Pedro Lascuráin Pedro Lascuráin Pedro José Domingo de la Calzada Manuel María Lascuráin Paredes (8 May 1856 – 21 July 1952) was a Mexican politician who served as the 34th President of Mexico for less than one hour on February 19, 1913, the shortest presidency in the history of the world. He had earlier served as Mexico's foreign secretary for two terms and was the director of a small law school in Mexico City for sixteen years. Lascuráin was born in Mexico City in 1856. He was the son of Francisco Lascuráin Icaza and Ana Paredes Cortés. Lascuráin received a law degree
President of Mexico no stable government until 1929, when all the revolutionary leaders united in one political party: the National Revolutionary Party, which later changed its name to the Party of the Mexican Revolution, and is now the Institutional Revolutionary Party (). From then until 1988, the PRI ruled Mexico as a virtual one-party state. Toward the end of his term, the incumbent president in consultation with party leaders, selected the PRI's candidate in the next election in a procedure known as "the tap of the finger" (). Until 1988, the PRI's candidate was virtually assured of election, winning by margins well over