Benito Juarez (21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was President of Mexico from 15 January 1858 to 18 July 1872, succeeding Ignacio Comonfort and preceding Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada.
Biography[]
Juarez was a Zapotec Indian born to peasant parents, and he was taken in to his uncle's home after his parents and grandparents died within a short distance of time. In 1841, he became a judge, and in six years he became the Governor of Oaxaca. He went into exile in 1853 after resisting Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's dictatorship, and became the leader of Liberal Party of Mexico. In the Reform War, he overthrew Felix Zuloaga's government, becoming President in place of Zuloaga and fighting to assert Liberal control over the country.
The response to this civil war was a French invasion of Mexico in 1862, and despite Juarez's gestures of a compromise peace, the French refused to leave. Despite a victory at the Battle of Puebla, the Mexicans were defeated and in 1864 Mexico City was occupied by Maximilian von Hapsburg's troops. Hapsburg became "Maximilian I", and Mexico's loyal Republicans fought a guerrilla war until the fall of Mexico City in 1867. Juarez was hailed as a national hero, and he was president until his death in 1872.