La Reforma in Mexico Facts
La Reforma in Mexico Facts
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| Interesting La Reforma in Mexico Facts: |
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| Some historians believe that La Reforma ended with the Reform War while others believe it ended in 1867 after the French Intervention in Mexico or in 1876 following the Rebellion of Tuxtepec. |
| Benito Juarez was the main liberal leader responsible for La Reforma in Mexico. |
| Other important liberal politicians in La Reforma included Juan Alvarez, Jose Maria Iglesias, Ignacio Comonfort, Santos Degollado, Melchor Ocampo, Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, and Miguel Lerdo de Tjada. |
| The main reforms of La Reforma included the Ley Lerdo (to abolish clerical and communal properties), Ley Juarez (to abolish the special courts for religious and military purposes), the Mexican Constitution of 1857 (to provide civil, political, and religious freedoms), and the Reform Laws (to declare complete separation of church and state). |
| La Reforma helped to establish equality for citizens before the law. |
| La Reforma established marriage as a civil contract. Cemeteries became nationalized. |
| La Reforma took away the property owned by the church unless it was a place of worship. The land confiscated was given in small pieces to those without land. This land plan backfired however and the poor became poorer and the wealthy ultimately acquired more land and wealth. |
| La Reforma gave Mexicans freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. |
| The Mexican Constitution of 1857 enshrined the rights of Mexicans according to La Reforma's goals. |
| Despite the good intentions of La Reforma, many Mexicans suffered. The turmoil and confusion over the different demands of the church and state made it difficult to know where to place loyalty and which rules to obey to avoid punishment. |
| In 1862 the French tried to help the conservatives re-establish their power in Mexico. Napoleon III sent Maximilian Ferdinand of Austria to rule, but the United States and Mexican patriots chased the French away and Benito Juarez was re-elected to power in 1867. |
| Benito Juarez died in 1872, at a time when his popularity was declining. A year earlier he had made an unconstitutional re-election to remain president. |
| In 1876, under the leadership of Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, a military coup took place. The leader of the revolt Porfirio Diaz, fled to the U.S. for six months. |
| When Porfirio Diaz returned to Mexico six months after the failed coup he defeated the Mexican forces and became president in 1877. |
| Some consider the defeat of Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada to be the end of La Reforma in Mexico. |
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