H.R. No. 85
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
 
         WHEREAS, March 21, 2018, marks the 212th anniversary of the
  birth of the influential Mexican lawyer and politician Benito
  Juarez; and
         WHEREAS, A Zapotec Indian and native of Oaxaca, Benito Juarez
  was a teenager when he gained the patronage of the family in whose
  home his sister worked as a servant; tutored privately at first, he
  graduated from the Franciscan seminary in Oaxaca in 1827 and went on
  to receive a law degree from the Institute of Science and Art; and
         WHEREAS, Attracted to politics at an early age, he 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 Lopez de Santa Anna
  came to power in 1853, Sr. Juarez joined the successful
  revolutionary movement against Santa Anna; after the ruler was
  forced into exile, Sr. Juarez became minister of justice, and while
  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, this
  rising national leader became minister of the interior in November
  1857 and the next month took office as president of the supreme
  court; when a military coup deposed the government, he became
  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, Benito Juarez was elected to the presidency in 1861;
  soon, however, he found himself fighting the French, who captured
  Mexico City in 1863; once again he and his troops prevailed, with
  the United States clearly favoring their cause, and in 1867 he was
  again elected president; and
         WHEREAS, Known for his commitment to the indigenous people of
  Mexico and for his support for equal rights and economic reform,
  President Juarez died while working at his desk in the National
  Palace on July 18, 1872; in 1888, the city of El Paso del Norte was
  renamed Ciudad Juarez in his honor; and
         WHEREAS, Benito Juarez is 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 it is a privilege to honor the memory of this national hero;
  now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
  Legislature hereby pay special tribute to the life of Mexican hero
  and president Benito Juarez on March 21, 2018, the 212th
  anniversary of his birth.
 
  Alonzo
 
  ______________________________
  Speaker of the House     
 
         I certify that H.R. No. 85 was adopted by the House on March
  9, 2017, by a non-record vote.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House