Benito Juárez: biography of this Mexican politician

There are many presidents and leaders who have governed the destiny of a country, marking the main guidelines of what happens in the territory and how it is structured and acts at a political, institutional, social and economic level.

In the case of Mexico, we are facing a country with a troubled history in which there have been multiple ideological disputes between the different social classes. One of the most remembered and beloved presidents, who sought to seek equal rights and respect for people of different social classes, was Benito Juárez. It is about him that we are going to talk in this article, in which there are a short biography of Benito Juárez.

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Biography of Benito Juarez

Benito Pablo Juárez García was born in San Pablo de Guelatao, in Oaxaca, on March 21, 1806. From an indigenous family (members of the Zapotec group) and dedicated to agriculture, his parents were Marcelino Juárez and Brígida García. Unfortunately both parents died young, when the little boy was three years old.

After their death, he and his sisters were left in charge of his grandparents, who in turn, when they died shortly after, left the future president under the guardianship of his uncle Bernardino. This man would introduce him to the world of herding and make him work as a shepherd in the fields, as well as speak Spanish. Beyond that the child He did not have any type of training, his town being a rural area without a school (something that Juárez considered necessary when wanting to receive an education).

Academic training and first jobs

In 1818 Juárez lost one of the sheep, which in fear of possible reprisals made him flee the place. After that he went to Oaxaca in search of one of his sisters, who worked for a merchant named Antonio Maza. The latter welcomed him and gave him work. In addition to this shortly after the young he met a priest named Salanueva, with whom he would begin to learn the trade of bookbinder and who helped him enroll in a local school. In 1821 Salanueva helped him enter the Santa Cruz seminary, where the young man would obtain excellent grades.

However, monastic life and theology did not attract the young man, who at the age of twenty left the seminary to enroll in the Institute of Sciences and Arts of the State of Oaxaca. At the Institute he began to study law and jurisprudence, a course from which he graduated in 1834.

After finishing his training, he was hired as a physics teacher, at the same time that he began to dedicate himself to the legal defense of indigenous communities and the poorest classes. This caused him to be accused of trying to promote an uprising among the indigenous communities, something that ended up getting him jailed.

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Politics and governance

In 1831 Juárez was chosen as alderman of the Oaxaca city council, for a year later to be named deputy. after that he was ascending little by little within the world of politics. However, at that time there was a conflict between liberals and conservatives regarding the fight for the elimination of privileges of the clergy and the army, which ended with the victory of the military and made Juárez temporarily withdraw from life policy.

Also in his facet as a lawyer he ascended with the passage of time, and by 1841 he had managed to become a civil judge of Oaxaca. With this he would also return to politics, in which he was appointed substitute minister in the Superior Court of Justice.

In 1843 he married Margarita Maza, daughter of his former employer and protector Antonio Maza. Later he would be named deputy for Oaxaca in the Union Congress, and after that co-governor of the state.

in 1846 the so-called Mexican-American War began, a conflict between the United States and Mexico in which Juárez participated making proposals that made it possible for his country to meet the costs of the war. The conflict ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which Juárez opposed as Mexico lost much of its territory. Among other actions, General Santa Anna, at that time fleeing from the Americans, denied entry, something that would generate his rancor.

In 1847, he was appointed federal deputy and later governor of Oaxaca.. During this period his action contributed to generating infrastructures, schools and different advances, at the same time that he was appointed rector of the Institute of Sciences and Arts of Oaxaca. But in 1853 General Santa Anna seized power, something that caused Juárez to be arrested and even close to being shot, to later decide to go into exile in Cuba. Juárez went to New Orleans, where he would meet with multiple exiles who were planning to overthrow the general.

The so-called Ayutla Revolution was formed, which in 1855 managed to get General Santa Anna to withdraw from the presidency and the liberals came to power. The new president decided to name Benito Juárez Minister of Justice. Also in 1857 they managed to decree a Constitution.

Presidency and conflicts

In 1857 Benito Juárez was appointed Minister of the Interior and President of the Supreme Court of Justice, during the mandate of President Comonfort. However In 1855 there was a coup, advocated by Comonfort himself to bring down the government, caused the president to resign. His resignation made Juárez president according to his country's Constitution, although the perpetrators of the coup (who supported to the ecclesiastical and military establishments and were contrary to liberal policies) appointed Zuloaga as president.

This meant that, after going to jail, Juárez went to Guanajuato and Guadalajara, where he would be able to form a government and in which he would be officially named president. The Three Years' War would begin, in which the liberals of Juárez and the conservatives of Zuluaga would fight until in 1860 the former achieved victory.

In turn, the harsh conditions of said war and his expenses made Juárez suspend the foreign debt, something that also led to France invading Mexico and naming Maximilian I emperor of Mexico. This meant a new war that would end with the death of Maximilian in 1867.

After that, Juárez would be re-elected and would try again to promote a reform of the system and the defense of freedom and equality. In fact, based on this, he was named Meritorious of the Americas. However some of his policies made many politicians fear that he wanted to keep his position by force, which meant that Congress turned hostile. Despite this, the 1867 elections were favorable to him and allowed him to remain as president.

Last years and death

The years went by, and with them Benito Juárez began to suffer various medical complications. In 1870 the president he suffered what at the time was called brain congestion, in which the president would manifest bradycardia among other problems, and this would be repeated a short time later. Added to this difficult situation was the fact that his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1869, a disease that would end the woman's life in 1871.

During that same year, Juárez would be re-elected president, but his long political life and his emotional state and health would cause discontent on the part of a portion of the population. Among this opposition, the figure of Porfirio Díaz stood out, who harshly criticized the re-election and even accused him of being a dictator. He even took up arms, arising some conflicts and riots that ended up being suppressed.

One year later, during the month of March, Benito Juárez had angina pectoris which he managed to overcome. However, months later the Mexican president began to experience a relapse of his heart condition. while he was having a series of audiences with various personalities and officials from the government and the army. Shortly after and already in his home, the picture would worsen more and more until he finally ended his life. His death occurred in Mexico City on July 18, 1872, at the age of 66.