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Benito
By Dave Gutknecht • November 2008

The two men on horseback stopped their horses near the village of San Pablo Guelatao and gazed intently at the small boy hoeing a tiny patch of corn. Miguel called to him “como esta?”  The boy didn’t answer but merely looked at the men, shrugged his shoulders and continued hoeing. Miguel turned to his companion “He’s Indian, probably a Zapotec. He doesn’t understand Spanish. What can he do other than cultivate corn? He’ll spend his life in the fields like his father and grandfather before him.” Jose thought for a moment and then said “There’s more to this boy than meets the eye. Let us wait and see. He will continue what we have started.” The two horsemen faded into the mist.

Benito continued his work. He was only eleven but he was far wiser than his years would indicate. He was orphaned at four and had subsisted by working as a shepherd and by cultivating a small plot of corn. As an illiterate, full blooded Zapotec Indian who could not speak Spanish his prospects were dim but if you looked into his eyes you would find an intelligence and a toughness not evidenced by his small stature. Perhaps he would go to Oaxaca and seek employment as a domestic servant like his sister who cooked for a family in Oaxaca. Perhaps he wouldn’t spend his life cultivating a small plot of corn as his father, grandfather, and great grandfather before him had. Perhaps …

At the age of thirteen Benito left the field and walked to Oaxaca where he found work as a domestic servant in the household of Don Antonio Maza who also employed his sister. Don Antonio impressed by Benito’s quick intelligence and desire to learn, became interested in his development. His friend Antonio Salanueva a devout Catholic and a lay member of the Franciscan order taught Benito to read and write Spanish, Spanish grammar, arithmetic, and bookbinding. With the hope that he would become a priest he was sent to the Franciscan seminar in Oaxaca where he studied the writing of Saint Thomas Aquinas and other great Catholic philosophers. He graduated from the seminary in 1827 but decided not to become a priest. Instead he entered the Institute of Science and Art and earned a law degree. It was there that he was introduced to the works of the rationalist philosophers of enlightenment and their secular doctrines. The ideas took root. Benito Juarez became a judge in 1842 and became governor of the state of Oaxaca in 1847.

Jose shifted his weight on the saddle and noted “Our Indian boy has traveled a long way from the little plot of ground in San Pablo Guelatao.” Miguel nodded in agreement, “No, he will not labor in the field of his forefathers but in far larger fields.”

In 1853, because of his opposition to Santa Anna’s return to power, Benito was forced to leave Mexico and take refuge in New Orleans where he supported himself as a cigar maker. He returned when Santa Anna was forced to resign in 1855. A liberal government under Juan Alvarez was formed and the period known as “La Reforma” (the reform) began. “Ley Juarez” (Juarez’s law) was passed the same year which removed the fueros (privileges) of the Church and the Military. In addition, it declared all citizens equal before the law. When a new constitution was passed in 1857, Benito became chief justice and vice president under the president Ignacio Comofort. The horsemen smiled and continued their watch.

As was to happen so often in Mexican history, a reactionary counter revolution lead by General Felix Zuluaga and supported by the church and military began what was to be called the Mexican War of Reform. Benito was arrested and would have been executed had not the Poet Guillermo Prieto intervened. He stood between Benito and the firing squad and said “brave men do not execute”, the firing squad lowered their weapons and Benito escaped to lead the liberals in the war of the reform. It was during this time that Benito called for the confiscation of all church properties. After four years of fighting, the reactionaries were defeated and the liberals returned to power. They elected Benito president. Unfortunately the years of chaos had left the country bankrupt and deeply in debt to England, France, and Spain. When Benito was forced to suspend payment on the debt the creditors seized the port of Vera Cruz. A settlement was negotiated with England and Spain but France wanted more, a presence on the North American continent. The French force moved out from Vera Cruz to capture the capital at Mexico City and impose a puppet government. Mexico and Benito Juarez would face yet another four years of fighting, turmoil, and bloodshed.

Miguel patted his horse. “Strong leadership is needed; can the man from San Pablo Guelatao supply it?” Jose reassured him, “The rows of corn are longer. The ground rocky but he is resolute. He will prevail.”

The French were defeated by General Ignacio Zaragoza Sequin and Colonel Porfirio Diaz at Puebla on May 5th 1862 (Cinco de Mayo) but the French regrouped and captured Mexico City a year later. They installed Maximilian as emperor of the puppet government, an event that was welcomed by the church, some of the military and large land owners. When Maximilian didn’t restore the fueros of the church and the military he lost their support. President Juarez continued to resist the foreign imposed government. He rejected Maximilian’s offer of amnesty and the office of prime minister. Eventually when the French withdrew their troops to meet the Prussian threat in Europe Maximilian and his conservative supporters were defeated. Benito returned to power and the “reforms” were implemented. The church’s huge haciendas were seized and sold. The proceeds were used to pay down the country’s debt. He was re-elected in 1857 and 1861. Miguel and Jose sat on their horses and smiled. No comments were needed.

It was July 18th, 1872 and Benito was at his desk in the National Palace in Mexico City. There was much left to do and maybe he had little time to do it, lately he had a persistent pain in his chest. Suddenly he gasped, clutched his chest, and slumped forward in his chair, Miguel and Jose sadly watched. Jose said, “His labor is finished. Our little Indian boy has done well.” Miguel nodded in agreement, “There is more work to do but he has planted well. Others will harvest what he has planted.” They were joined by a third horseman. They rode away together, a creole, a mesizo, and an indian. Many years later during the Mexican Revolution Father Miguel, Father Jose, and Benito were joined by other Mexican patriots. The band of horsemen grew. The corn was finally harvested.

An interesting side light is that Benito and Abraham Lincoln knew each other and exchanged correspondence. Each was sympathetic to the others cause but were unable to offer more than moral support. After the American Civil war ended General Sheridan who was responsible for the occupation of Texas “carelessly” left large quantities of arms unguarded on the banks of the Rio Grande. Mysteriously the arms disappeared each night. The Benito’s forces put the arms to good use against Maximilian.

Dave Gutknecht
E-mail: DaveGutk@aol.com

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