Military Caciquismo and Civilian Authoritarianism in Mexico: The Career of General Bonifacio Salinas Leal, 1930–82

This paper uses the career of Nuevo León's political and military boss, General Bonifacio Salinas Leal, to discuss the relationship between formal military reform and informal caciquismo in twentieth-century Mexico. Drawing on newly available intelligence reports, military service records, and diplomatic reports, the paper discusses how Salinas served the government as a cavalry commander throughout the 1920s and 1930s, became governor of Nuevo León in 1939, returned to the army in 1944 and, despite repeated attempts by the central government to marginalize him, remained a powerful figure in state politics in Nuevo Leon. The paper argues that Salinas illustrates how, by engaging in corruption, violence and carefully managing their public image, military officers could retain a share of political power despite the dominance of civilians in national politics.