Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872)
was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th
president of Mexico
The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...
from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A
Zapotec, he was the first
Indigenous president of Mexico and the first democratically elected Indigenous president in the postcolonial Latin America.
A member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, he previously held a number of offices, including the
governorship of Oaxaca and the presidency of the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. During his presidency, he led the Liberals to victory in the
Reform War
The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...
and in the
Second French intervention in Mexico
The second French intervention in Mexico (), also known as the Second Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867), was a military invasion of the Republic of Mexico by the French Empire of Napoleon III, purportedly to force the collection of Mexican de ...
.
Born in
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
to a poor rural
Indigenous family and orphaned as a child, Juárez passed into the care of his uncle, eventually moving to
Oaxaca City
Oaxaca de Juárez (), or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec languages, Zapotec: ''Ndua''), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding munici ...
at the age of 12, where he found work as a domestic servant. Sponsored by his employer, who was also a lay
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
, Juárez temporarily enrolled in a seminary and studied to become a priest, but he later switched his studies to law at the
Institute of Sciences and Arts, where he became active in
liberal politics. He began to practice law and was eventually appointed as a judge, after which he married
Margarita Maza, a woman from a socially distinguished family in Oaxaca City.
Juárez was eventually elected
Governor of Oaxaca and became involved in national politics after the ousting of
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...
in the
Plan of Ayutla
The Plan of Ayutla was the 1854 written plan aimed at removing conservative, centralist President Antonio López de Santa Anna from control of Mexico during the Second Federal Republic of Mexico period. Initially, it seemed little different from ...
. Juárez was made Minister of Justice under the new Liberal president
Juan Álvarez. He was instrumental in passing the
Juárez Law as part of the broader program of constitutional reforms known as ''
La Reforma
In History of Mexico, the history of Mexico, (from Spanish language, Spanish: "The Reform"), or reform laws, refers to a pivotal set of laws, including a Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857, new constitution, that were ...
'' (The Reform). Later, as the head of the Supreme Court, he succeeded to the presidency upon the resignation of the Liberal president
Ignacio Comonfort
Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos (; 12 March 1812 – 13 November 1863), also known as Ignacio Comonfort, was a Mexican politician and soldier who was also president during La Reforma.
He played a leading role in the liberal movement und ...
in the early weeks of the
Reform War
The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...
between the Liberal Party and the
Conservative Party, and led the Liberal Party to victory after three years of warfare.
Almost immediately after the Reform War had ended, President Juárez was faced with a
French invasion, the Second French Intervention aimed at overthrowing the government of the
Mexican Republic and replacing it with a French-aligned monarchy, the
Second Mexican Empire. The French soon gained the collaboration of the Conservative Party who aimed at returning themselves to power after their defeat in the Reform War, but Juárez continued to lead the government and armed forces of the Mexican Republic, even as he was forced by the advances of the French to flee to the north of the country. The Second Mexican Empire would finally collapse in 1867 after the departure of the last French troops two months previously and President Juárez returned to Mexico City where he continued as president until his death due to a heart attack in 1872, but with growing opposition from fellow Liberals who believed he was becoming autocratic.
During his presidency, he supported many controversial measures, including his negotiation of the
McLane–Ocampo Treaty, which would have granted the United States perpetual extraterritorial rights across the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the T ...
; a decree extending his presidential term for the duration of French Intervention; his proposal to revise the liberal
Constitution of 1857
The Political Constitution of the Mexican Republic of 1857 (), often called simply the Constitution of 1857, was the Liberalism in Mexico, liberal constitution promulgated in 1857 by Constituent Congress of Mexico during the presidency of Ignacio ...
to strengthen the power of the federal government; and his decision to run for reelection in 1871. His opponent, liberal general, and fellow Oaxacan
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...
opposed his re-election and rebelled against Juárez in the
Plan de la Noria.
After his death, the city of Oaxaca added "de Juárez" to its name in his honor, and numerous other places and institutions have been named after him. He is the only individual whose birthday (21 March) is celebrated as a national
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
and
patriotic
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
holiday in Mexico. Many cities (most notably
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...
), streets, institutions, and other locations are named after him. He is considered the most popular Mexican president of the 19th century.
Early life and education
Benito Juárez was born on 21 March 1806, in the village of
San Pablo Guelatao,
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
,
located in the mountain range since named for him, the
Sierra Juárez. It was a small settlement of about two hundred inhabitants, made up of straw huts, and a small church, the village being located at the edge of a mountain pond known for its picturesque transparent waters, and called ''La Laguna Encantada'', the enchanted pond.
His parents, Brígida García and Marcelino Juárez were
Zapotec peasants. He described his parents as "
Indians from the primitive race of the country" ().
He had two older sisters, Josefa and Rosa. Juárez became an orphan at the age of 3.
His grandparents also died shortly after, and Juárez was raised by his uncle Bernardino Juárez.
Juárez worked in the cornfields and as a shepherd until the age of 12. Up until then Juárez had also been illiterate and could not speak Spanish knowing then only his first language,
Zapotec. However, his sister had previously moved to the city of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
for work, and that year Juárez moved to the city to attend school.
There he took a job as a domestic servant in the household of Antonio Maza, where his sister worked as a cook.
In 1818, while the
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...
was ongoing, a 12-year-old Juárez entered domestic service under the lay Franciscan and bookbinder Antonio Salanueva. The young boy showed potential at primary school, upon which Salanueva sought to sponsor Juárez to enter a seminary to study for the priesthood.
Juárez entered the seminary in Spring of 1821, only a few months before Mexico won its independence in September of the same year. He continued his theological studies for six years but eventually decided that he was not interested in the priesthood. An Institute of Arts and Sciences had been founded by the Oaxacan state legislature in 1826, and Juárez transferred there in 1827. In 1829, Juárez was appointed a teacher of physics. In 1831, Juárez accepted the post of , or judicial secretary to the municipal council of Oaxaca City. In 1832, he graduated from the Institute of Arts and Sciences with a law degree. He was eventually admitted to the bar on 13 January 1834.
Early political career
Legal career
From the very beginning of his legal career, Juárez became an active partisan of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
. As a lawyer, Juárez took cases of Indigenous villagers. Community members of Loxicha, Oaxaca hired him for their denunciation of a priest, whom they accused of abuses. He did not win the case, and was thrown into jail along with community members, "thanks to the collusion between Church and the state," writing later that it "strengthened in me the goal of working constantly to destroy the pernicious power of the privileged classes." Juárez gained the goal of fighting for equality before the law in the face of the lingering legal privileges that remained in Mexico from the colonial legal system, as were accorded to the Mexican Catholic Church, the army, and Indigenous communities. He became a prosecutor for the State of Oaxaca and was soon elected to the Oaxaca state legislature in 1832, serving for two years during the Liberal presidency of
Valentin Gomez Farias.
A
Conservative Party coup led by
Santa Anna overthrew the presidency of Gomez Farias in 1834. As part of the constitutional reorganization involved in the subsequent transition from the
First Mexican Republic
The First Mexican Republic, known also as the First Federal Republic (), existed from 1824 to 1835. It was a Federal republic, federated republic, established by the 1824 Constitution of Mexico, Constitution of 1824, the first constitution of ...
to the
Centralist Republic of Mexico, Oaxaca became a department controlled by Mexico City and the state legislature of Oaxaca was dissolved. Juárez protested the dissolution of local government that was being imposed upon Oaxaca, and in fact, the rest of Mexico, as part of the transition to the
Centralist Republic of Mexico in which the states of the nation were replaced by departments directly administered by Mexico City. For this, Juárez was briefly imprisoned, but he was shortly released. Juárez then returned to private practice. After practicing law for several years. In 1842 Liberal governor of Oaxaca
Antonio León, appointed Juárez to serve as a Civil and Revenue Judge for the state of Oaxaca, a position which he held until 1846.
Governor of Oaxaca
The Centralist Republic itself would be overthrown in 1846 at the beginning of the
Mexican American War
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
, and Oaxaca regained its federal autonomy, its executive now led by a triumvirate which included Juárez. He was subsequently elected to the national congress as a deputy for Oaxaca. Juárez supported President
Valentín Gómez Farías, who had returned to power. There was a revolt against the state of Oaxaca during this time, causing Juárez to abandon his congressional post and return to Oaxaca to try and maintain order.
In November, 1847, he assumed the governorship. When Santa Anna fell from power disgraced by his loss in the Mexican-American War, Governor Juárez did not allow the ex-president to establish himself in Oaxaca, which gained for him the future enmity of Santa Anna. Juárez was faced with chaos in the state finances, the state justice department, and the state police organization. Juárez proceeded to carry out a program of economic improvements which included an elimination of the state deficit, the construction of roads and bridges, and the development of education. Governor Juárez also prepared and published a Civil and Penal Code. Oaxaca became a model state, and Juárez’ gained fame as an able administrator throughout the nation.
Upon finishing his one term permitted by the state constitution, Juárez became the director of the
Oaxaca Institute of Science and Arts where he had previously studied law and also taught science. Juárez also continued his practice of law.
Exile in New Orleans

