The Impact Of Benito Juarez’S Political Liberalism On Political And Economic Development Of Mexico

The following investigation will explore the impact of liberalism in Mexico by studying the question: To what extent was Benito Juarez’s political liberalism the most important influence in late 19th century political and economic development? Without the infusion of Juarez’s political liberalism there would not have been increased public security, attraction of foreign investment, the development of modern transportation and communication, and improved foreign relations in Mexico. Therefore it can fairly be argued that it was the liberal minorities of Mexico that allowed for a modern democratic federal republic.

The first source to be evaluated is a secondary source: Bulletin of Latin American Research by Guy P. C. Thompson whom was a Professor at the University of Warwick. Within this book there is a chapter called the “Popular Aspects of Liberalism in Mexico, 1848-1888. The book was published in 1991 and was also uploaded www. jstor. org which allows for students to read free articles online. The website itself is trustworthy since you are able to read the book directly and it is not paraphrasing what the book says. Guy P. C Thompson has a PH. D in the History of Latin America and has studied the subject thoroughly therefore his work can be trusted. A limitation to this source would be the fact that because it is on a website not all the pages of the book are available however, all the pages to the chapter that was used in this investigation were available. Another limitation would be the fact that the historian who wrote this book takes the approach of liberal which is bias and limiting.

The second source to be evaluated would be Benito Juarez’s Apuntes Para Mis Hijos (Notes for My Children). This book is a primary source which was written by Benito Juarez himself. The latest edition of the book was published in 2014. Because the source was written directly by Benito Juarez it is trustworthy. The source was used directly to understand the history and the ideologies behind Benito Juarez. This source is the most important one used throughout the investigation because it allowed for a better understanding of Juarez’s philosophy since the book is a memoir to himself. This can be quite limiting since a memoir is self serving and is bias towards the person who is writing it.

Investigation

Juarez said “Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace. ” This quote represents two things: Juarez’s beliefs and the way he would reform Mexico. His liberal ideology was what allowed reform and equality between all people in Mexico. “Between 1855 and 1867, Liberalism grew from a minority movement to become the national political consensus”. The liberals of Mexico were considered minorities and were at first silenced however, over time Juarez was able to reform Mexico by using his political impact. The aim of Benito Juarez was to transform Mexico into a secular state in which Mexico was modern and had a better economy. During the early years of Juarez’s political career he was able to formulate liberal solutions for the many problems that Mexico was facing. Juarez believed that the only way Mexico would be able to achieve economic health would be by removing capitalism and by removing the Catholic Church. He believed in a liberal, secular state and thought that the Catholic Church was poisoning the country. Juarez was ready to act on his ideas however, there was a slight pause in liberalizing the national government since Juarez was exiled and was not able act on his ideas until 1855. It was then that he returned from New Orleans and joined the administration of Juan Alvarez as Minister of Justice and Public Instruction. One of the first reforms established by Benito Juarez was Ley Juarez. The law that abolished fueros (special exemptions) and the use of special military and ecclesiastical courts in civil cases. The law was established in the liberal Constitution of 1857 which held Ley Lerdo and Ley Iglesias among Juarez’s law. All three of these laws were established in order to abolish the privileges and power of the Catholic Church and to create an equal society. Ley Lerdo decreed that the church sell lands that were not used for religious purposes and were held by indigenous people. Ley Iglesias regulated the cost of ecclesiastical fees. It was at this point that the Liberal Party was able to establish its philosophy as the law of the land (Benito Juarez). Because at the time conservatives were the majority, the three liberal reform laws upset the people of Mexico and split the country into half. This was because the new Constitution that was established removed the Catholic Church as the official and legal religion of Mexico. Although this caused great disturbance in Mexico, the new liberal laws allowed for a modernized Mexico. After President Alvarez resigned, Ignacio Comonfort assumed Presidency. Juarez wanted to reform many laws but it was not possible because the cabinet was incomplete. Mexico could not be reformed because of Ignacio Comonfort who was uncomfortable with the social reforms that Juarez was asking for.

Before Comonfort became president, Juarez had dedicated himself to the job of Administer of Justice and he felt that it was important to accomplish the promises to reform the conservative laws that conserved the abuse of power which favored only certain groups. He didn’t want social inequality and he promised the people of Mexico to reform these laws. Juarez believed that once the revolution had triumphed it was essential to complete his promises about reforming Mexico into a secular state. Comonfort was not able to find a compromise between the two differing ideologies and was driven into exile. Benito Juarez was to succeed him as president. General Zuloaga with a military, dissolved all of congress and was named president by the army. The army attempted to arrest Juarez but failed since he escaped to Querendo. The liberals then proceeded to proclaim Juarez as president. A civil war occurred and the liberals won in 1860. Juarez was then able to assume the Mexican presidency. Juarez was now going to be able to act on his words and complete the promises he had made to his people. At first he was not favored by his people for many reasons: he had a serious style of leadership, he was a liberal, and he had a poor background. However, it was his style of leadership that allowed for the success of Mexico during conflictive times.

