Upon his return, his administrative and political talents were recognized, thus consolidating his position as secretary at the headquarters and his influence over Emiliano Zapata; by 1913 he already exercised considerable control of the affairs of the movement.

In December 1914 he was appointed Secretary of Agriculture and Colonization, a position he held in the cabinets of Eulalio Gutiérrez Ortiz, Roque González Garza and Francisco Lagos Cházaro and where he proposed put into practice the agrarian cause of the Zapatista movement.

[5] However, since the latter was governed by the principle of executing those who were too "feminine" and seemed to have no problem with the presence of Palafox, who behaved in this way, little by little the gossip gained more strength, and finally in 1918, Zapata removed him from his position as general and main Zapatista emissary.

[2] In October of that year, he fled to the camp of General Cirilo Arenas Pérez, and in November he launched a manifesto ignoring Zapata and inviting the southerners to join an agrarian movement organized by him.

To his misfortune, he did not receive an answer, since all the main chiefs remained faithful to the South Attila, with the exception of Victorino Bárcenas.