Died	1938(1938-00-00) (aged 78–79) Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse	María Cristina Millet Hübbe
Children	3
Parents	Agustín Vales (father) María de Castillo Dafrota (mother)
Education	Instituto Literario de Yucatán

Agustín Vales Castillo (1857 – 1938) was a Mexican businessman, banker, and politician. He was a very important person during the time when the henequen industry was booming in Yucatán. He served as the mayor (called prefect) of Mérida from 1902 to 1908. This was during the time of President Porfirio Díaz, known as the Porfiriato.

During his time as mayor, Agustín Vales Castillo helped Mérida grow a lot. He started many important projects that made the city modern and famous. When President Porfirio Díaz visited Mérida, he was very impressed. He said the city was clean and modern, a great place for new businesses. Even British writers, Frederick Frost and Channing Arnold, described Mérida as a clean, modern, and rich city. While Vales helped Mérida develop, his government was also known for being strict.

Later, during the Mexican Revolution, the political power in Yucatán changed. Many important families, including Vales's relatives, joined the Maderista movement. This movement was led by José María Pino Suárez in the southeast. Vales became close with the Madero family and even started a business with Ernesto Madero Farías, who was President Francisco I. Madero's uncle. This company, Compañía Harinera del Golfo, S.A., became the main flour supplier in the Yucatán Peninsula.

The Vales family continued to be a powerful business family in southeastern Mexico throughout the 20th century. Agustín Vales Millet, Agustín Vales Castillo's son, made the family business even bigger. They owned The Yucatan Bank, made plywood, had a monopoly on bottling Coca-Cola, and distributed Volkswagen cars in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Family Life
His Career and Achievements
Casa Vales
See also

Family Life

Agustín Vales Castillo was born in Mérida, Yucatán in 1857. His father, also named Agustín Vales, was a businessman and landowner from Galicia, Spain. His mother, María Castillo, was from Mérida.

His mother's family, the Castillos, were a well-known family of landowners. They had lived in Yucatán since the time of New Spain (when Mexico was a Spanish colony).

Agustín Vales Castillo's sister, María del Carmen Vales Castillo, married Raymundo Cámara. The Cámara family was one of the most important families in Yucatán. Because of this marriage, Agustín Vales was related to several important politicians who supported the Maderista movement. Two of his nephews, Alfredo and Nicolás Cámara Vales, became governors. His niece, María Cámara Vales, married José María Pino Suárez, who became the vice-president of Mexico.

On July 24, 1879, Agustín Vales Castillo married María Cristina Millet Hübbe. They had three children:

Maria Vales Millet, who married Adolfo Casares.
Agustín Vales Millet, who married Mercedes Guerra.
Carlos Vales Millet, who married Rosa Cámara.

His Career and Achievements

Before becoming mayor of Mérida, Agustín Vales was already a very successful businessman. The governor of Yucatán, Olegario Molina, chose him for the job because he was known as a "man of energy, honesty, talent, and knowledge." People also called him a "skilled and bold promoter of progress."

Improving Mérida

As mayor, Agustín Vales started many projects to improve Mérida. He helped pave the city streets and build drainage systems. He also helped build a mental hospital and made the prison bigger. He played a key role in starting the Hospital Agustín O'Harán in Mérida, which is still one of the best hospitals in Mexico today. Vales even gave a lot of his own money to help build this hospital.

In February 1906, President Porfirio Díaz visited Mérida. He was very impressed by how modern and clean the city was. He said Mérida was a great place for businesses to invest. During Vales's time as mayor, Mérida grew a lot. Its streets were paved with a special material called macadam, and they had electric streetlights at night. Modern trams ran through the city during the day, even before Mexico City had them.

Two British writers, Frederick Frost and Channing Arnold, visited Mérida and described it as "magically perfect." They said it was "astonishingly clean" and that the rich henequen owners had used their money to modernize the city. They wrote that the streets were "as smooth as glass and as clean as marble." They felt like they had arrived in a perfect place.

While Vales helped Mérida grow, his government also had some strict rules. He tried to stop the growth of labor unions. He also promoted health policies, like banning alcoholic drinks and closing bars in the city.

Business Ventures

Agustín Vales worked closely with Governor Olegario Molina not just in politics, but also in business. They partnered in several companies related to the henequen industry.

He also owned Hacienda Chenkú with the Cámara Ancona brothers. This was one of the most important farms in Yucatán and produced a lot of henequen fiber.

With his brother-in-law Raymundo Cámara and Eusebio Escalante, Agustín Vales founded the Cuyo Agricultural Company. This company was huge, employing over 1,500 workers. It owned a vast area of land, about the size of Rhode Island, and had its own telephone lines, railways, and even a steamship! The company produced many things like dyes, sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, and corn. They also harvested valuable wood and extracted gum. They exported dye wood to Europe and gum to New York City.

In 1906, Agustín Vales and his son, Agustín Vales Millet, started the Mérida Chamber of Commerce. Agustín Vales Castillo was the first president of this organization.

Vales was also important in banking. He helped start Banco Yucateco, S.A., and was on its first board of directors. This bank competed with another bank supported by different businessmen. In 1937, just before he passed away, Vales also founded two other financial companies.

After the Revolution

When the Maderista Revolution won in May 1911, President Porfirio Díaz resigned. Olegario Molina, the former governor, had to leave Mexico. Even though Molina lost his political power, he tried to keep influencing the economy. During this time, Vales supported the Maderista movement. His nephew-in-law, José María Pino Suárez, led this movement in Yucatán.

Vales had strong business ties with the Madero family, who were very rich industrialists. In 1912, Vales partnered with Ernesto Madero Farías, who was the Minister of Finance and President Madero's uncle. They started the Compañía Harinera del Golfo, S.A., which became the main flour supplier in the Yucatán Peninsula for many years.

The Vales family remained one of the most important business families in southeastern Mexico throughout the 20th century. Agustín Vales Millet, his son, took over and expanded the family's businesses. In 1934, he helped found Banco de Yucatán, S.A. and was often its Vice Chairman. He also led Compañía Harinera Peninsular, S.A. and was president of the Mérida Chamber of Commerce. With his sons, he developed a sawmill and other companies.

In the early 1940s, Vales Millet started Compañía Industrial Maderera S.A.. This company processed mahogany and other valuable woods, selling plywood all over the world. The Vales family became the main producers of plywood in the peninsula. They also partnered with the Ponce family to control the bottling and distribution of Coca-Cola in the Yucatán Peninsula. In the late 1940s, their bottling company also started making its own soft drink called Cristal. In 1962, they also got the rights to distribute Volkswagen cars in the peninsula. They also distributed International Harvester trucks.

Casa Vales

Agustín Vales Castillo owned a beautiful mansion called Casa Vales. It was built in 1908 in a neoclassical style on Paseo de Montejo. This house is considered one of the architectural treasures that shows how rich Mérida was in the early 20th century. Vales bought the mansion in 1914. He later gave it to his son, Carlos Vales Millet, and his daughter-in-law, Rosa Cámara, as a wedding gift. The family owned the mansion until 1995, when they sold it to a financial group.