Mexico experienced relative peace and stability in the years immediately following the conclusion of the
Mexican-American War
Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...
, through the moderate presidencies of
José Joaquín de Herrera and
Mariano Arista
José Mariano Martín Buenaventura Ignacio Nepomuceno García de Arista Nuez (26 July 1802 – 7 August 1855) was a Mexican soldier and politician who also became president of Mexico.
He was in command of the Mexican forces at the opening batt ...
but in 1852 a Conservative coup overthrew Arista, and brought back Santa Anna for what would end up being his final dictatorship.
Juárez fell victim to the restored Santa Anna, and the authorities confined him to the fortress of San Juan de Ullua. He was eventually released and exiled to Havana, from which he then traveled to
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. There he found a day job as a cigar maker in one of the city's factories,
while his wife remained in Mexico with their children, and were looked after by Liberal partisans.
[Hamnett, ''Juárez'', 51] His time as governor of Oaxaca had not left him with a vast fortune, and he survived off of his cigar rolling job and funds sent to him from Mexico by his wife.
Juárez met other Liberal exiles in New Orleans including the anti-clerical former governor of
Michoacan Melchor Ocampo, and the Cuban separatist exile, , who later married Juárez's oldest daughter, and served as a valuable ally during the
Reform War
The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...
and the
second French intervention
As the Liberal
Plan of Ayutla
The Plan of Ayutla was the 1854 written plan aimed at removing conservative, centralist President Antonio López de Santa Anna from control of Mexico during the Second Federal Republic of Mexico period. Initially, it seemed little different from ...
broke out against Santa Anna in March of 1855, Juárez sought to return to Mexico. He arrived at the port of
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
near the Southern center of the revolt in the summer of 1855. Santa Anna fled the nation and a subsequent Liberal assembly elected Juan Alvarez as the new president. Juárez, who had been secretary to the assembly was made Minister of Justice and Religion.
La Reforma

The
Plan of Ayutla
The Plan of Ayutla was the 1854 written plan aimed at removing conservative, centralist President Antonio López de Santa Anna from control of Mexico during the Second Federal Republic of Mexico period. Initially, it seemed little different from ...
had inaugurated what would come to be known as ''La Reforma'', a period of unprecedented constitutional change for Mexico, and Juárez was to be a key figure throughout this era. Before ''La Reforma'', and dating back to the legal system of
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
, neither clerics nor soldiers were under the jurisdiction of the civil judiciary, and could only be tried for all offenses under their own respective, independent court systems.
It was the aim of the Liberal Party to abolish all such sovereign court systems and bring all offenses under the jurisdiction of the state. This was done through the ''Ley Juárez'', named for the Minister of Justice, and promulgated under the presidency of Alvarez. The law would remain on the books, but President Alvarez resigned in December 1855, amid increasing opposition to his administration, passing over the presidency to the more moderate Liberal
Ignacio Comonfort
Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos (; 12 March 1812 – 13 November 1863), also known as Ignacio Comonfort, was a Mexican politician and soldier who was also president during La Reforma.
He played a leading role in the liberal movement und ...
, whom it was hoped could more effectively pass progressive reforms.
Juárez did not continue as Minister of Justice, and spent the pivotal year of 1856, peacefully retired in Oaxaca, although continuing to correspond with his Liberal allies in Mexico City as they continued their aims in furthering ''La Reforma''. Juárez personally lobbied for a measure expelling the Jesuits from Mexico which was passed in June, 1856.Meanwhile, the Mexican Congress was drafting a new Constitution which integrated into itself the Ley Juárez along with the ''
Ley Lerdo'', which with the aim of selling them off to stimulate economic development, had nationalized most of the Catholic Church's properties, along with the communal properties of Mexico's Indigenous communities. The new constitution which would come to be known as the
Constitution of 1857
The Political Constitution of the Mexican Republic of 1857 (), often called simply the Constitution of 1857, was the Liberalism in Mexico, liberal constitution promulgated in 1857 by Constituent Congress of Mexico during the presidency of Ignacio ...
, was promulgated on 5 February 1857, with the aim of coming into effect on Mexican Independence Day, 16 September of that year. It had abandoned Roman Catholicism as the state religion, and aimed to establish religious freedom, freedom of association, civil rights, the abolition of monopolies, and the abolition of hereditary privileges.
As opposition to the Constitution of 1857 threatened civil war, Comonfort's ministers resigned on 20 October 1857, and among the replacements was Juárez who was appointed as Secretary of Home Affairs (''Secretario de Gobernacion''), and was made Chairman of the Council of Ministers. When, one month later, Comonfort was formally elected as the first president under the new constitution, Juárez was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Reform War
Flight from the capital

