Vicente Lombardo Toledano facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vicente Lombardo Toledano
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Lombardo Toledano in 1938
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| Governor of Puebla | |
| In office 10 December 1923 – 20 March 1924 |
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| Preceded by | Froylán C. Manjarrez |
| Succeeded by | Francisco Espinoza Fleury |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 June 1894 Teziutlán, Puebla, Mexico |
| Died | 16 November 1968 (aged 74) Mexico City, D.F., Mexico |
| Resting place | Panteón de Dolores |
| Political party | Popular Socialist Party |
| Education | National Autonomous University of Mexico |
Vicente Lombardo Toledano (born July 16, 1894 – died November 16, 1968) was a very important Mexican leader. He worked to help people who had jobs. Many people called him a key link between Mexico and the ideas of socialism.
In 1936, he started a big group for workers called the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM). This group was closely connected to the main political party at the time, which was led by President Lázaro Cárdenas. After World War II, Lombardo Toledano left the CTM. He then helped create a new political party called "Partido Popular." This party later changed its name to the Partido Popular Socialista.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Vicente Lombardo Toledano was born in Teziutlán, Puebla, Mexico. His parents were from Spain and Italy. He studied law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and finished in 1919. He also earned a master's degree in philosophy and letters.
He started teaching at UNAM and other universities. He taught at UNAM until 1933. While teaching, he became part of a special group known as los siete sabios, which means "the seven wise ones." He also helped organize a union for teachers. In 1921, he joined the Labor Party.
As a leader of the teachers' union, Lombardo Toledano joined the Confederación Regional Obrera Mexicana (CROM). CROM was the biggest and most powerful union group back then. It supported the governments of Presidents Plutarco Elías Calles and Álvaro Obregón. Lombardo Toledano became an important thinker for CROM. This gave him access to powerful people.
He served as a temporary Governor of Puebla in 1923. He was also a councilman in Mexico City from 1924 to 1925. From 1926 to 1928, he was a member of the Mexican Congress. In 1925, he helped choose March 13th to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the founding of Tenochtitlan.
CROM lost much of its power in 1928. This happened after a person linked to the Cristero movement killed President Obregón. Lombardo Toledano then left CROM and the Labor Party in 1932. He had formed a group called the "Purified CROM." This group left CROM all at once in 1932. After they left, CROM only represented a few unions.
The "Purified CROM" later became the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) in 1936. This new group worked closely with President Lázaro Cárdenas. Cárdenas led the main political party, the Party of the Mexican Revolution (PRM). Lombardo Toledano was the main leader of the CTM from 1936 to 1940.
Starting the CTM and Working with Cárdenas
After leaving CROM, Lombardo Toledano began to build a new union group. He combined his "purified" CROM with other worker groups. One of his first allies was the Confederación Sindical de Trabajadores del Distrito Federal (CSTDF). This union included many different types of workers. Fidel Velázquez Sánchez was one of los cinco lobitos (the five wolf cubs) who led the CSTDF.
Lombardo Toledano then formed an even newer group called the Confederación General de Obreros y Campesinos de México (CGOCM). This group later became the CTM in 1936.
The CTM had a very strong relationship with President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río from the start. Even though Lombardo Toledano had not supported Cárdenas at first, the CTM became very important to Cárdenas. This happened after employers in Monterrey, Nuevo León, went on strike in February 1936. Cárdenas wanted all the worker groups to unite into one national organization.
The political situation became more difficult when Calles, a former president, criticized Cárdenas. This criticism was almost a call to overthrow Cárdenas. The "Purified" CROM, the CSTDF, and other worker groups supported Cárdenas. With their help, Cárdenas had Calles arrested and sent out of the country that year.
The CTM was formed soon after. It included major unions for oil workers and railroad workers. The Mexican Communist Party (PCM) also supported the CTM. However, these unions almost left the CTM twice in its early years. They stayed because they were told to accept unity for the sake of the "Popular Front" policy.
Lombardo Toledano was likely never a member of the PCM. But he had strong support from the Soviet Union during that time. He and the CTM strongly supported Cárdenas's government. They helped calm down worker demands during strikes in 1936 and 1937. Lombardo Toledano and the CTM also strongly supported Cárdenas when he took control of the oil industry for Mexico in 1938. Lombardo Toledano also started the Confederación de Trabajadores de América Latina in 1938.
Later Years and New Paths
Manuel Ávila Camacho became president after Cárdenas. He was more traditional in his views. He helped Fidel Velázquez become the head of the CTM in 1941. Lombardo Toledano did not run for reelection that year. Lombardo Toledano still had influence in the CTM. He supported Mexico's efforts in World War II and was against strikes during the war.
However, Lombardo Toledano soon had disagreements with both the CTM and the government. The CTM had joined with the main political party, the Party of the Mexican Revolution (PRM), in 1938. But Lombardo Toledano felt that the PRM, now led by Miguel Alemán Valdés, was too traditional. So, he formed his own party, the Partido Popular, to run against it.
The Partido Popular never became a major party. It was renamed the Partido Popular Socialista in 1960. The CTM did not support Lombardo Toledano's new party. Fidel Velázquez officially removed Lombardo Toledano from the CTM in 1948. Lombardo Toledano left the union, but not before giving a strong speech about his removal. He used the word "I" (yo) many times in that speech. Because of this, some newspapers called him the "Yo-yo Champion."
Lombardo Toledano started two publications: a magazine called América Latina and a daily newspaper called El Popular. He also continued to write books and articles. In 1936, he founded the Workers' University, which he led until he passed away.
Images for kids
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Vicente Lombardo Toledano in 1938
See also
In Spanish: Vicente Lombardo Toledano para niños
