Benito Juárez

Benito Juárez (March 21, 1806 – July 18, 1872) was a Zapotec Amerindian who served two terms (1861-1863 and 1867-1872) as President of Mexico. Juárez is often regarded as Mexico's greatest and most beloved leader. He was the only Native American to serve as President of Mexico.

Legacy

Today Benito Juárez is remembered as being a progressive reformer dedicated to democracy, equal rights for the nation's indigenous Indian population, lessening the great power of the Roman Catholic Church then held over Mexican politics, and defense of national sovereignty. The period of his leadership is known in Mexican history as La Reforma, and constituted a liberal political and social revolution with major institutional consequences: the expropriation of church lands, bringing the army under civilian control, liquidation of peasant communal land holdings, and adoption of a federalist constitution.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholic Church - Federalist - Constitution

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Reform led by Juárez represented the triumph of Mexico's liberal, federalist, anti-clerical, and pro-capitalist forces over the conservative, centralist, corporatist, and theocratic elements that sought to reconstitute a locally-run version of the old colonial system. It replaced a semi-feudal social system with a more market-driven one, but following Juárez's death, the lack of adequate democratization and institutional stability soon led to a return to levels of centralized autocracy and economic exploitation under the regime of Porfirio Díaz that surpassed anything from the colonial or conservative eras. The porfiriato, in turn, collapsed in the Mexican Revolution.

Related Topics:
Porfirio Díaz - Mexican Revolution

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~