Hero of Mexico

Mexican hero Benito Juarez was born two hundred years ago, on March 21, 1806. He fought the French occupation of Mexico in the 1860s and became Mexico's only full-blooded Native American president.

Born into poverty, Juarez lost both parents as a toddler. He grew up working in fields, but his intelligence allowed him to climb the social ladder, and Juarez became a lawyer. He served as the Governor of Oaxaca, one of Mexico's provinces. Due to his criticism of Mexico's dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Juarez had to flee Mexico. He moved to Louisiana until Santa Anna lost power, then returned to Mexico.

A civil war broke out between conservatives and liberals in Mexico, and Juarez led the liberals to victory by capturing the capital of Mexico City. In 1861, Juarez was elected Mexico's President. Realizing Mexico's financial state was in a shambles, Juarez stopped all payment of foreign debts. Many European nations reacted angrily; France under Napoleon III invaded Mexico. The Battle of Puebla, the first battle and a victory for the Mexicans, is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo today. But in 1863, Juarez had to retreat, and in 1864 Napoleon set up a new government.

Napoleon III placed Maximilian in charge of Mexico. Juarez and his forces fought against this French puppet emperor, despite Maximilian's goodwill gestures toward Juarez. Maximilian himself was sympathetic of Juarez and his liberal allies, but Juarez refused to quit fighting because he did not believe in living under a monarch.

Napoleon III had taken advantage of the American Civil War when invading Mexico, as the United States was too busy fighting within to invoke the Monroe Doctrine. In 1865, the Civil War was over, and France decided it was time to pull out in 1866. Maximilian was left to fend for himself, but his forces were defeated, and he was captured and executed in 1867, despite pleas from Europe to let him live. Juarez was the man who allowed the sentence to commence.

Re-elected Mexico's President in 1867 and 1871, Juarez spent his time fighting political opponents and would-be revolutionaries. Juarez died in 1872.

Today, Juarez is remembered as a hero of democracy. He refused to accept any form of government less than a republic, and he fought monarchy in his home country. Juarez instituted reforms that brought equal rights to Native Americans, weakened the Roman Catholic Church's influence in Mexico's government, and, most importantly, kept his nation independent by fighting the French. Juarez's death led to political instability in Mexico. The rise of dictator Porfirio Diaz in 1876 led to an era of political corruption and assassinations, and Diaz's ouster in 1910 marked the Mexican Revolution, which lasted until the 1920s.

Sources: Wikipedia