[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF FORMER PRESIDENT OF MEXICO, INDIGENOUS LEADER, AND 
               FRIEND TO THE UNITED STATES, BENITO JUAREZ

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american samoa

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 14, 2013

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, as millions of Mexican Americans 
across the country commemorate the 5th of May, or ``El Cinco de Mayo,'' 
I would like to pay particular homage to the indigenous visionary 
leader and friend to the U.S., Benito Juarez, whose historic actions 
lead to this celebrated occasion. Born the son of Zapotec Indian 
peasants, Juarez rose above racial, economic, and political challenges 
to become one of Mexico's most renowned presidents.
  Juarez became a lawyer in 1834, a judge in 1841, Governor of the 
state of Oaxaca in 1847, President of the Supreme Court of Justice in 
1857, interim President of Mexico in 1858, and finally President elect 
in 1861.
  Juarez served his country at a time of tremendous political discord. 
Inspired by the idea of a modern civil society and free market 
principles prevalent in its neighboring country to the north, Juarez 
dedicated himself to ridding his country of its historically corrupt 
military rule. Juarez also successfully ousted British, Spanish, and 
French opposition forces while serving as head of state in exile. It 
was at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862, that Mexican forces won a 
victory against the French. Although significantly outnumbered, the 
Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army of more than 
double their size in numbers. The French army had not been defeated in 
almost 50 years. On May 9, 1862, Juarez declared that the anniversary 
of the Battle of Puebla would be a national holiday regarded as 
``Battle of Puebla Day'' or ``Battle of Cinco de Mayo.''
  I note that Juarez maintained a special relationship with President 
Abraham Lincoln. During Juarez' exile, President Lincoln sent him a 
message expressing hope ``for the liberty of . . . [his] government and 
its people.'' Later while Juarez fought against the French, General 
Ulysses S. Grant, under President Lincoln's direction, issued an order 
to ``concentrate in all available points in the States an army strong 
enough to move against the invaders of Mexico.'' President Lincoln also 
supplied arms and munitions to Juarez, sending as many as 30,000 
muskets to reinforce the Mexican line.
  In turn, Juarez stood strong against Confederacy efforts to topple 
the Union armies. When the South sent a delegation under John T. 
Pickett to Mexico to win over the juaristas, Picket was thrown into a 
Mexico City jail for 30 days and thereafter expelled from the country.
  Upon receiving news of President Lincoln's assassination, Juarez 
ordered flags at all public buildings and military stations in Mexico 
to fly at half-mast. In a letter to the Secretary of the Mexican 
Legation and his charge d'affaires in Washington, D.C., Juarez wrote: 
``[This] great misfortune has profoundly impressed me, as Mr. Lincoln, 
who worked with so much earnestness and abnegation for the cause of 
nationality and freedom, was worthy of a better fate than the poniard 
of a coward assassin.''
  Today, Juarez is remembered as being a progressive reformer dedicated 
to democracy, equal rights for his nation's indigenous peoples, and the 
defense of national sovereignty. Let us honor him on this day.

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