User:Paris1127/Gilberto Flores Muñoz

Gilberto Flores Muñoz (4 May 1906 – 6 October 1978) was a Mexican politician who served in Mexico's Chamber of Deputies and Senate, served as Governor of Nayarit, and as Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock in the cabinet of President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines. In 1978, while serving as the head of National Sugar Industry Commission, he and his wife were murdered, a crime for which his grandson was ultimately convicted.

Early life
Flores Muñoz was born in Compostela, Tepic Territory, on 4 May 1906. He spent his early years in the territorial, and later state, capital Tepic. In 1923 he joined the Mexican Army and served in the fighting against rebels supporting Adolfo de la Huerta, the Delahuertistas. He was taken prisoner in San Luis Potosí where, once released, he rejoined the army and reached the rank of captain.

Marriage, founding of the PRI, first term in the Congress of the Republic
In 1928, he became Federal Labor Inspector and President of the Federal Conciliation Board. That same year, he married Asunción Izquierdo Albiñana, an author who would write under the nom de plume of Ana Mairena. In 1929, he was one of the founders of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR), a distant antecedent of the PRI, and was appointed federal deputy for the state of San Luis Potosí from 1930 to 1932 due to his relationship with Colonel José Márquez.

Second term in Congress and as a senator
When he left the Congress, he assumed the post of Secretary of Labor Action in 1934 and 1935, and in 1935, he was appointed federal deputy for the second time, serving from 1935 to 1937. While he was a deputy, his party appointed him secretary of Educational Action (1936 and 1937), and general secretary of the National Executive Council in 1937.

In 1940 he won a senate seat for the state of San Luis Potosí, and as senator became involved in finding solutions to several issues that affected foreigners, due to the recent nationalization of oil, electricity and railroads.

Governor of Nayarit
In 1945, he ran for governor of the state of Nayarit, against Colonel Emilio Ruiz. He won the governorship and served from 1946-1951.

"His term from 1946 to 1951 is remembered as one of the most dynamic and progressive: paved roads were opened, wells were drilled for drinking water supply, public squares and markets were built throughout the state, tourism was boosted as never before, promoting San Blas and the so-called Gold Coast as a tourist destination. For this purpose, modern hotels, piped drinking water, cobblestone streets and extensive advertising was introduced. Nayarit was well connected even by air, as it was linked to the entire country through four airlines and the first two local airlines that began to fly to the Sierra. Agriculture also received an extraordinary boost, and Nayarit was considered 'the granary of Mexico' (in the period 1948-1949 a record 128,000 tons of corn were produced)."

Presidential Campaign of Adolfo Ruiz Cortines; Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock
At the end of his term, Flores Muñoz was coordinator of Adolfo Ruiz Cortines's presidential campaign in 1951 and 1952 and after Ruiz Cortines's victory was appointed Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock, a role he served in from 1952-1958.

With Ruiz Cortines barred by the Constitution from running for reelection, in the 1958 Mexican general election, Flores Muñoz was well positioned to serve as the PRI's presidential candidate, with a strong base of support in the party. However, the nomination was instead given to Adolfo López Mateos, Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare under Ruiz Cortines.

Death
In 1976, President José López Portillo appointed Muñoz Flores head of the National Sugar Industry Commission, a position he held until October 6, 1978, when he was murdered along with his wife in their residence at 1535 Paseo de las Palmas, in the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood of Mexico City. The writer Vicente Leñero wrote a detailed account of the incident in his novel ''Asesinato. El doble crimen de los Flores Muñoz'' ("Murder. The double crime of the Flores Muñoz family"). Gilberto Flores Alavez, Gilberto Muñoz Flores's grandson, was accused, tried and sentenced to 28 years in prison as the mastermind and perpetrator of the double homicide; he was released in the early 1990s and continues to deny involvement in the murders.