In the face of increasing opposition however and with civil conflict already erupting in the state of
Puebla
Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...
, the moderate President Comonfort sought to distance himself from the Constitution of 1857 and by December was already announcing that the Constitution ought to be reformed. Chief Justice Juárez rebuffed Comonfort's invitation to join him in abandoning the constitution. On 17 December, Conservatives led by
Felix Zuloaga proclaimed the
Plan of Tacubaya, which dissolved congress and invited Comonfort to accept the presidency with extraordinary powers in a
self-coup
A self-coup, also called an autocoup () or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power illegally through the actions of themselves or their supporters. The le ...
. Comonfort "felt that by temporarily assuming dictatorial powers he could hold the extremists on both sides in check and pursue a middle course, always his object. It soon became obvious that such an assumption was merely wishful thinking." Comonfort accepted and had Juárez imprisoned in the capital.
Comonfort however had blundered in overestimating the support he could expect among the state governors. The strategic port state of
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
disowned the Plan of Tacubaya, and Comonfort realized that the country had begun to fragment into civil war. This was much more than he had intended, and he began to back away from the Conservatives. Juárez was released from prison on 11 January 1858, shortly before Comonfort himself left the country, the presidency thus passing over to Juárez who as Chief Justice was next in line to succeed the presidency. Meanwhile, the Conservatives elected Zuloaga as their president.
As Mexico City fell into the hands of the Conservatives, President Juárez transferred himself to
Guanajuato City Guanajuato (, Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a municipalities of Mexico, municipality in central Mexico and the capital of the Guanajuato, State of Guanajuato. It is part of the macroregion of the Bajío. It is located in a narrow valley, which makes i ...
, where on 19 January, he assembled his cabinet and vowed to defend the Constitution through war if necessary. The states of
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities.
It is located in nor ...
,
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.
It is located in northwest Mexic ...
,
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
,
Jalisco
Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
,
Tabasco
Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It i ...
,
San Luis Potosi,
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
,
Guanajuato
Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...
, and
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
proclaimed their loyalty to the Juárez government.
The first year of the Reform War as it would come to be known, was marked by repeated Conservative victories, albeit indecisive ones. On 10 March 1858, the Liberals lost the
Battle of Salamanca
The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...
, near Juárez’ base in
Guanajuato City Guanajuato (, Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a municipalities of Mexico, municipality in central Mexico and the capital of the Guanajuato, State of Guanajuato. It is part of the macroregion of the Bajío. It is located in a narrow valley, which makes i ...
, upon which he and his government retreated to
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
. While the Liberal government was ensconced there, the garrison mutinied against them, and Juárez along with his ministers which included
Melchor Ocampo and
Guillermo Prieto were imprisoned. The commander of the garrison, Colonel Landa, was far from having effective control over the entire city. Landa offered Juárez his liberty if he would order the remaining Liberal troops in Guadalajara to surrender. Juárez refused and Landa responded by ordering his troops to shoot the prisoners.
Guillermo Prieto intervened, and the soldiers hesitated. Landa did not repeat his orders, and it was at this point that a Liberal body of troops under Miguel Cruz de Aedo arrived in order to negotiate. Landa was allowed to leave Guadalajara, and the Liberal prisoners were released as well.
Juárez and his cabinet now made their way to the port of
Manzanillo from which they embarked for the Liberal stronghold of Veracruz by way of Panama. On 4 May 1858, Juárez arrived in Veracruz where the government of Manuel Gutiérrez Zamora was stationed with General
Ignacio de la Llave. Upon his arrival Juárez was joined by his wife and greeted with enthusiasm by the population.
Veracruz

One of Juárez's first challenges in the new capital was meeting French and English claims over loans that had been forced upon English and French merchants by the Liberal General Garza. Juárez warded off the threat of military intervention by recognizing the legitimacy of the claims.
The Conservatives meanwhile were suffering infighting, and after a series of victories, General
Miguel Miramon became the new Conservative president in December 1858. President Miramon gathered an army and prepared a siege of Veracruz.
On 29 December 1858, President Juárez called upon the inhabitants of Veracruz to prepare for an attack by collecting arms, provisions, and organizing fortifications. The first Conservative siege of Veracruz failed in March, 1859.
Meanwhile, the Liberal armies were making advances upon Mexico City. General Degollado occupied the suburbs of Mexico City throughout February and March of 1859, only to be repulsed by the efforts of the Conservative General Marquez, who then gained infamy for shooting all of his prisoners of war in the suburb of Tacubaya.
Juárez remained entrenched in Vera Cruz. In the course of the war through 1859, the Liberals captured Mazatlan and Colima. By April, the United States had recognized the Liberal government as the legitimate government of Mexico and sent
Robert Milligan McLane
Robert Milligan McLane (June 23, 1815 – April 16, 1898) was an American politician, military officer, and diplomat. He served as U.S. minister to Mexico, France, and China, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4 ...
as its official representative.
On 7 July 1859, Juárez laid out an agenda of legislation decreeing the ''de jure'' separation of church and state, the greater independence of the judiciary, the expansion of affordable education, a program of road construction, a program of railroad construction, financial reform, the reduction of duties, the encouragement of foreign commerce, the subdivision of great estates to encourage peasant proprietorship, and the encouragement of immigration.
On 12 July, a series of anti-clerical laws were passed adding upon those that had already been implemented as part of the Constitution of 1857. The properties of the Catholic Church were almost entirely nationalized, the responsibility of carrying out marriages was completely removed from the Catholic Church and was declared to be a purely civil contract, and the registration of births and deaths was also removed from the Church and handed over to the state. Furthermore, monasteries were dissolved although nunneries were allowed to remain with the condition that they accept no more novices.
McLane-Ocampo Treaty

