He served as president until November 6, 1911, when Madero took office 6 November 1911 as the duly-elected president. Although considered by conservatives the benign "White President," the German ambassador to Mexico,
Paul von Hintze, who associated with the Interim President, said of him that "De la Barra wants to accommodate himself with dignity to the inevitable advance of the ex-revolutionary influence, while accelerating the widespread collapse of the Madero party...." There were pressures for León de la Barra to run for the presidency himself, but he resisted. He did promote democracy and the elections that brought Madero to the presidency were considered free and fair. There was a controversy during the summer of 1911 when fighting broke out in the streets of
Puebla between federal soldiers and irregulars who supported Madero. President León de la Barra blamed his Minister of the Interior,
Emilio Vázquez Gómez, the brother of Madero's vice presidential running mate,
Francisco Vázquez Gómez for the violence and its mishandling. Madero replaced his running mate with
José María Pino Suárez. In his inauguration address to the nation, León de la Barra had three stated goals: the restoration of order, bringing about free and fair elections, and the continuation of reforms promised at the end of the Díaz presidency. Since Madero had called on his revolutionary followers to lay down their arms, despite their having brought about conditions forcing Díaz's resignation, there was continuing turmoil in areas where they had mobilized. He sought to disarm the irregular forces, remove them from the army payroll, and send them home. In Morelos,
Emiliano Zapata and his followers resisted demobilization, and León de la Barra sent troops under General
Victoriano Huerta to put down the rebellion. Huerta failed to do that, but did wreak havoc in Morelos, burning villages and attacking the local population. Rebellions in other parts of the country, in Baja California, Oaxaca, and Chiapas were successfully repressed. During his presidency, he did implement some reforms, including improved funding for rural schools; promoting some aspects of agrarian reform to increase the amount of productive land; labor reforms including workman's compensation and the eight-hour day; but also the right of the government to intervene in strikes. According to historian Peter V.N. Henderson, León de la Barra's and congress's actions "suggests that few Porfirians wished to return to the status quo of the dictatorship. Rather, the thoughtful, progressive members of the Porfirian meritocracy recognized the need for change." ==Subsequent career==