Díaz Ordaz, Gustavo, << DEE ahs AWR dahs, goos TAH voh >> (1911-1979), served as president of Mexico from 1964 to 1970. He also was secretario de gobernación (secretary of the interior) in the cabinet of his predecessor, Adolfo López Mateos, from 1958 to 1963.
Díaz Ordaz began his public career in the Mexican state of Puebla, as a prosecutor (type of lawyer). His service in the federal government under President López Mateos qualified him to be the candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico’s 1964 presidential election. Mexico experienced steady growth and development during Díaz Ordaz’s presidential administration. However, he became notorious for the “Massacre at Tlateloco,” a clash between government security forces and protesters on Oct. 2, 1968. The clash took place in the Plaza of the Three Cultures in the Tlateloco district of Mexico City. The protesters included political and student groups and labor unions demanding various reforms. A number of protesters, possibly hundreds, were killed.
Díaz Ordaz was born in Ciudad Serdán, Mexico, on March 12, 1911. He died on July 15, 1979.
