ainst the more liberal Lerdo de Tejada and was again very badly beaten. In this latter election, he got 90 percent fewer votes than the winner, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the fact that he was so well-known to the voters. In the interim, Diaz--who has helped in throwing the reactionary and foreign regime of Maximilian out of the country--sought to do the same to the moderate and native regimes of Juarez and Lerdo:
From 1867 and for more than nine years, General Diaz plotted, conspired against, and resisted the legal and constitutional Government of Mexico under President Juarez and President Lerdo.
In 1876, Diaz finally led a successful rebellion, having failed only shortly before and been forced to leave the country. Raising a force of his old Indian soldiers from the previous decade, he first marched on his home city of Oaxaca, and, when that surrendered to him, he marched on the capitol itself. In the capitol, Lerdo was re-elected by the Congress, but it soon became clear that the election of 1876 was going to be decided on the battlefield. Diaz proved himself far better at this form of electioneering. Facing a "Lerdista" army larger than his under the command of General Manuel R. Alatorre, Diaz won a stunning victory at Teoac in which he played an important role: "In the battle of Teoac, Alatorre's troops fought stubbornly until they were demoralized by a terrific charge led by Diaz in person." This was the decisive battle of the war, although several more had to be fought before the victory was assured. The Diaz presidency thus began on the battlefield:
Being victorious throughout the republic, the general provided for a constitutional government by ordering a general election, and in May 1877, the new Congress canvassed the votes and declared that Diaz had been elected president.
Diaz remained president of Mexico until 1911, except for the years 1880-1884, when a puppet ruled in his place. For...