HISTORY OF MEXICO: Cracks in a shining armor

Benito Juarez is without question most significant as the president who oversaw the transformation of Mexico into a republican federation, shaping the nation into what it is today. He abolished the second Mexican empire, ensuring that monarchy was forever banished from the New World. He is also responsible for leading a change in the constitution which established the separation of Church and state.

However, there are many aspects of his life and leadership which have caused criticism and outright denunciation. In order to understand the basis for this, it is important to find out exactly what Juarez did, and why some of his actions were, and continue to be condemned. Each of us can then evaluate and reach a conclusion.

One of the undisputed qualities was his tenacity. Few people can persist against mounting odds, to maintain a goal that seems to be slipping again and again. Benito Juarez had that invincibility and the dedication to persevere.

His rise to the presidency of Mexico was a progression that began first with his being the governor of the state of Oaxaca. He plunged fully into politics as leader of La Reforma, a liberal political and social revolution, advocating a new constitution for the nation. In 1853, when Santa Ana became president, Juarez was threatened with imprisonment and had to leave the country. He ended up in New Orleans where he spent almost two years, living in poverty, and working in a tobacco factory. When Ignacio Comonfort, a liberal, became president, Juarez returned, and helped draft a most progressive constitution in 1957. It guaranteed many individual freedoms, emphasized private property of individuals, and abolished long-established ownership by corporate entities, particularly curtailing the immense powers of the Catholic Church. Juarez was then elected head of the Supreme Court, a position akin to the vice presidency—making him de facto president of the nation in 1858 when conservatives forced Comonfort to resign. This was the beginning of several presidencies for Juarez, as well as many instances when he had to flee Mexico and continue as president in exile, proving himself a master of governing without an actual government.

An interesting incident illustrates how destiny is often involved in changing the course of a life and history itself. Forced to escape because the conservatives were intent on killing him, Benito Juarez embarked on a journey that would take him outside the country. On March 13, 1858 he was in Guadalajara when conservatives captured him and members of his cabinet. Among them was the finance minister, Guillermo Prieto, also a journalist and one of the best Mexican poets. The orders to execute Juarez were given and the execution squad stood ready at arms as the command was called out:  “Prepare arms…aim…” and  just as the order to fire resonated, Prieto jumped in front of Juarez covering him with his body and calling out to the soldiers: “Halt! Courageous men do not assassinate!” The act so startled the soldiers, they did not fire, but stood in stunned silence as Prieto pleaded to let Juarez go. They lowered their arms and the life of Juarez was spared. A short time after, he and his company left Mexico to eventually end up in New Orleans once again.

The conservatives remained intent on establishing a monarchy, and France invaded Mexico in 1862. When Maximilian, a Habsburg archduke, and a pawn of Napoleon III, was installed as emperor of Mexico in 1864, Juarez fled to New Orleans again, becoming a nomadic president of Mexico until 1867 when he returned once the second Mexican Empire fell.

An engraving from c. 1850 shows boats on the Mississippi River in New Orleans

After all these years of being president of Mexico, both inside the country, and as president in exile, Juarez returned triumphant. Maximilian had been executed, the French had been expelled, and any idea of another monarchy in Mexico was erased forever. It is at this time that he made what many historians consider the greatest blunder of his political career. He called for national elections, and the establishment of five amendments to the constitution which many saw as an increase of his executive power. The public did not seem to mind his running for president again, but the constitutional changes aroused great objections, even with those who favored Juarez. He was reelected, but the crisis created a crisis of confidence in his administration and a permanent stain on his conduct which many believed was an attempt to hold the presidency for life.

Two years later he suffered a great emotional loss when his wife, Soledad died, and then a physical blow when he had a stroke. He died while still in office in 1872.

There is another questionable incident in Benito Juarez’s life. While in exile in the United States during the French occupation of Mexico when Maximilian was emperor, Juarez sought the help of Mexico’s northern neighbor. The United States provided arms to fight against the French, in large part because it would have been against their interests to have a European monarchy so close to the border. During these negotiations, Juarez granted many land rights to the United States which many perceive, to this day, as “the selling of Mexico.” There are indeed questions as to where all the funds that were given by the United States for these concessions ended up. The figures paid did not all land in the nation’s coffers; not being fully accounted for they have led to questions of whether they were appropriated by Juarez.

In addition, when the real estate properties of the Church were appropriated, Juarez sold the land to hacendados—owners of large haciendas, instead of distributing these to the peasant farmers. There was no question that the lands once owned by the Catholic Church were sold to the highest bidder; not given to those who most needed it, and were perhaps much more deserving of them.

The negatives about Benito Juarez are part and parcel of his biography, just as all his great actions. Ultimately he, like all human beings, was a mix of good actions and some not so good. He was neither totally virtuous, nor entirely evil. Even if condemned for what is perceived as wrong behavior, he needs to be celebrated for the momentous job he did in transitioning Mexico from a colony to an independent, democratic nation.