His administration was characterized by Mexico's rapid industrialization, often called the Mexican Miracle, but also for a high level of personal enrichment for himself and his associates.

The family lived in straitened circumstances, with Miguel remembering when he was young that when huaraches hurt his feet, he would urinate on them to soften the leather.

[6] His father, Miguel Alemán González, began fighting before the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, a so-called "precursor" in a region of Veracruz state.

He avidly read the tracts of Ricardo Flores Magón, of the Mexican Liberal Party and opposed the repressive regime of Porfirio Díaz.

Alemán González left his family with his parents to fight with Cándido Aguilar [es], the son-in-law of Venustiano Carranza against the Díaz regime.

In 1920 the family moved to Mexico City, but with the accession to power of the Sonoran generals Adolfo de la Huerta, Álvaro Obregón, and Plutarco Elías Calles, Alemán González continued in opposition to the government.

[citation needed] Alemán was inaugurated as President of the Republic on 1 December 1946[19] and served until 1952, when barred from running from re-election, he returned to civilian life.

Alemán's cabinet [es] members were similar in profile to the president himself, relatively young and without military experience, and highly educated, with personal ties to him.

Dam-building helped control flooding, expand irrigation, which allowed for the expansion of large-scale agriculture, and provided hydroelectric power.

[26] In 1947, on the eve of the Cold War, he created the Mexican DFS intelligence agency to support and cooperate with CIA operations in Mexico.

[29] Internationally, he signed peace agreements with Japan, Germany and Italy following World War II, had a hand in a truce between Pakistan and India and worked with the US on the issue of braceros.

He selected Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, with a reputation for honesty and probity, a sharp contrast to his own record of considerable self-enrichment in office.

Before the announcement (destape), there were rumors that Alemán wanted to hold onto power and the a constitutional amendment to allow re-election or extension of his existing term was in the works.

The PRI party founder, Plutarco Elías Calles had remained the power behind the presidency in the six years after president-elect Alvaro Obregón's assassination in 1928.

When Cárdenas's term was nearing its end in 1940, he did continue the tradition of the president choosing his successor and picked the more conservative Manuel Avila Camacho (1940–46).

When the rumors of Alemán surfaced about seeking to hold onto power, Cárdenas vigorously objected, so although he did not directly take part in politics, he maintained a level of influence.

Henriquez was backed by some important politicians, including members of the Cárdenas family, who objected to the rightward turn of the party and the government.

According to historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, Alemán was in contact with former President Cárdenas, warning that the Henríquez challenge was a danger to the new system.

Once announced in the destape (unveiling of the official candidate), the CTM under the leadership of Fidel Velázquez mobilized their hundreds of thousands of members behind Ruiz.

The PRI offered an opening to some Catholics, which was aimed at undermining the candidate for the National Action Party, Efraín González Luna.

In his post-presidential years, he directed Mexico's tourism agency and a significant figure in the ownership of Mexican media, including the large television channel Televisa.