Benito Juárez is remembered as being a progressive reformer dedicated to democracy, equal rights for his nation's indigenous peoples, his antipathy toward organized religion, especially the Catholic Church and what he regarded as defense of national sovereignty. The period of his leadership is known in Mexican history as La Reforma del Norte (The Reform of the North), and constituted a liberal political and social revolution. (Wikipedia)
Juárez was a Zapotec indian from the Oaxaca area of Mexico. He was the first leader of Mexico to attempt to address the needs of the ethnically diverse territories of a modern state. Mexico has a mixed population of Criollos (Latin Americans of full or near full Spanish descent), Indios (Indigenous peoples of the Americas), and Mestizos (people of mixed race, especially the offspring of a Spaniard and an American Indian).