The U.S. at this time was seeking a route for transit from the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean, and the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the T ...
was the narrowest crossing in Mexico between the bodies of water. Juárez needing allies against the Conservatives, and his government proceeded to negotiate and ratify the
McLane-Ocampo Treaty by December 1859. The treaty would have granted the United States perpetual extraterritorial rights for its citizens and its military through key strategic routes in Mexico. The treaty however, ultimately was rejected by the United States Senate.
The American recognition of the Juárez government at Veracruz also led the United States to defend it against another one of Miramon's siege attempts. Towards the end of 1859, the Conservative government commissioned two gun boats to depart from Cuba and attack Veracruz while Miramon attacked from the land, but they were seized by the U.S. Navy as pirates.
Liberal victory
The year 1860 was one of increasing Liberal victories and Miramon once again indecisively attacked Veracruz in March. In September, the Juárez government suffered a scandal when the Liberal General
Santos Degollado raided a mule train of money being sent to European merchants. Juárez made efforts to recover the money and gave orders for restitution.
As an inevitable Liberal victory approached, Juárez issued a decree on 6 November 1860, fixing the date of presidential and congressional elections for the following January, with the newly elected congress scheduled to meet on 19 February.
After Guadalajara was captured on 20 December 1860, the Liberal armies had an unrestricted path back towards Mexico City. Liberal troops entered the capital on Christmas Day 1860 without encountering any military Conservative resistance.
Interbellum presidency
Juárez won the elections of 1861 with a large majority over his only rival General
Jesús González Ortega. Juárez passed an amnesty towards the Conservatives who had fought against him during the Reform War with certain exceptions including leading generals and clergy.
The former Conservative president Miramon had fled the country, but certain Conservative Generals remained at large in the countryside including Leonardo Marquez and
Tomás Mejía Camacho. Melchor Ocampo, one of the leading Liberals during the Reform War was assassinated by Marquez on 17 June 1861. Ocampo's assassination led to severe outrage in the capital. Many Conservatives were arrested and faced deadly retaliation, but Juárez intervened on their behalf.
Santos Degollado, who had been dismissed from his military command, requested permission from congress to pursue Ocampo's killers. He too was killed by the guerrillas on 15 June, and his command was handed over to González Ortega. Conservative General
Leonardo Márquez took refuge in the
Sierra Gorda
The Sierra Gorda () is an Ecoregion, ecological region centered on the northern third of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo and San Luis Po ...
of
Querétaro
Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...
.
In the wake of the Reform War and the demobilization of combatants, Juárez established the Rural Guard or ''
Rurales'', aimed at enforcing public security, particularly as banditry and rural unrest grew. Many brigands and bandits had allied themselves with the Liberals during the Reform War and returned to banditry after the war's end.
The reconstruction of the country also involved a reorganization of finances, but for the time being the Mexican government found it impossible to meet its domestic and its foreign obligations. A British Minister Plenipotentiary,
Sir Charles Wyke, was commissioned on 30 March 1861, to negotiate British claims while providing reassurance that the British government aimed to respect Mexican sovereignty and maintain cordial relations between both countries. On 27 May, Wyke met with the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs Zarco, with the latter attempting to convince Wyke of the impossibility for Mexico to meet its current foreign debts.
On 3 June, President Juárez issued a decree, under the authority of congress postponing all payments to foreign creditors for one year. Events were now set in motion which would culminate in the Second French Intervention in Mexico, and the failed efforts of the
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
to overthrow the government of the Mexican Republic and impose a monarchy upon the nation.
The main French pretext for subsequently invading Mexico had been specifically the issue of the Jecker Bonds, a series of high interest loans which had been contracted through a Swiss banker named Jecker, by the Conservative government during the Reform War. When the government of Juárez refused to honor the debts contracted by the Conservative government, Jecker took his complaints to the government of France.
The issue of monarchy came about through the efforts of certain Mexican monarchist exiles acting independently of the Mexican government. Monarchism in Mexico had been reduced to irrelevance after the fall of the extremely short lived
First Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 18 ...
in 1823. When
José María Gutiérrez de Estrada had attempted to revive the issue by proposing a monarchy for the country in 1840, he was driven out of the country by public outrage, which included condemnation from both the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
and the
Conservative Party.
Rejected by his own country, Estrada sought support for his monarchical project abroad, gaining the aid of the Mexican diplomat
José Manuel Hidalgo y Esnaurrízar, who personally knew
Empress Eugenie of France, and had won her over to the idea of a Mexican monarchy as early as 1857 Eugenie was enthusiastic about the effort to establish a monarchy in Mexico, but
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
was skeptical, afraid of offending the United States through the violation of the Monroe Doctrine. This concern was rendered null by the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1859, and President Juárez’ 1861 decree suspending foreign debts, gave France a pretext to send troops to Mexico. Napoleon III saw an advantage in establishing a client state on the American continent which could also serve as a buffer state to United States expansionism.
For the meantime, however Napoleon III, kept his full aims hidden. Mexican negotiations with Wykes had broken down and the minister wrote back to London advocating that the British Navy make a show of force. London and Paris began to make arrangements over the matter, and soon invited the government of Spain which had also been affected by the President Juárez’ suspension of debts. On 31 October 1861, the
Convention of London was signed between France, Great Britain, and Spain, formalizing plans to militarily intervene in Mexico for the purposes of arranging its debt payments.
Second French intervention
First French advance
Foreign Minister
Manuel Doblado invited the commissioners to travel to
Orizaba
Orizaba (, Otomi: ) is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 20 km west of its sister city Córdoba, and is adjacent to Río Blanco and Ixtaczoquitlán, on Federal Highways 180 and 190. The city had a ...
and there the three powers proceeded to officially recognized the government of Juárez along with Mexican sovereignty. On 9 April 1862, agreements at Orizaba between the allies broke down, as France made it increasingly clear that it intended to violate Mexican sovereignty in violation of previous agreements. The British informed the Mexican government that they now intended to exit the country, and an arrangement was made with the British government to settle its claims. Spain also agreed to evacuate the country.
Minister Doblado on 11 April 1862, made it known to the French government that its intentions were leading to war. Armed conflict finally broke out as French forces attempted to head for Mexico City. On 5 May 1862, Mexican forces commanded by
Ignacio Zaragoza
Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (March 24, 1829 – September 8, 1862) was a Mexican Army officer and politician. He is best known for leading a Mexican army of 3,791 men which defeated a 5,730-strong force of French troops at the battle of Puebla ...
and future president of Mexico,
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...
repulsed the French at the
Battle of Puebla
The Battle of Puebla (; ), also known as the Battle of May 5 () took place on 5 May 1862, near Puebla de los Ángeles, during the second French intervention in Mexico. French troops under the command of Charles de Lorencez repeatedly failed to s ...
while the latter were trying to ascend the hill towards the fortified positions of the city. The French retreated to Orizaba to await reinforcements. On 27 October 1862, congress granted President Juárez emergency powers to meet the needs of the ongoing invasion.
[Hamnett, ''Juárez'', 256]
Meanwhile, the French increasingly gained the collaboration of
Conservative Party generals who remained in the Mexican countryside in the wake of the Reform War. Monarchism had died out in Mexico by the time the French intervention began and the Conservative Party was initially reluctant to join the French in establishing a monarchy. The Spanish General
Juan Prim, who had been part of the joint expedition would report to his government that there had been no monarchists in Mexico. The Conservatives would eventually be won over as they opportunistically sought the military aid to return themselves to power after their loss in the Reform War.
Fall of Mexico City

Napoleon III sent reinforcements of 30,000 troops under the command of
General Forey. Forey reached Orizaba on 24 October 1862, and began planning another siege of Puebla, the defense of which had now passed on to
Jesús González Ortega after General Zaragoza had died of typhoid fever on 8 September. Mexican forces were forced to surrender on 17 May 1863.
Upon hearing of the fall of Puebla, President Juárez prepared to evacuate the capital and move the republican government to
San Luis Potosi. Congress closed its session on 31 May, after once again granting President Juárez emergency powers.
The French entered the capital on 10 June 1863.
The French established press censorship over all of the territory they controlled and also set up
courts-martial staffed by French officers which were given authority over Mexicans. Dubois de Saligny, Napoleon's representative, selected and appointed a ''Junta Superior'' of collaborating Mexicans meant to serve as a
puppet government to
rubber-stamp French intentions of establishing a monarchy. Saligny and Forey themselves were present at the session of the so-called ''Assembly of Notables'', whose motions had been prearranged by the French. On 8 July 1863, the Assembly resolved upon changing the nation into a monarchy, inviting
Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg, to become Emperor of Mexico.
French advance in Central Mexico

On 9 June 1862, Juárez had arrived at
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí.
It ...
and dispatches were sent to state governors in the parts of the country that were not yet occupied. French control continued to be centered upon Mexico City and Veracruz, although most major Mexican ports and their customs revenue had fallen into French hands. In August, Saligny and Forey were recalled to France, and command over French administration and the military of the conquered Mexican territories fell upon General
François Achille Bazaine
François Achille Bazaine (13 February 181123 September 1888) was an officer of the French army. Rising from the ranks, during four decades of distinguished service (including 35 years on campaign) under Louis-Philippe I, Louis-Philippe and then ...
, already present in Mexico, who officially assumed his post on 1 October 1862.
Against the French, Juárez still commanded five divisions throughout the country, under ex president
Ignacio Comonfort
Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos (; 12 March 1812 – 13 November 1863), also known as Ignacio Comonfort, was a Mexican politician and soldier who was also president during La Reforma.
He played a leading role in the liberal movement und ...
, who had been made Minister of War. Nonetheless, throughout the rest of the year, the French gradually expanded out of their main Mexico City -Veracruz corridor to eventually encompass much of central Mexico, while the commanders of the Republic began to wage a campaign of guerrilla warfare. Minister of War Comonfort was killed in an ambush on 14 November and was succeeded as Commander in Chief by General
José López Uraga. By December, President Juárez was forced to evacuate San Luis Potosi to set up a new capital at
Saltillo
Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...
.
The ongoing Republican counterattack was generally a failure, except for the Southern campaign of Porfirio Díaz. With an army of 3000 men, he swept South through French lines and entrenched himself in the state of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
, becoming the military commander of all of Mexico south of the French controlled areas. From his base in Oaxaca he fought off French advances into
Chiapas
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
, and commanded incursions into the state of Vera Cruz. By January, 1864, however, the French through a naval attack had made inroads into Yucatán, capturing the city of
Campeche
Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...
.
Escape to the north

