Benito Pablo Juárez García: The man, the legend

If you’re in Mexico on any given 3rd Monday of March, you might know it’s Benito Juárez Day by the fact that government services and institutions such as banks and schools are closed. You may have already heard he’s a former president of Mexico, that the city of Oaxaca added “de Juárez” to its official name in his honor, but here at Na’atik, we wanted to take a bit of time to discuss his influence on the country and why Mexicans admire him.  Pedro, Na’atik’s co-founder and Spanish teacher, along with fellow Spanish teacher César, contributed some important information about Benito Juárez’s life and legacy.

Benito Juarez was the 26th President of the Republic of the United States of Mexico, the first Indigenous individual to hold the prestigious position, and the only historical figure whose birthday is a public holiday. (To be fair, he was actually born on March 21st, but the holiday is celebrated on a Monday to give us all a much-welcome long weekend.)

A statue of Benito Juárez in Felipe Carrillo Puerto

… his positive influence on the history of Mexico as an independent republic cannot be denied, thus earning him the nickname ‘The Meritorious of the Americas’ ...

Cesar, Na’atik Spanish teacher

One can determine that Juárez is a monumental figure in Mexican history, with a street named after him in practically every city and town across the country. While some aspects of his life story have been romanticized to the point where it’s hard to separate fact from fiction, César shared that Juárez’s positive influence on the history of Mexico as an independent republic cannot be denied, thus earning him the nickname “The Meritorious of the Americas”.

Benito Juárez García was born in 1806 to a Zapotec Indigenous family in small-town Oaxaca. He became an orphan at three, and the grandparents who took him and his sisters in also tragically passed away soon after. Juárez then went to live with an uncle who taught him basic Spanish literacy. It’s been said that in 1818, at the age of 12, he lost a sheep and caused damage to the flock on someone else's land, for which Juárez fled to the city of Oaxaca on foot. He stayed with, and worked alongside, one of his older sisters who was a domestic worker. Juárez eventually came to know a Franciscan friar who sponsored his studies in a seminary. He then moved on to studying law at the Liberal Institute of Sciences and Arts, which was a springboard to his activity in liberal politics in both the city and state Oaxaca.

When speaking with César, he stressed the importance of one of Juárez’s most influential accomplishments: his contribution to the Liberal Reform laws. This series of laws brought about a new era of separation of church and state, limited the clergy’s ownership of, and power over, land all across the country. This principle is still the basis of Mexico’s modern Constitution and has influenced the autonomy of many other Latin American countries. The Reform laws’ declaration of Mexico as a secular state allowed non-Catholic immigration to Mexico from various nations, including China and the Middle East, greatly contributing to the country’s economy and its cultural and gastronomical diversity. 

Juárez was the President of the Supreme Court when Mexico's President, Comonfort, resigned in 1858. As per the rules of the Constitution, Juárez took his place and became Mexico’s new President. He then successfully fought off the Conservative army in the subsequent War of the Reform, followed by a victory over the French occupation of 1862-1867 when Austro-Hungarian Emperor Maximilian was in power. (During this time, the French army overthrew him but he came back into power that same year! Also, his victory over the French army during the Battle of Puebla on May 5 1864 is the origin story of Cinco de Mayo.)

“The Head of Juarez Statue” In Mexico City

For a time, Benito Juárez was in exile in both Cuba, where he worked in a cigarette factory and in New Orleans, and later sent his family to New York City. In fact, then-U.S. President Abe Lincoln sent Juárez a message of support when Juárez had to flee. Decades later, after a Lincoln statue was placed in Mexico City, the U.S. reciprocated by honoring Benito Juárez, and today you will find statues of him in both Washington DC and Chicago!

Statue of Juárez in Chicago, IL

Statue of Juárez in Washington DC

Juárez was still in office when he passed away from a heart attack while working at his desk in the summer of 1872. A succinct and kid-friendly summary of his life and accomplishments can be found at History of Benito Juarez, which was of great help during the writing of this article. 

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about the history of Benito Juárez’s. Hopefully, this has inspired you to learn even more about Mexican politics, or maybe even its historical relationship with the U.S. or wherever it is you’re currently living!

Would you like to learn more about Mexico’s incredible culture and history? Come down and immerse yourself in one of Na’atik’s programs. Send an email over to say@naatikmexico.org for more information!