Together with José Yves Limantour, he was considered one of the potential successors of Porfirio Díaz. With Francisco Madero's latter challenge to the dictator in the 1910 elections and, afterwards, initiation of the Mexican Revolution, previous notions of who should succeed Díaz were discarded. For a time Reyes was a supporter of Madero, but he later led the first rebellion against Madero. After this rebellion failed, Reyes was imprisoned in the Mexico City prison of Santiago Tlatelolco. General Félix Díaz was imprisoned at another Mexico City jail for rebellion, but the two were able to easily communicate despite that and plot a joint coup against Madero. They tried to get General Victoriano Huerta to join the plot, but he declined, despite Huerta's being a protégé of Reyes's. General Manuel Mondragón sent forces to free Reyes from jail on 9 February 1913, who freed Reyes from prison. Then, they marched on to the National Palace in the beginning of the Ten Tragic Days. Reyes was killed on day 1 of the coup, in an assault on the palace. He had expected to enter the National Palace and declare Madero ousted. Before he could enter the building, Reyes was shot dead along with 400 others, among them civilians. He was the father of the writer Alfonso Reyes, and grandfather of the painter Aurora Reyes. References External links IEA:Bernardo Reyes 1850 births 1913 deaths People from Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexican generals Governors of Nuevo León People of the Mexican Revolution Porfiriato