In early 1864, Juárez faced opposition from
Manuel Doblado and
Jesús González Ortega, who accused him of taking autocratic actions that were against the constitution. Juárez defended himself by appealing to necessity, and the opposition was defused. On 29 March, Juárez established his new capital in
Monterrey
Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
after having faced the mutiny of Governor
Santiago Vidaurri, who had declared his loyalty to the French, but was then defeated by Republican forces and fled into Texas.
By May 1864, the Republican military situation in the north was weak, but Juárez there still had 12,000 men under his command, access to considerable customs revenue, and a steady flow of arms from the United States. The Mexican Republic still controlled the states of
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.
It is located in northwest Mexic ...
,
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
,
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
,
Chihuahua,
Nuevo Leon and part of
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities.
It is located in nor ...
. These territories included some rich mining districts, and two important custom-houses at
Matamoros and
Mazatlán
Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican list of states of Mexico, state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding , known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast across from th ...
. In the South, Díaz still controlled
Guerrero
Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
,
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
,
Tabasco
Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It i ...
, and
Chiapas
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
.
Meanwhile, Maximilian from
Miramare Castle
Miramare Castle (; ; ; ) is a 19th-century castle direct on the Gulf of Trieste between Barcola and Grignano (Trieste), Grignano in Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Empire, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Max ...
, had received the invitation from the Assembly of Notables, but put forth the condition that his rule first be ratified by a plebiscite. Bazaine carried out
such a referendum in January 1864, through tactics such as the manipulation of returns along with the imprisonment of Mexican citizens who refused to accept Maximilian.
Results showing overwhelming acceptance of Maximilian were sent by the French to Miramar, and Maximilian officially accepted the throne of the Mexican Empire on 10 April 1864, preparing then to depart for the country.
Maximilian signed arrangements with Napoleon, agreeing that Mexico should assume the cost for its own occupation, a measure which caused outrage in the Juárez government. Maximilian and his wife
Charlotte, now Empress of Mexico finally arrived in Mexico City on 12 June 1864.
In July 1864, Commander in Chief Uraga was accused of corresponding with the French. In response, Juárez deposed him and replaced him with
José María Arteaga, upon which Uraga defected to the French.
Juárez in El Paso del Norte

In August, Governor Vidaurri, returned from Texas and launched an attack against Juárez, who narrowly escaped
Monterrey
Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
in a bullet ridden carriage. President Juárez sent his family to New Orleans for their safety, while he then headed for the state of Chihuahua. He established a new capital in
Chihuahua City
The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...
in October, 1864. By December, the French has seized the states of Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and most of Coahuila.
General Ortega, ambitious for the presidency himself, challenged Juárez on constitutional grounds, claiming that Juárez’ constitutional term had expired, but his efforts failed, as it was indicated to him that the expiration of the current presidential term would not actually occur for another year. Juárez proceeded to extend this own terms until elections could be held and Ortega retired to the United States. Juárez continued to suffer reverses in the North throughout the rest of the year, but in the South, Porfirio Díaz had managed to expel the French from
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
in December.
Díaz himself was captured after the French advanced upon
Oaxaca City
Oaxaca de Juárez (), or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec languages, Zapotec: ''Ndua''), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding munici ...
in February 1865and yet guerrilla warfare continued throughout the South. Díaz would escape French captivity after seven months, and almost immediately recaptured the state of
Guerrero
Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
.
The approaching end of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
brought much hope to the Republican cause, and Juárez alluded to a future
Union victory in order to inspire his partisans, for a victorious United States would be able to more stridently oppose the Second French Intervention as a violation of the
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is a foreign policy of the United States, United States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign ...
. After the Civil War ended in April, 1865, a concentration of American troops along the
Rio Bravo, caused Bazaine to send more of his troops to the north, resulting in an increase of Republican guerrilla activity in states such as
Guanajuato
Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...
and
Michoacan. Some imperial prefects resigned for lack of troops, and Emperor Maximilian blamed Bazaine for the crisis.
In June, Franco-Imperial forces dispersed the main Republican army in the North under General
Miguel Negrete. This inspired Maximilian to attempt to drive Juárez out of the country, hoping this would damage his cause in American public opinion before the next meeting of the United States Congress. Juárez was forced to evacuate
Chihuahua City
The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...
, but Bazaine did not pursue any further fearing a clash of French troops with American troops, and Juárez made his new capital in
El Paso del Norte.
On 2 October 1865, acting upon the false intelligence that Juárez had left the country, Maximilian passed the so-called Black Decree, enacting summary execution for anyone now found waging guerrilla warfare. One of the victims of the decree would be commander in chief of the Mexican Republican forces,
José María Arteaga.
Departure of the French
On 1 October 1865, the Juárez government received a thirty million dollar loan from the United States. American volunteers also began to enlist in the army of the Mexican Republic.
On 30 November 1865, Juárez's term expired, and according to the Constitution, due to the inability of holding elections, the office of the president was to pass down to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, which was then
Jesús González Ortega. A constitutional crisis ensued as the latter once more challenged Juárez for the office, but Juárez denied the validity of Ortega's claims, arguing that the relevant constitutional clause concerned itself with an interim presidency for the purpose of arranging new elections, which at the moment were impossible. Juárez passed a decree prolonging his own presidency and it was generally accepted among the Liberals.
Throughout late 1865, Napoleon III began to realize that the French troops were involved in a military quagmire. At the opening of the
French Chambers in January 1866, he announced his intention of withdrawing French troops from Mexico. Faced with the impending collapse of the Empire,
Empress Carlota traveled to Europe to seek more military support. Upon the failure of her efforts, she was reduced to insanity. Upon receiving news of his wife's failure and mental collapse Emperor Maximilian traveled to
Orizaba
Orizaba (, Otomi: ) is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 20 km west of its sister city Córdoba, and is adjacent to Río Blanco and Ixtaczoquitlán, on Federal Highways 180 and 190. The city had a ...
in October 1866, and contemplated abdication.
The Second Mexican Empire was rapidly disintegrating in the wake of the departing French troops. By November, 1866, the Juárez government had recovered most of the country, including nearly all of the territory encompassed by a line running from
Tuxpan through
San Luis Potosi, to
Morelia
Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...
, and nearly all of the territory south of
Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...
. Notwithstanding, Maximilian's privy council voted against abdication and Maximilian decided upon not departing with the French. The French representatives to Maximilian formally expressed their opposition to the decision, and warned Maximilian that the Empire could not sustain itself independently.
Execution of Maximilian

