President Cárdenas and his administration are given credit by socialists for expanding the distribution of land to the peasants, establishing new welfare programs for the poor, and nationalizing the railroad and petroleum industries, including the oil company that Cárdenas founded, Petróleos Mexicanos. Toward the end of his presidency, unhappy landowners and foreign capitalists began to challenge his programs and his power. His choice of his close associate Manuel Ávila Camacho rather than a candidate with a distinguished record as a revolutionary leader was displeasing to many, and occasioned a possible military revolt.