Díaz, Porfirio << DEE ahs, pawr FEE rih oh >> (1830-1915), served as president of Mexico from 1877 to 1880 and from 1884 to 1911. Díaz helped modernize Mexico. His policies encouraged foreign investment and the development of banking, commercial agriculture, industry, mining, railroads, and the telegraph system. A popular uprising in 1910 forced Díaz, who ruled as a dictator, into exile in France, where he died.
Díaz was born on Sept. 15, 1830, in Oaxaca, Mexico. He first gained fame as a general in the war against French invaders that lasted from 1863 to 1867. Díaz overthrew President Lerdo de Tejada in 1876 and acted as provisional president until his election in 1877. Díaz died on July 2, 1915.