Maximilian proposed a truce with Juárez and the summoning of a national congress to decide the fate of the Empire, but the proposal was ignored. The last of the French troops departed on 12 March 1867. Without French support, the rapidly collapsing Empire hardly lasted two months. Maximilian had returned to Mexico City and then headed northwest to
Querétaro
Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...
, where the Emperor and his top generals were captured after the end of
a siege on 14 May 1867.
On 13 June, while President Juárez was now in
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí.
It ...
, the government of the Mexican Republic placed Maximilian on trial in Querétaro for aiding the French invasion of Mexico, attempting to overthrow the Mexican government, and prolonging the bloodshed when his cause was already lost. His leading Mexican generals
Tomas Mejia and
Miguel Miramon were placed on trial alongside him for treason. All three were found guilty and sentenced to death. President Juárez rejected multiple appeals for clemency, including multiple official appeals from European governmentsand the three prisoners were eventually shot by firing squad on 19 June.
Restored Republic
Return to Mexico City

Juárez reentered the capital on the morning of 15 July, with
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada,
José María Iglesias, and , to public acclaim, the ringing of bells, and ceremonial artillery fire. He commuted the death sentences of several imperialists, but showed no mercy to the more important collaborators.
Santiago Vidaurri was shot without even a trial. Juárez used his emergency presidential powers to abrogate a law of confiscation that was reducing collaborationist families to poverty, instead replacing their penalty with a fine.
Juárez reorganized his cabinet and reestablished the department of development. He decreed that the governments of the states should now return to their respective capitals. The army was also reduced in size. The Supreme Court was re-established under the presidency of Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada. Day to day judicial acts during the French occupation, such as the granting of marriage certificates, were decreed valid.
A long-awaited electoral act was passed on 14 August, decreeing elections for the presidency, congress, and the supreme court. Referendums to amend the constitution were proposed, but opponents against any such amendments began to coalesce around the rival presidential candidacy of Porfirio Díaz.
Juárez subsequently won the presidential election which was held in October. He formally relinquished his emergency powers and on 25 December, officially began a new term scheduled to end on 30 November 1871.
At the opening of Congress on that same December, Juárez gave thanks to the American people, for their consistent support of the Mexican Republic during the French Intervention. Juárez also had to deal with certain insurrections, including a new resurgence in the Caste War, which ended in the establishment of a military colony in Campeche, and the
Yaqui
The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are an Indigenous people of Mexico and Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, who speak the Yaqui language, a Uto-Aztecan language.
Their primary homelands are in Río Yaqui valley in the no ...
uprising in
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
known as the
Revolución de los Ríos.
Juárez' determination to maintain the same ministers that had served him during the intervention also inspired opposition from those within the Liberal Party ambitious to share in those offices. A January, 1868 request to congress asking for increased powers for the presidency, inspired opposition from those who believed Juárez was becoming autocratic. Gonzalez Ortega, who had already challenged Juárez twice during the intervention continued to press his constitutional claims to the presidency. On 18 August 1868, Ortega's supporter General
José María Patoni was assassinated by a local military brigade, leading to great public scandal.
The year 1869 was marked by minor scattered revolts, but a much more significant insurrection broke out in December, led by the Governor of Zacatecas. The affected states were placed under martial law, and the revolt was suppressed by February, 1870.
On 13 October 1870, a general amnesty law was passed against those who had collaborated with the French, excepting certain high officials.
Díaz revolts

As the 1871 presidential election approached, Juárez once more declared his candidacy, causing great opposition among those who viewed such a long term in power as a violation of the spirit of the constitution.
[Hamnett, "Benito Juárez", 720] Juárez had now been in power for more than twelve years. Porfirio Díaz once more ran for president, along with Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada. Juárez obtained a majority of the votes, but not to the degree constitutionally required to win the election, and so the selection of the president fell upon congress, which on 12 October 1871, decided in favor of Juárez.
Supporters of Díaz accused the government of engaging in election fraud, refused to recognize Juárez as the legitimate president, and prepared to take up arms. The subsequent insurrection would come to be known as the Plan de La Noria from the eponymous city in which the revolution was proclaimed from on 8 November 1871.
Supporting revolts flared up throughout the country, and even the government of the State of Sonora officially joined the revolt in December, 1871. As late as July, 1872 military situation was serious, because though the Juárez government had won a series of victories, they had not been decisive. Juárez called Díaz a "latter-day Santa Anna", invoking the liberals' archenemy.
Juárez took the opportunity of the rebellion to attack entrenched groups within various states, using government forces to neutralize rebellious elements in state militias.
Personal life
On 31 October 1843, when he was in his late 30s, Juárez married
Margarita Maza, the adoptive daughter of his sister's patron.
Margarita was 20 years younger than Juárez. Her father Antonio Maza Padilla was from
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
and her mother Petra Parada Sigüenza was Mexican and of Spanish descent. They were part of Oaxaca's upper-class society. Margarita Maza accepted his proposal and said of Juárez, "He is very homely, but very good." With his marriage to a white woman, Juárez gained social standing. Although legal racial categories were abolished shortly after independence, in social life, ethnic categories were still used. Their ethnically mixed (white/Indigenous) marriage was unusual at the time, but it is not often explicitly noted in standard biographies. Their marriage lasted until Margarita's death from cancer in January 1871, when Juárez was planning his run for reelection. Juárez and Maza had ten children together, who were ethnically mixed
mestizos
( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to ...
, including twins María de Jesús and Josefa, born in 1854. Two boys and three girls died in early childhood. Two of their sons died while they were in exile in New York with their mother during the French Intervention. Their only surviving son was , b. 29 October 1852, was a diplomat and politician, and Governor of Oaxaca 1911–12; he married but had no children.
[Hamnett, ''Juárez'', 234] Juárez's daughter Manuela married Cuban poet and separatist in May 1863.
Benito Juárez married five times, one of his wives was Andra Campa, with whom he had a daughter Beatriz Juárez.
Benito Juárez officially recognized Beatriz as his own child by giving her his last name in her birth certificate. Beatriz Juárez later married Alberto Savage Robert and together, they had three children named Alberto Savage Juárez, Beatriz Savage Juárez and Carlos Savage Juárez,
who became a cadet in Mexico's
Heroic Military Academy and participated in the famous "" or "March of Loyalty" of Mexican ex-president
Francisco I. Madero.
Carlos Savage Juárez's children were well known in the
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...
:
Carlos Savage (1919–2000) was a highly respected Mexican
film editor
Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...
who contributed to over 1,000 award-winning films and
documentaries
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...
throughout his career.
Benito Juárez is also known to have had two other children with other women. He had fathered a son and a daughter before he married Margarita, a son, Tereso, perhaps around 1838; and Susana. Little is known about them. One of his biographers, Charles Allen Smart, citing the work of Jorge L. Tamayo, the editor of Juárez's letters, says that Juárez's natural son might be alluded to in a letter from a certain Refugio Álvarez, an officer during the French invasion. Juárez's son was taken prisoner by conservative general
Tomás Mejía
José Tomás de la Luz Mejía Camacho, better known as Tomás Mejía (17 September 1820 – 19 June 1867), was a Mexican soldier of Otomi background, who consistently sided with the Conservative Party (Mexico), Conservative Party throughout its ...
when the conservatives captured San Luis Potosí in December 1863. Juárez's two sons with Margarita Maza were minors at the time and the third not yet born, so the conclusion is that the letter refers to Tereso. In his research for the biography, Smart found no explicit references to Tereso. Juárez's daughter Susana was mentioned by Tamayo, and Smart includes that information, but without page citations to Tamayo's publication. Susana was said to have become an invalid and a narcotics addict who was cared for by Juárez's friends Sr. Miguel Castro and his wife when Castro was governor of Oaxaca. The natural children's mother died before Juárez married Margarita, when Susana was three years old. Juárez and his wife formally adopted Susana, who never married and was with her adoptive mother at her death.
Margarita Maza de Juárez was buried in the Juárez mausoleum in Mexico City.
Juárez wrote books for his children, such as the book ''"Apuntes para mis Hijos"'' ("Notes for my Children" in English). However, this book only briefly talked about his Indigenous heritage, describing his parents as "Indians of the country's primitive race." His vision of Mexico was that individual Indigenous Mexicans would assimilate culturally and become full citizens of Mexico, equal before the law. "Everything that Juárez and the Liberal circle stood for militated against
isidentification" as an Indigenous person. According to one biographer, he "has been the object of so much mythology that it is almost impossible to uncover the facts of his life."
Juárez was a 33rd
Scottish Rite
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...
Freemason and a member of the directive of the Mexican brotherhood. He was initiated under the name of
Guillermo Tell.
Juárez's health suffered in 1870, but he recovered. His wife Margarita died in 1871 and his health began to fail in 1872. He suffered a heart attack in March 1872, the day before his birthday. He suffered another attack on 8 July and a fatal attack on 17 July.
Freemasonry
Juárez was initiated into Freemasonry in the York Rite in Oaxaca. He then moved to the
National Mexican Rite, where he ascended to the highest degree, the ninth, which is equivalent to the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. The York Rite was of more liberal and republican ideas with respect to the Scottish Rite that also existed in Mexico, which was of centralist political ideas. The National Mexican Rite emerged from a group of Yorkist Masons and another group of Scottish Masons whose common objective was to gain independence from foreigners and promote a nationalist mentality.
Juárez was fervent in Masonic practice. His name is held in veneration in many rites. Many lodges and philosophical bodies have adopted him as a sacred symbol.
Juárez's initiation ceremony was attended by distinguished Masons, such as Manuel Crescencio Rejon, author of the Yucatán Constitution of 1840; Valentín Gómez Farías, President of Mexico; Pedro Zubieta, General Commander in the Federal District and the State of Mexico; Congressman Fernando Ortega; Congressman Tiburcio Cañas; Congressman Francisco Banuet; Congressman Agustin Buenrostro; Congressman Joaquin Navarro and Congressman Miguel Lerdo de Tejada. After the proclamation, the apprentice mason Juárez adopted the symbolic name of
Guillermo Tell, 14th century Swiss folk hero.
Death

