Due to his immense wealth and political influence, he is considered one of the main figures of the nineteenth-century Yucatecan oligarchy that is known as the Divine Caste (Casta Divina).

[1] During his administration, he was responsible for promoting the henequen boom which transformed Yucatán into the wealthiest and most industrialized state in Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Later, in 1897, due to differences with the dictator Porfirio Díaz, he had to resign, handing over the governorship to José María Iturralde Lara, who replaced him until the end of his mandate.

His father, a wealthy landowner, was a sympathizer of the Liberal Party and a first cousin of that homonymous Yucatecan who gave his life defending Girona from the Napoleonic invasion, thus inspiring the pen of Andrés Quintana Roo.

Before becoming a politician, Peón acted for twelve years as the administrator of his father's estates, which included Hacienda Tabi,[5] a sugarcane mill that he had industrialized importing a steam engine and decauville railways.

[8] The political scene in Yucatan had been divided since the mid-nineteenth century between the Conservatives who had supported the French intervention and the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire led by Maximilian and the Liberals who had resisted the expansionism of Napoleon III.

The second group was led by Manuel Cepeda Peraza and "rich merchants and landowners such as Carlos Peón Machado, Eusebio Escalante and Alvino Manzanilla stood out amongst their ranks, as well as the future strong man of Yucatán, Olegario Molina".

[2] In November 1876, the Tuxtepec Revolution, a coup d'état led by General Porfirio Díaz, overthrew President Sebastían Lerdo de Tejada, who had been politically close to Ancona and Peón.

Despite his estrangement with the porfiriato, Peón remained close to Manuel Romero Rubio, a distinguished politician who, despite, having served in the Lerdo de Tejada administration managed to ingratiate himself with the new regime.

His candidacy was attractive because he was considered "an honest millionaire, with an impeccable private life, who is surrounded by the flattery that comes with a high position, enhanced by decent conduct.

Due to his considerable wealth and political power, Peón is considered one of the main figures of the nineteenth-century Yucatecan oligarchy that came to be known as the Divine Caste.

[18] In the following administrations, "the ecclesiastical hierarchy [...] not only recovered the economic power lost since the application of the Reform Laws but became notorious for justifying the miserable living conditions of the serfs.

"[19] Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatán, for example, was a profitable railroad company that was controlled by Escalante family and Carlos Peón was appointed chairman of the board of directors.

Though retired from politics, Carlos Peón found his ideological successor in José María Pino Suárez, who would later serve as Vice-President of Mexico.