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