Juárez died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on 18 July 1872, aged 66. He had been ill for two days, seemingly without alarming symptoms, but he appears to have suffered an attack similar to the one in October 1870. "At daybreak on the morning of the 19th
f Julythe inhabitants of this capital were startled by the roar of artillery, followed by a gun
hoteach quarter of an hour, which indicated the death of the head of the government." A death mask was made and Juárez was given a state funeral. He is buried in the
Panteón de San Fernando
The San Fernando Pantheon (also known as Museo Panteón de San Fernando) is one of the oldest cemeteries in Mexico City that is preserved to this day. It is one of the most representative examples of 19th century funerary architecture and art in ...
, where other Mexican notables are interred. There is an account in
Ralph Roeder's 1947 lengthy biography of Juárez about his death, but although the work has many direct quotations from sources, it is flawed because there are no scholarly citations.
When Juárez died, Díaz's reasons for rebellion – fraudulent elections, presidential coercion of states – no longer existed. He was succeeded by
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, the head of the Supreme Court. Díaz was amnestied for his rebellion by Lerdo in November 1872.
Díaz later rebelled against Lerdo in 1876. Although Díaz was a rival of Juárez during his life, after Díaz seized power he helped shape the historical memory of Juárez.
Legacy

Juárez came to be seen as "a preeminent symbol of Mexican nationalism and resistance to foreign intervention".
[Stevens, "Benito Juárez", 333.] His policies advocated
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...
,
equality before the law
Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law. The principle requires a systematic ru ...
,
the sovereignty of civilian power over the Catholic Church and
the military, the strengthening of the
Mexican federal government, and the depersonalization of political life. For Juárez's success in ousting French invasion, Mexicans considered Juárez's tenure as a time of a "second struggle for independence, a second defeat for the European powers, and a second reversal of the Conquest".
Today, Benito Juárez is remembered as being a progressive reformer dedicated to democracy, equal rights for Indigenous peoples, reduction in the power of organized religion, especially the Catholic Church, and a defense of national sovereignty. The period of his leadership is known in Mexican history as ''La Reforma del Norte'' ("reform of the north"). It constituted a liberal political and social revolution with major institutional consequences: the expropriation of church lands, the subordination of the army to
civilian control, liquidation of peasant communal landholdings, the
separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
in public affairs, and the disenfranchisement of bishops, priests, nuns, and lay brothers, codified in the "
Juárez Law", or "Ley Juárez".
''
La Reforma
In History of Mexico, the history of Mexico, (from Spanish language, Spanish: "The Reform"), or reform laws, refers to a pivotal set of laws, including a Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857, new constitution, that were ...
'' represented the triumph of Mexico's liberal, federalist,
anti-clerical
Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...
, and pro-capitalist forces over the conservative, centrist,
corporatist, and
theocratic
Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's daily a ...
elements that sought to reconstitute a locally run version of the colonial era. It replaced a semi-feudal social system with a more market-driven one. But, following Juárez's death, the lack of adequate democratic and institutional stability soon resulted in a return to centralized autocracy and economic exploitation under the regime of
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...
. The ''
Porfiriato
The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...
'' (1876–1911), in turn, collapsed at the beginning of the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...
.
Honors and recognition

