Ignacio Comonfort

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ignacio Comonfort

President of Mexico
In office September 15, 1855 – January 21, 1858
Preceded by	Juan Álvarez
Succeeded by	Félix Zuloaga

Born	March 12, 1812 Puebla, Puebla
Died	November 3, 1863
Political party	Liberal

Ignacio Comonfort (1812 – 1863) was a Mexican politician and military officer.

He was born in 1812 in Puebla de los Ángeles, in the state of Puebla, to French parents. He participated in the Mexican-American War. He was President of Mexico from September 15, 1855 to January 21, 1858.

During his term as president, a radical liberal Benito Juárez served as both president of the Supreme Court and vice-president of Mexico. Ignacio Comonfort was a moderate liberal who wanted to act a a stabilization force between the radical conservatives, and the radical liberals (these were named "puros", pure).

Comonfort's role in the Mexican history was important. Not only did he run an orderly administration in a time when that was highly unusual in Mexico, but especially after his role in what would ultimately become a bloody war, afterwards named the War of Three Years, or War of Reformation.

As a moderate liberal, he had witnessed the turmoil provoked by the radical liberal Constitution of 1857, that had stirred deep unrest among the Roman Catholic clergy and the overwhelming majority of devote Catholics. Anybody who swore allegiance to the Constitution (as all military and government officials were required to do) was ipso facto excommunicated by the Catholic church. This meant that they would not be allowed access to the sacraments, even in imminent danger of death. Since salvation of the soul was not possible for the offenders, this was a major issue among Catholics.

The social unrest was therefore deep and the country was divided between extremes. Together with other associates, President Comonfort issued the Plan de Tacubaya. This plan was agreed to by several high-ranking officials of the administration, including the Chief Justice Benito Juárez (who assumed a low profile, out of political considerations), and the Catholic clergy. Essentially, that plan negated the validity of the Constitution. In exchange, the Church repealed the March, 1857, excommunication decree for those who adhered to the new plan.

On December 17th, 1857, forces led by the liberal General Ignacio Zuloaga, a supporter of the plan, took control of the capital without firing a shot. Popular acceptance was widespread because Mexican population at large had been deeply concerned about the treatment proffered to Catholics by the Constitution. But opposition forces did not stay calm, and soon the unrest would turn violent. The President requested extraordinary powers on a temporary basis, while opponents to the plan gathered forces, partly based on legal grounds, because the repealing of the Constitution had not observed the previsions that that legal body itself included. Even Benito Juárez was put behind bars for some days.

On January 11, 1858, Ignacio Zuloaga, witnessing the unleashed forces, fully went against his own deeds and former actions, demanding that the Plan de Tacubaya be repealed. Several of his followers demanded the ousting of the President. There was a chasm between those who wanted Zuloaga as President, and those who stood with Comonfort. That afternoon there were also, incredibly, callings for the return of former dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna. The two opposing forces - radical liberals against radical conservatives - were to wage a bloody three-year war that would eventually lead to the establishment of a French-supported monarchy in the person of Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg, put to the firing squad by President Juárez in 1867 when the Republic was restored and the hostilities finally ended.

After being ousted from the presidency and seeking asylum in the United States, Comonfort returned to act again as a general against the French invasion in 1862. He died next year on November 13, after been attacked by a group of bandits.