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Juárez was born on 21 March 1806 in a small adobe home in the village of San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca, located in the mountain range now known as the "Sierra Juárez". His parents, Marcelino Juárez and Brígida García, were peasants who both died of complications of diabetes when he was three years old. Shortly after, his grandparents died as well, and his uncle then raised him.[4][5] He describedhis parents as "indios de la raza primitiva del país," that is, "Indians of the original race of the country."[5] He worked in the corn fields and as a shepherd until the age of 12, when he walked to the city of Oaxaca de Juárez to attend school.[3] At the time, he was illiterate and could not speak Spanish, only Zapotec.

In the city, where his sister worked as a cook, he took a job as a domesticservant for Antonio Maza.[3] A lay Franciscan, Antonio Salanueva, was impressed with young Benito's intelligence and thirst for learning, and arranged for his placement at the city's seminary. In 1843 Benito married Margarita Maza.
[edit] Political career
Benito Juárez with his sister Nela (left) and his wife Margarita (right), 1843

Juárez became a lawyer in 1834 and a judge in 1841.[6] Hewas governor of the state of Oaxaca from 1847 to 1852; in 1853, he went into exile because of his objections to the corrupt military dictatorship of Antonio López de Santa Anna.[7] He spent his exile in New Orleans, Louisiana, working in a cigar factory.[8] In 1854 he helped draft the Plan of Ayutla as the basis for a liberal revolution in Mexico.[7]

Faced with growing opposition, Santa Annaresigned in 1855 and Juárez returned to Mexico. The winning party, the liberales (liberals) formed a provisional government under General Juan Álvarez, inaugurating the period known as La Reforma. The Reform laws sponsored by the puro (pure) wing of the Liberal Party curtailed the power of the Catholic Church and the military, while trying to create a modern civil society and capitalist economy basedon the model of the United States. The Ley Juárez (Law of Juárez) of 1855 declared all citizens equal before the law and severely restricted the privileges of the Catholic Church. All the efforts ended on the promulgation of the new federalist Constitution of 1857. Juárez became Chief Justice, under moderado (moderate) president Ignacio Comonfort.

The conservatives led by General FélixZuloaga, with the backing of the military and the clergy, launched a revolt under the Plan of Tacubaya on 17 December 1857. Comonfort did not want to start a bloody civil war, so he contrived an an auto-coup d'état, dissolved the congress and appointed a new cabinet in which the conservative party would have some influence, assuming in real terms the Tacubaya plan. Juárez, Ignacio Olvera, and many otherdeputies and ministers were arrested. The rebels wanted the constitution revoked completely and another all-conservative government formed, so they launched another revolt on 11 January 1858 that proclaimed Zuloaga as president. Comonfort re-established the congress, freed all prisoners and resigned as president. Under the new constitution, the chief justice immediately became interim presidentuntil proper elections could be made. By this means, Juárez took office in late January 1858. Juárez then led the liberal side in the Mexican War of the Reform, first from Querétaro and later from Veracruz. In 1859, Juárez took the radical step of declaring the confiscation of church properties. In spite of the conservatives' initial military advantage, the liberals drew on support of regionalistforces. They had U.S. help under some terms of the controversial and never approved McLane–Ocampo Treaty. This turned the tide in 1860; the liberals recaptured Mexico City in January 1861. Juárez was finally properly elected president in March for another four-year term under the Constitution of 1857.

Spain, Great Britain, and France reacted with a joint seizure of the Veracruz customs house in...