Honors in his lifetime
* On 7 February 1866, Juárez was elected as mayor a companion of the 3rd class of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...
(MOLLUS). While membership in MOLLUS was normally limited to Union officers who had served during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
and their descendants, members of the 3rd Class were civilians who had made a significant contribution to the Union war effort. Juárez is one of the very few non-United States citizens to be a MOLLUS companion.
* On 11 May 1867, the Congress of the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
proclaimed Juárez the ''Benemérito de la América'' (Distinguished of America).
* On 16 July 1867, the government of Peru recognized Juárez's accomplishments and on 28 July of the same year the School of Medicine of San Fernando, Perú, issued a gold medal to honor him; the medal can be seen at the ''
Museo Nacional de Historia
The National Museum of History ( Spanish: ), also known as MNH, is a national museum of Mexico, located inside Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City. The Castle itself is found within the first section of the well known Chapultepec Park. The museum ...
''.
Place names
* Numerous cities, towns, streets, and institutions in Mexico are named after Benito Juárez, including the former El Paso del Norte, now called
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...
; see
Juárez (disambiguation) for a partial list.
*
Mexico City International Airport
Mexico City International Airport (); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the primary international airport serving Greater Mexico City. It is the List of the busiest airports in Me ...
is better known in Mexico by its first official name ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'', or internationally often as ''Mexico City Juárez''.
* The
Benito Juárez Partido in
Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...
,
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, and the city of
Benito Juárez, Buenos Aires are both named after Juárez, as a gesture of friendship between Argentina and Mexico.
*
Benito Juárez Marg (''marg'' means ''road'' in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
/
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
) is a major road in
South Delhi
South Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India with its headquarters in Saket. Administratively, the district is divided into three subdivisions, Saket, Hauz Khas, and Mehrauli. It is bounded by ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
Mexican currency
* Juárez is depicted on the
20-peso banknote. From the time of Juárez, Mexico's government has issued several notes with the face and the subject of Juárez. In 2000, $20.00 (twenty pesos) bills were issued: on one side is the bust of Juárez and to his left, the Juarista eagle across the Chamber. In 2018, new
$500.00 (five hundred pesos) bills were released, also featuring the bust of Juárez. A caption directly below this says in Spanish, "President Benito Juárez, promoter of the Laws of Reform, during his triumphant entrance to Mexico City on 13 July 1867, symbolizing the restoration of the Republic". Juárez appears to face a depiction of his entrance into Mexico City. His likeness appears on two bills simultaneously, and while both are blue in color, the 500-peso and 20-peso notes differ in size and texture.
Monuments and statuary
Benito Juárez is notable for the number of statues and monuments in his honor outside of Mexico.
* In Washington, D.C., is a
monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
of Juárez by
Enrique Alciati, a gift to the US from Mexico.
It sits in the intersection of New Hampshire and Virginia Avenues.
* The sculptor Julian Martinez dedicated two works to Juárez, a
full sculpture in Chicago and a
bust in Houston.
* In New York: ''
Benito Juárez
Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec peoples, Zapotec, he w ...
'' (2004), a sculpture by Mexican Moises Cabrera Orohe
*
Statue of Benito Juárez (San Diego)
*
Statue of Benito Juárez in New Orleans
Media portrayals
*
Franz Werfel
Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of '' The Forty ...
wrote the play ''Juárez and Maximilian'' which was presented at
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
in 1924, directed by
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...
.
* ''
Juárez'' is a 1939 American historical drama film directed by
William Dieterle
William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood primarily a ...
, and starring
Paul Muni as Juárez.
*
Carleton Young portrayed Juárez in ''
Zorro's Fighting Legion'' (1939)
* The actor Jan Arvan (1913–1979) was cast as President Juárez in the 1959 episode, "A Town Is Born" on the
syndicated television anthology series
An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...
, ''
Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...
'', hosted by
Stanley Andrews.
Than Wyenn played Isaacs, a storekeeper in
Nogales,
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...
, who hides gold for the Mexican government in the fight against Maximilian.
Jean Howell played his wife, Ruth Isaacs.
* Frank Sorello (1929–2013) portrayed Juárez in two episodes of
Robert Conrad's ''
The Wild Wild West
''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...
'', an American espionage adventure television program: "The Night of the Eccentrics" (1966), and "The Night of the Assassin" (1967).
* Juárez is a character in
Harry Harrison's alternate history
Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
novels the ''
Stars and Stripes trilogy''
* The conflict between the Juaristas and Maximillian's troops is a major plot point of the 1969 film ''
The Undefeated'', starring
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
and
Rock Hudson.
*
Yuri Herrera wrote the fictional account ''Season of the Swamp'' (2024) about the one-and-a-half years Juàrez was in New Orleans.
* ''
Civilization VII
''Sid Meier's Civilization VII'' is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. The game was released on February 11, 2025, for Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One ...
'' features him as one of Mexico's Revolucionario Units during the modern era
Other eponyms
* The
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
was named after Juárez.
[Living History 2; Chapter 2: ''Italy under Fascism'' – ]
* In
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, the municipal school Primary school Nr. 49 is named after Juárez.
* In
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, the public school Szkoła Podstawowa Nr. 85 im. Benito Juáreza w Warszawie is named after Juárez.
* Juárez is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of Mexican snake, ''
Geophis juarezi''.
Juárez Complex National Palace
In the National Palace in Mexico City, where he lived while in power, there is a small museum in his honor. It contains his furniture and personal effects.
Quotes
Juárez's quote continues to be well-remembered in Mexico: , meaning "Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace". The portion of this motto in bold is inscribed on the coat of arms of Oaxaca. A portion is inscribed on the Juárez statue in
Bryant Park
Bryant Park is a , privately managed public park in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and between 40th Street (Manhattan), 40th and 42 ...
in New York City, "Respect for the rights of others is peace." This quote summarizes Mexico's stances toward foreign affairs.
Another notable quote: , or "The law has always been my shield and my sword", is a phrase often displayed inside court and tribunals buildings.
See also
*
History of the Catholic Church in Mexico
*
List of heads of state of Mexico
*
Statues of the Liberators
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
* Cadenhead, Ivie E. Jr. ''Benito Juárez''. 1973.
*
*
*
* Hamnett, Brian. "Benito Juárez", in ''
Encyclopedia of Mexico
The ''Encyclopedia of Mexico'' is a two-volume reference work in English, focusing on the history and culture of Mexico. There are over 500 signed articles are by more than 300 scholars. There are overview articles on large topics; shorter article ...
'', vol. 1. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997
* Hamnett, Brian. ''Juárez (Profiles in Power)''. New York: Longmans, 1994. .
*
Krauze, Enrique, ''Mexico: Biography of Power''. New York: HarperCollins 1997.
*
* Roeder, Ralph. ''Juárez and His Mexico: A Biographical History''. 2 vols. 1947.
* Scholes, Walter V. ''Mexican Politics During the Juárez Regime, 1855–1872''. Columbia MO: University of Missouri Press 1957.
* Sinkin, Richard N. ''The Mexican Reform, 1855–1876: A Study in Liberal Nation-Building''. 1979.
* Smart, Charles Allen. ''Viva Juárez: A Biography''. 1963.
* Stevens, D. F. "Benito Juárez". ''
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture'', vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.
* Weeks, Charles A. ''The Juárez Myth in Mexico''. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press 1987.
Further reading
*
Duyckinck, Evert A. "Benito Juarez", in ''Portrait Gallery of Eminent Men and Women of Europe and America. Embracing History, Statesmanship, Naval and Military Life, Philosophy, the Drama, Science, Literature and Art. With Biographies'' (2 vols., 1873), vol. 2, pp. 124-128.
* Olliff, Donathan C. ''Reform Mexico and the United States: A Search for Alternatives to Annexation, 1854–1861''. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press 1981.
* Perry, Laurens Ballard. ''Juárez and Díaz: Machine Politics in Mexico''. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press 1978.
*
Ridley, Jasper. ''Maximilian and Juárez''. London: Constable, 1993.
* Sheridan, Philip H
''Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan'' 2 vols. New York: Charles L. Webster & Co., 1888. .
*
External links
Mexico's Lincoln: The Ecstasy and Agony of Benito JuárezHistorical Text Archive: Juárez, Benito, on La ReformaJuárez Photos – Planeta.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Juárez, Benito
1806 births
1872 deaths
1860s in Mexico
19th-century Mexican politicians
19th-century presidents of Mexico
19th-century Mexican judges
Anti-imperialism in North America
Governors of Oaxaca
19th-century indigenous leaders of the Americas
Liberalism in Mexico
*
*
*
Mexican critics of religions
People from Oaxaca
Presidents of Mexico
People of the Second French intervention in Mexico
Zapotec people
Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca alumni
Mexican Freemasons