Cárdenas was not happy with the rightward shift of Mexican presidents, starting with the presidency of Miguel Alemán (1946-1952).  During the presidency of Adolfo López Mateos (1958-1964), Cárdenas emerged from retirement and pressed the president toward leftist stances. With the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in January 1959, Cárdenas among others in Latin America who saw the hope of young revolution. Mexico was run by party that claimed the legacy of the Mexican Revolution but had turned away from revolutionary ideals. Cárdenas went to Cuba in July 1959 and was with Castro at a huge rally where the former guerrilla leader declared himself premier of Cuba. Cárdenas returned to Mexico with the hope that the ideals of the Mexican Revolution could be revived, with land reform, support for agriculture, and an expansion of education and health services to Mexicans. He also directly appealed to López Mateos to free jailed union leaders. López Mateos became increasingly hostile to Cárdenas, who was explicitly and implicitly rebuking him. To Cárdenas he said, "They say the Communists are weaving a dangerous web around you." The pressure on López Mateos had an impact, and he began implementing reforms in land, education, and the creation of social programs that emulated those under Cárdenas. Cárdenas withdrew his public challenge to the PRI's policies and supported López Mateos's designated successor in 1964, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, his Minister of the Interior.