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Benito Juarez is
undoubtedly one of the most
important and revered figures
in Mexican history. Each March 21st
marks the anniversary of his birth
and every elementary school in the
country commemorates the man who
consolidated the nation as a
republic.
Of indigenous origin,
Benito Pablo Juarez Garcia,
was born in 1806 in a village called
San Pablo Guelatao,
surrounded by the hills of
Ixtlan, Oaxaca. His
parents, humble Zapotec
peasants, died when he was just
three years old, so his grandparents
cared for him during much of his
childhood.
At an early age, Benito
realized that in order to succeed,
he would need to learn Spanish and
then enter school, so he didn't
learn to read and write until he was
12. In 1818, he emigrated by his own
means to the city of Oaxaca, in
search of fortune. He enrolled in
school, but was constantly
discriminated against because of his
indigenous origin and his little
knowledge of the Spanish language.
Thanks to a very strong will and
despite not sharing the religious
ideas of the time, he decided to
attend the city's seminary
to take advantage of the
classes offered to people who spoke
an indigenous language. He took
lessons in Latin, philosophy and
theology, but was convinced,
however, that priesthood was not his
calling.
After a series of discussions with
his chief mentor, Antonio
Salanueva, who since his
arrival in Oaxaca supported him in
all his studies; Juarez
left the seminary and decided to
study a degree in Law at
Oaxaca’s Institute of Science
and Arts.
As a law student, he learned
French, English and mastered Latin.
He was a great student of Civil
and Canonical Law and was
greatly esteemed by teachers and
peers to such an extent that he was
appointed rector of the Institute in
1831, professing and openly
advocating liberal ideas
and defending indigenous communities
in the region.
Because of his brilliant career
as a student, he was named
Alderman of the City of Oaxaca in
1932, Deputy Minister of the
State Court and a year later, became
a local deputy.
Over the following years, his
political career rose steadily,
occupying several positions
including, Civil Judge,
Secretary General of the Government
and Attorney General of the Court
of Justice among others, until
finally he became acting Governor
of the State of Oaxaca in
1847.
During his tenure, he doubled the
number of schools in the state,
economically balanced state
finances, carried out important
public works such as local roads and
reconstruction of the Government
Palace, established schools (for
training teachers), drafted
geographical maps and drawings of
Oaxaca City and founded
the port of Huatulco to
facilitate transportation of goods
from the port of Acapulco.
After
political problems with dictator
Antonio Lopez de Santa
Anna, President of
Mexico for the eleventh time, he
was locked up in the San
Juan de Ulua prison and
later exiled to the island of
Cuba, then transferred to
New Orleans in United
States. There, he met many
influential political figures (Ocampo,
Mata,
Arriaga and
Montenegro) who had also
suffered Santa Anna’s
persecution and were
deported, and with whom he
planned to return to Mexico and
win public power.
Thanks to the triumph of the
Ayutla Revolution in which
Juarez actively
participated, he managed to
overthrow dictator Santa
Anna and returned to
Mexico to continue his political
career. In 1858, he was
appointed President,
becoming the first president
of indigenous origin in a
country ridden with inequalities
and internal power struggles.
The "Benefactor of the
Fatherland and the Americas"
as stated at the time of his
death, passed several laws that
removed the inordinate
privileges enjoyed by the clergy
and the military; both of whom
ignored Juarez's
government and tried to have
them revoked. For this reason,
he was forced to move his
government from state to states,
in a sort of itinerant
presidency, to avoid
capture.
In 1861, due to the
precarious situation of the
country and its high
international debt, Juarez
announced a moratory of
payments. Spain,
France and the United
Kingdom, the main countries
to whom Mexico had debt with,
decided to invade the Mexican
territory and defend their
interests. After several
negotiations, Juarez
finally repealed the Suspension
of Payments and the Spanish
and English armies
returned home. But the French,
who were interested in
establishing a monarchy,
continued their invasion. Gallic
troops entered Veracruz with
relative ease, but were met by
Juarez’s troops in
Puebla in the famous ‘5
de Mayo’ Battle, in which what
was considered the most powerful
army in the world was defeated.
These impressive achievements
gave Juarez
worldwide popularity. However,
conserva tives along with
the Church –always at
odds with liberal reforms –
offered the crown of the
Second Mexican Empire to the
Austrian, Maximilian of
Hapsburg in 1863,
thus starting another episode of
power disputes. After several
battles in northern and central
Mexico, Juarez
finally defeated Maximilian
and ordered him to be executed
by firing squad, thus definitely
ending the attempt to establish
an empire sponsored mainly by
France and the Vatican.
The changes that Juarez
brought about in Mexico during
his presidency were central to
promoting equality and
disempowering the church,
which for many years had
dominated the economy, education
and social life of Mexico.
Las Leyes de Reforma,
the reforms enacted during the
Juarez’s
government effectively
removed the inherent immunity of
the clergy and the military;
they declared that all people
are equal before the law;
they banned the church from
collecting parochial obligations
from their faithful, such as
tithing (diezmo
or 10% of their wages); property
owned by churches were passed to
the State, freedom of
worship was declared, the
existence of cloisters and
monasteries was banned and the
registration of births,
marriages and deaths also passed
to the State (civil
registration).
Benito
Juarez died in
Mexico City on July 18,
1872, due to angina
pectoris, leaving a legacy that
survives to this day.
Francisco
Abiut Fragoso
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