Genovevo de la O

General Genovevo de la O Jiménez (January 3, 1876 – June 12, 1952) was a prominent figure of the Mexican Revolution.

He was born in the town of Santa María Ahuacatitlán, State of Morelos, Mexico, being the son of Reyes de la O and Isaura Jiménez. He dedicated a good part of his life to protecting and helping Mexican hacienda workers and community members. As a soldier, alongside Emiliano Zapata he achieved fame. Later, he allied himself with Álvaro Obregón, becoming a revered figure in Mexican politics.

Years of training

From his youth he stood out as a defender of his people and the common people. He fought against incursions from the nearby Temixco hacienda that wanted to take over the town's lands, against deforestation, and against the dispossession of communal lands in general. He had problems with the government of Porfirio Díaz, which—following the provisions of the Reform laws—favored landowners instead of peons.

De la O, like other Morelenses affected by the agrarian policy of the Porfiriato, initially supported the presidency of Francisco I. Madero, due to the offers he originally made for agrarian reform, but he quickly became disillusioned, linking himself with Emiliano Zapata, with whom De la O would sign the Ayala Plan in 1911.

Ayala Plan

The Madero government rejected the demands raised by the Ayala Plan. The Zapatistas took up arms to defend their cause. De la O was appointed infantry captain and is in charge of carrying out guerrilla operations in the north of Morelos. As a result of his actions, he was promoted to the ranks of major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel before the end of the year.

Between 1911 and 1912, his division of the Southern Liberation Army operated in the surroundings of Santa María. He was very successful fighting federal forces in Cuernavaca. Particularly important was the blow dealt to General Robles' division, as it inspired thousands of people to join the cause of the Plan de Ayala.

De la O's column captured the town of Huitzilac in the summer of 1912, but the federals forced it to surrender. General Ojeda tried to evacuate the city but De la O forced him to stay in the city. During the next few months, De la O will defend the town, but in 1912 General Naranjo took the city.

As the year 1913 approached, he fought against the forces of the usurper, Victoriano Huerta in the state of Mexico. De la O became general while the conflict continued on the border between the states of Mexico and Morelos during 1915. Meanwhile, Huerta's power waned, while the First Chief of the Constitutionalist Army Venustiano Carranza accumulated triumphs. In any case, De la O opposed Carranza as much as he opposed Huerta. Carranza increased his troops in the south of the state of Mexico in order to undertake a tenacious hunt for De la O. This is how General Pablo González pushed De la O to the mountains of Morelos.

In 1919, the Liberation Army of the South and the Zapatista cause were mortally wounded. The main leader of that faction, General Emiliano Zapata, attended a "negotiation" where he was assassinated by Colonel Jesús Guajardo.

Revolution under Obregón

After the death of Emiliano Zapata in 1919, Gildardo Magaña assumed leadership of the Liberation Army of the South. Magaña, who unifies under his command the Zapatista generals (including Genovevo de la O) adheres to the Agua Prieta Plan promulgated by Álvaro Obregón to combat Venustiano Carranza, under the agreement that the new Obregonista government would assume the commitment of a agrarian reform as proposed by the Ayala Plan.

On the first day of 1921, in the city of Tlaxcala, Genovevo de la O was appointed head of Military Operations in Morelos. He later took charge of similar positions in Aguascalientes and Mexico City.

Recent years

De la O remained active in politics until 1941, when he reached the age of sixty-five, the maximum age for service in the Mexican government. Although he was retired, he continued to be active in discussing matters of interest to him. In 1940, he formed the Zapatista Front as a defender of Zapata's ideals. Later, he participated in the founding of the Federation of People's Parties of Mexico in 1945, and presided over it for a few years.

He died peacefully in his hometown of Santa María Ahuacatitlán, which was a quieter death than the one suffered by most of his fellow revolutionaries. He was laid to rest in the Plenary Hall of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico and was buried in his hometown.