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H.R. No. 1783
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Benito Juárez, who was instrumental in bringing
sweeping changes to Mexican government and society during the
mid-19th century, was born on March 21, 1806; and
WHEREAS, A Zapotec Indian and native of Oaxaca, Sr. Juárez
was a teenager when he gained the patronage of the family in whose
home his sister was working as a servant; tutored privately at
first, he graduated from the Franciscan seminary in Oaxaca in 1827
and received a law degree from the Institute of Science and Art in
1834; and
WHEREAS, Sr. Juárez was attracted to politics at an early age
and spent virtually all of his adult life either in government or
waging opposition; he served as a city councilman for Oaxaca from
1831 to 1833, during which time he strongly supported Indian
rights, and in the 1840s he served as a civil judge and federal
deputy; from 1847 to 1852 he held the governorship of Oaxaca; and
WHEREAS, Driven into exile when Antonio López de Santa Anna
came to power in 1853, Sr. Juárez joined the successful
revolutionary movement against him; after Santa Anna himself was
forced into exile, Sr. Juárez became minister of justice; while
serving in that post he was responsible for a law that limited the
jurisdiction of church courts to ecclesiastical cases; and
WHEREAS, After serving again as governor of Oaxaca, Sr.
Juárez became minister of the interior in November 1857 and the next
month took office as chief justice of the Supreme Court; when a
military coup deposed the government, he declared himself
president, in accordance with the constitutional line of
succession, and led the victorious resistance to the usurpers in
the Reform War of 1858-1861; and
WHEREAS, Sr. Juárez assumed the presidency officially in
1861; soon, however, he found himself fighting the French, who
captured Mexico City in 1863 and set up a puppet regime; once again
Sr. Juárez and his troops prevailed, with the United States clearly
favoring their cause, and in 1867 he was again elected president;
and
WHEREAS, Plagued with numerous difficulties throughout his
final term, Sr. Juárez died in office on July 17, 1872; in 1888, the
city of El Paso del Norte was renamed Ciudad Juárez in his honor;
and
WHEREAS, Notwithstanding the difficulties of his final
years, Benito Juárez remains a towering figure in the history of
Mexico; he was instrumental in the transfer of political power from
creoles to mestizos, in asserting the authority of civil law, and in
preserving the nation's autonomy in the face of foreign invasion;
and
WHEREAS, La Federación de Clubes Zacatecanos del Norte de
Texas, which sponsors such projects as schools and clinics in the
state of Zacatecas and assists Zacatecan immigrants in the Lone
Star State, is commemorating the 198th anniversary of the birth of
Benito Juárez with a special celebration in 2004; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas
Legislature hereby recognize La Federación de Clubes Zacatecanos
del Norte de Texas and its commemoration of the birthday of Benito
Juárez and extend to all its members sincere best wishes for a
joyful and memorable occasion.
Alonzo
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1783 was adopted by the House on May
31, 2003, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House