Long lasting Effects of Liberal Mexican President
Tara A. Spears
Yipee, it’s practice for semana santa! March 18 is a national holiday creating a three day weekend with school, bank and business closings. The beach is the perfect place for families to spend the leisure time so expect music, crowds, beer flowing and increased traffic in our area.
The reason for the holiday is to celebrate the life of one of Mexico’s greatest leaders, Benito Juarez. His life is more than a rags to riches story; it is important because it inspires others to rise above politics to make a difference. Juarez was a Mexican politician and statesman of the late 19th century and president of Mexico for five terms during the turbulent years of 1858–1872. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Juárez’s life in politics was his background: he was a full-blooded Indian of Zapotec descent and the only full-blooded Indian to ever serve as president of Mexico. He did not even speak Spanish until he was in his teens. He was an important and charismatic leader whose influence is still felt today.
Born on March 21, 1806, into grinding poverty in the rural settlement of San Pablo Guelatao, Juárez was orphaned as a toddler and worked in the fields for most of his young life. He went to the city of Oaxaca at the age of 12 to live with his sister and worked as a servant for a time before being noticed by a Franciscan friar. The friar saw him as a potential priest and arranged for Juárez to enter the Santa Cruz seminary, where young Benito learned Spanish and law before graduating in 1827. He continued his education, entering the Institute of Science and Art and graduating in 1834 with a law degree.
Juarez became active in local politics while at university, serving as a city councilman in Oaxaca, where he earned a reputation as a staunch defender of native rights. He was made a judge in 1841 and became known as a fiercely anti-clerical liberal. By 1847 he had been elected governor of the state of Oaxaca.
In 1848 after the end of the war with the United States, former President Antonio López de Santa Anna had been driven from Mexico. In 1853, however, he returned and quickly set up a conservative government that drove many liberals into exile, including Juárez. Juárez spent time in Cuba and New Orleans, where he worked in a cigarette factory. While in New Orleans, he joined with other exiles to plot Santa Anna’s downfall. When the liberal general Juan Alvarez launched a coup, Juarez hurried back and was there in November 1854 when Alvarez’s forces captured the capital. Alvarez made himself president and named Juárez the minister of justice.
By 1857, Juárez was in Mexico City, serving in his new role as chief justice of the Supreme Court. The new Mexican constitution turned out to be the spark that reignited the conflict between the liberals and conservatives which led to a conservative general taking over the government. Juárez and other prominent liberals were arrested. When he was released from prison, Juárez went to Guanajuato, where he declared himself president and declared war. His tenacity earned a large number of supporters. The U.S. government, forced to pick a side, formally recognized the liberal Juárez government in 1859. This turned the tide in favor of the liberals, and on Jan. 1, 1861, Juárez returned to Mexico City to assume the presidency of a united Mexico.
The Mexican conservative fraction supported the French appointed Emperior Maximillian as ruler. The Mexican conservatives thought that having a monarchy would best stabilize the country. Poor boy turned politician, Juárez continued the war with the French and conservative forces, eventually forcing the emperor to flee the capital. Maximilian was captured and executed in 1867, effectively ending the French occupation. Juárez was reelected to the presidency in 1867 and 1871, dying of a heart attack during his last term.
Juarez legacy continues today. Many Mexicans view Juárez as firm leader when his nation needed one and who took a side on a social issue that drove his nation to war. There is a city (Ciudad Juárez) named after him, as well as countless streets, schools, businesses, and more. He is held in particularly high regard by Mexico’s large indigenous population, which rightly views him as a trailblazer in native rights and justice.