Mexico was in a weak national condition. It suffered physical damage from flooded mines, burned haciendas, tens of thousands of injured citizens along with poverty and unemployment. War left a legacy of mistrust and instability even after the liberals had gained control of the government. And the national treasury was bankrupt, which means civil servants, army and police were unpaid and unhappy. There was no modern transportation system and almost no circulating currency. The new congress distrusted Juarez and opposition forces were still intact; as a result Juarez decided to suspend payment on all foreign debt for two years. Mexico now had heavy foreign debts with England, Spain, and France. These three countries decided to intervene and by 1862 the three countries had troops in Veracruz. Britain and Spain withdrew their forces when they realized the the French has intentions of conquering Mexico and controlling it through Maximilian of Austria. The French brought in more troops but suffered a major defeat at Puebla on May 5, 1862. Even so, France was able to occupy Mexico and soon took control of the government. Juarez and his government were forced to leave the capital and retreated to El Paso del Norte. It was then that United States was able to help. Increased pressure from the United States enabled Napoleon’s decision to withdraw his troops. Benito Juarez then had Maximilian captured and executed for the many deaths of Mexicans caused during the battles against the French.

Juarez returned to Mexico City on July 15, 1867 and called for a presidential government. He was ready to establish more liberal reforms and began by ruling over the military and reducing the size of the military to 20, 000. His third re-election as a liberal president marks the beginning of the modernization of Mexico. The Mexican Republic became a mexican nation and the liberal government was implementing the Constitution of 1857. Juarez made sure to use the government for good since violence was a huge problem in Mexico. He commited strongly to the to peace and material progress of Mexico which his quote about peace reflects greatly on. In order to counterweight the Mexican army, and establish peace, Juarez placed “rurales”or the Rural Defense Force under the Department of the Interior. He wanted to suppress banditry and make roads safe for commerce; the country finally had a police force with adequate funding and an organization to help keep the peace in the countryside. In order to development the economy, Juarez had the idea of paying a British company to construct a railroad between Veracruz and Mexico City. The railroad was completed by 1873.

In order to promote improvements in the education system Juarez appointed a commission to reorganize Mexican education. Congress determined that in order to develop the country, education should emphasize greatly in physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Furthermore, primary school was mandatory for the first time in Mexican history and any town with populations over 500 was to have one school for boys and one for girls; for every 2, 000 inhabitants two more schools were to be added. Benito Juarez also found it important to establish better relations with United States and decided to meet up with the U. S. Secretary of State William Seward in 1869 in order to resolve disputed financial terms. Juarez and his Foreign Secretary of State Sebastian Lerdo De Tejada mended relations with european countries to a point of normalizing relations. It was obvious that Juarez had been successful in his third term and decided he would run for re-election. He was challenged by two of his most famous supporters, Lerdo de Tejada and Porfirio Diaz. No one received the majority votes and so in order to decide who would be president the congress followed the Constitution. Congress had chosen Juarez for a fourth term, unfortunately Diaz was greatly dissatisfied with this result and decided to write the “Plan de la Noria” which showed his great opposition. It was with this plan in which Diaz launched a failed military revolt against Juarez.

Shortly afterwards, Benito Juarez died at the age of 66 on July 18, 1872. Juarez’s liberal ideology allowed for a strong progression in Mexico. Without the rise of Benito Juarez many of the changes which modernized Mexico would not have occured. Unfortunately Mexico has not been able to establish a stable and equal state since the country failed to keep Juarez for a fourth term since Juarez passed away. Shortly afterwards Porforio Diaz wiped the peace that Juarez had established with his dictatorship. To this day Benito Juarez is greatly honored in Mexico for his attempt to establish peace in the country.

Reflection

One of the many challenges face when writing the investigation was the fact that there was a lack of primary sources. There was not many treaties or primary documents that were available for read. There are only a few primary sources available from Benito Juarez and the only other source which is available would be the Constitution of Mexico of 1857. Everything else that could be helpful for this investigation would be considered a secondary source because it is an explanation of the previous source. Another issue with the primary sources would be the fact that they are written in Spanish and by translating them to English (if that were even an option) it would create a limitation. Though I can comprehend Spanish fluently it was difficult for me to read the primary source in Spanish and directly translate it to English.