Juarez and Diaz 1856-1909

Once Santa Anna was overthrown in 1855, Mexico was dominated by liberals who gained their fortunes from the export of minerals and agriculture goods.  The main issue that they had to deal with was the uniting of the country, but there was also division between the liberals including Puros and Moderados.  The puros or “pure ones” believed the poor should participate in the political process, whereas the moderados were reluctant to give significant power to the lower class.

Juan Alveraz was chosen by radical liberals on October 4^th 1835, to lead the country and resigned in December of the same year.  Although he wasn’t in power for long, he was able to implement the Juarez law, which forced priest and military personnel charged with common crimes and civil suites to be tried in ordinary courts. The Lerdo Law was another one that hurt the church by prohibiting the Church and Indian villages from owning land. During this time the Church owned one-fifth of the land, as well as half the houses in Mexico City.   I understand that they wanted to take away the power of the church while increasing the amount of land on the market, but they failed one of their main goals of converting peasants into yeoman farmers.  It’s always a little suspicious when the wealthy landowners, including some of the legislators who voted for the law, end up with most of the land that was auctioned.

The 1857 Constitution didn’t help the tension between liberals and conservatives, due to the fact that conservatives were underrepresented in the constitutional congress.  I find it very interesting that they removed the prohibition against religions other than Roman Catholicism, by neglecting a declaration that Catholicism was to be the religion of the land.  This constitution also guaranteed the freedom of press, of association, and right to bear arms.  Although the constitution created a stronger central government as well as pushed civil liberties, it failed to help with the inequalities in land ownership as well as wealth.

                The inability of the moderate and the radical liberals to find a happy medium, led to the coup against President Comonfort, leaving General Felix Zuloaga and Benito Juarez both claiming to be president.  The civil war between 1857 and 1860 is also known as the War of the Reform. The conservatives had support from the Church, military officers, and Indian villages. The liberals had the support of lawyers, doctors, and journalists. They also had miners, merchants and cattlemen on their side looking for a political voice.

                I find the War of the Reform interesting because it never saw more than 25,000 people under arms at one time in a country of 8 million people.  Liberals were able to use the money they gained from selling the land from the church against conservatives. They also gained the support of the people who bought this land because if the liberals lost, the church would return, wanting their land back.  Although liberal forces were able to regain Mexico City December 25^th, 1860, there were still uprisings in central Mexico.

                Mexico was unable to bounce back after the war because there was so much unrest and destruction. “The Mexican congress suspended payments on foreign and domestic debts for two years, but did not repudiate the debts.”(Russell 223) Hindsight helps a lot in this case but I believe since they accepted the fact that they had debts, France shouldn’t have attempted their occupation of Mexico. They had signed the Tripartite Convention of London with Spain and England, stating they would occupy Mexico’s customs houses to collect funds.  The British and Spanish both gave up occupation once they came down with yellow fever and Mexico promised to pay back the debts as soon as possible.  On the other hand we have the French to thank for Cinco De Mayo.  The Battle of Puebla on May 5^th 1862 united indigenous people with mestizos and remains an outstanding military victory in the history of Mexico.

                Once the French eventually take Mexico City, conservatives creating the interim government believed a foreign Catholic monarch would help unite the country.  They asked for and received, Ferdinand Maximilian. Surprisingly, he showed  moderate European liberalism by abolishing corporal punishment, as well as guaranteed a minimum wage for agricultural workers. (225) These moves lost the support of conservatives, while appointing moderate liberals pushed away the more radical liberals.  

                Its frustrating to read about the amount of destruction and death that happened during this period for very small victories. There were some advancements but  the major issues were still intact. When Diaz was elected, "he faced the challenge of establishing peace and stability in a nation plagued by poverty, illiteracy, social inequality, political turmoil, financial penury, and woefully inadequate infrastructure- the same problems Juarez and Lerdo de Tejada had faced. "(231)