Deaths on July 18

Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 26th President of Mexico (b. 1806)

Benito Pablo Juárez García (Spanish: [beˈnito ˈpaβlo ˈxwaɾes gaɾˈsi.a] (listen); 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec, he was the first president of Mexico of indigenous origin.

Born in Oaxaca to a poor rural family and orphaned when he was young, Juárez moved to Oaxaca City at the age of 12, where his sister was living. He was aided by a lay Franciscan, and enrolled in seminary, then later studied law at the liberal Institute of Sciences and Arts. After being appointed as a judge, in his 30s he married Margarita Maza, a woman of European heritage from a socially prominent family in Oaxaca City. From his years at the Institute, he was active in liberal politics in Oaxaca City and state, then rose to national prominence after the liberal ouster of General Antonio López de Santa Anna. He was part of the Liberal Reform under Presidents Juan Alvarez and Ignacio Comonfort. With Comonfort's resignation in 1858 and Juárez, as President of the Supreme Court, became the constitutional President of Mexico. He led the successful fight against conservatives in the War of the Reform and prevailed against the conservatives and the French Intervention to lead the Restored Republic. He died of natural causes in office.

Juárez was a controversial figure in his lifetime, tenaciously and successfully holding the presidency from 1858 until his death in 1872. During the Reform War (1858-60) he held extraordinary powers as President because of wartime exigencies. With the defeat of the conservatives, he held elections, but not before he proposed changes to the liberal Constitution of 1857 to strengthen powers of the presidency over those of congress and Mexican states. He was elected president in 1861 and extended his term during the French Intervention (1862-67). He was reelected president in 1871, but with significant challenges from fellow liberals. During the War of the Reform (1858-1860) and then the French Intervention he had the support of Mexican liberals when he was president in internal exile. Juárez tied liberalism to Mexican nationalism. He asserted his leadership as the legitimate head of the Mexican state, rather than Emperor Maximilian, whom the French had installed with the support of Mexican conservatives. He returned to full power in 1867 with the ouster of the French. With the defeat of the French and Mexican conservatism, many of Juárez's fellow liberals became his political rivals and challenged his continuance in power. During his presidential career, he took a number of controversial actions, including negotiating a treaty in 1859 with the U.S. granting it transit rights across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; the decree extending his presidential term in 1865 for the duration of the war against the French; the 1867 execution of Emperor Maximilian rather than allowing him to go into exile; his proposal to revise the liberal Constitution of 1857 to strength the power of the federal executive against Mexican states; and his decision to run for reelection in 1871. Liberal general and fellow Oaxacan Porfirio Díaz unsuccessfully rebelled against Juárez in 1871 for running for re-election. Only Juárez's death in 1872 ended his hold on power, but mythmaking about his legacy quickly began.

Politically controversial in life among both liberals and conservatives, after his death Juárez came to be seen in Mexico as "a preeminent symbol of Mexican nationalism and resistance to foreign intervention." As with most liberals, he looked to the U.S. as a model for Mexican development, as opposed to the conservatives' toward Europe as the model. He understood the importance of a working relationship with the United States and secured its recognition for his government during the War of the Reform, while the Conservatives received recognition from European powers. He held fast to particular principles, including the supremacy of civil power over the Catholic Church and the military; respect for law; and the depersonalization of political life. Juárez sought to strengthen the national government, asserting its central power over the states, a position that both radical and provincial liberals opposed. For Juárez's success in ousting the European incursion, Latin Americans considered Juárez's tenure as a time of a "second struggle for independence, a second defeat for the European powers, and a second reversal of the Conquest."After his death, the city of Oaxaca added "de Juárez" to its formal name in his honor, and numerous other places and institutions were named for him. His birthday (21 March) is celebrated as a national public and patriotic holiday in Mexico. He is the only individual Mexican to be so honored.