Federico Montes

Montes was born in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, on October 2, 1884. In 1905 he entered the Military Candidate School, after which he was assigned to the regiment of light artillery; he joined in 1906 as a second lieutenant of artillery. He was promoted on March 18, 1909 to tactical artillery lieutenant, being destined to Presidential Staff, and again on September 12, 1911 to Captain second rank. Being an officer of the Federal Army, he sympathized with the emerging Maderism movement, and later joined the General Staff of President Francisco I. Madero.

In 1912, he participated in the campaign against Pascual Orozco and when it ended, he returned to the Presidential Staff. In 1913, he was arrested along with Madero and sent to a depot of commanders and officers who participated in the campaign against the Constitutionalists in the north. In late 1913, Montes adhered to the Constitutionalists in Nuevo León with the rank of major.

In February 1914, Montes was promoted to lieutenant colonel after fighting the Huerta forces in the state of Tamaulipas. In May, he took part in the assault of Tampico, and on July 29 in the creation of Querétaro, where he served as acting governor and military commander. On August 1, he participated in making Celaya, rising to colonel. He fought later that year against Pancho Villa's forces in Tampico as a brigadier general.

On May 6, 1915, Montes held the governorship of Querétaro again. He fought Brigadier General Rodolfo Fierro in Mariscala, recovering the city of Querétaro. In 1917 he was deputy for the state of Guanajuato and in 1919 was elected governor of Guanajuato. In 1920 he became head of military operations in the states of Querétaro, Guanajuato and Michoacán. He was commander of the 1st, 11th, 17th and 28th Military Zones.

Montes was the President of the Chamber of Deputies in 1918.^[2] In 1941, he was appointed Mexico's ambassador to Colombia. He died in Mexico City on December 1, 1950, when he was commander of the Legion of Mexican Honor.