Ignacio Comonfort

Ignacio Comonfort
25th President of Mexico
In office
11 December 1855 – 21 January 1858
Preceded byJuan Álvarez
Succeeded byBenito Juárez
Secretary of War and Navy of Mexico
In office
10 October 1854 – 17 December 1857
PresidentJuan Álvarez
Preceded byManuel de Sandoval
Succeeded byManuel María de Sandoval
In office
19 August 1861 – 13 November 1862
PresidentBenito Juárez
Preceded byFelipe Berriozábal
Succeeded byJuan Suárez y Navarro [es]
Governor of Tamaulipas
In office
16 March 1861 – 9 August 1862
Preceded byJesús de la Serna
Succeeded byAlbino López
Governor of Jalisco
In office
22 September 1854 – 30 August 1855
Preceded byManuel Gamboa
Succeeded bySantos Degollado
Personal details
Born(1812-03-12)12 March 1812
Amozoc de Mota, Puebla
Died13 November 1863(1863-11-13) (aged 51)
Chamacueros, Guanajuato, México
(now Municipio de Comonfort)
NationalityMexican
Political partyLiberal Party

Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos (Spanish pronunciation: [iɣˈnasjo komoɱˈfoɾ ðe los ˈri.os]; 12 March 1812 – 13 November 1863), known as Ignacio Comonfort, was a Mexican politician and soldier who was also president during La Reforma.

He played a leading role in the liberal movement under the Plan of Ayutla to overthrow the dictatorship of Santa Anna in 1855; he then served in the cabinet of the new president, Juan Álvarez. Comonfort was a moderate liberal and assumed the presidency when Álvarez stepped down after only a few months. The Constitution of 1857 was drafted during his presidency, incorporating changes enacted in individual laws of the Liberal Reform. The constitution was met with opposition from conservatives its forceful anticlerical provisions to undermine the economic power and privileged status of the Catholic Church as an institution. Most notably the Lerdo law stripped the Church to hold property. The law also forced the breakup of communal land holdings of indigenous communities, which enabled them to resist integration economically and culturally. The controversy was further inflamed when the government mandated that all civil servants take an oath to uphold the new constitution, which left Catholic public servants with the choice between either keeping their jobs or being excommunicated.

Comonfort considered the anticlerical articles of the constitution too radical, likely to provoke a violent reaction. He also objected to the deliberate weakening of the power of the executive branch of government by empowering the legislative branch. He had been dealing with revolts since the beginning of his administration and the new constitution left the president powerless to act. Hoping to reach compromise with the conservatives and other opponents of the constitution, he joined the Plan of Tacubaya, nullifying the constitution in December 1857. Congress was dissolved and Comonfort remained as president, only to be completely abandoned by his liberal allies. He backed out of the plan and resigned from the presidency. He was succeeded by the president of the Supreme Court, Benito Juárez. Comonfort went into exile as the bloody Reform War broke out, a civil war the conservatives lost in 1861. Comonfort returned to the country in 1862 to fight against the invasion by France that Mexican conservatives supported. Comonfort was killed in action in defense of the Republic on 13 November 1863.