Ο Porfirio Diaz (José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori, 1830-1915) was one of Mexico’s most important political and military leaders, serving as President for more than three decades (1876-1911). Born in Oaxaca to a humble family, he studied law and enlisted in the army during the War of the Reformation and the French Intervention in Mexico. His military intelligence and his participation in the Battle of Puebla (1862) highlighted his talents as a general.

As president, he established an authoritarian regime known as “Porfiriato”, during which he boosted the economy and modernisation of the country by promoting foreign investment and infrastructure development. However, his rule was marked by social inequalities, repression and restrictions on political freedoms, which led to the Mexican Revolution (1910).

Porfirio Diaz was an active member of Freemasonry, belonging to Mexican lodges of the York Press which was the most important in Mexico in the 19th century. His Masonic identity was consistent with the tradition of many Mexican political leaders of the time, who saw Freemasonry as a means of promoting enlightening values such as liberty, equality and fraternity.

He is said to have held high ranks, upholding the principles of Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood, although his political career was often at odds with these ideas.

His relationship with Freemasonry was both symbolic and functional, fully in line with his efforts to form a modern Mexican state.

Diaz died in exile in Paris in 1915, leaving behind a complex legacy that still divides Mexican history.