page_title: La Reforma
section_title: Notable liberal leaders
hierarchical_section_title: La Reforma / Notable liberal leaders
caption_attribution_description: Español: Presidente Benito Pablo Juárez García. English: President Benito Pablo Juárez García. 中文: 贝尼托·巴勃罗·华雷斯·加西亚总统
context_page_description: La Reforma, the Liberal Reform in Mexico, was initiated in by liberal politicians following their ouster of conservative president Antonio López de Santa Anna under the 1854 Plan de Ayutla. The Liberal Reform as a historical period is often considered to be from 1855 to 1861, as one portion of the liberal republic in Mexico, but there is not total consensus on the dates. From the liberals' initial narrow objective to remove a dictator and take power, they expanded their aims to a comprehensive program to remake Mexico governed by liberal principles as embodied by a series of Reform laws and then the embedded in a new Constitution. The major goals of this movement were to undermine the power of the Catholic Church in Mexico, separate church and state, reduce the power of the Mexican military, and integrate Mexico's large indigenous population as citizens of Mexico and not a protected class. Liberals envisioned secular education as a means to create a Mexican citizenry. The liberals' strategy was to sharply limit the traditional institutional privileges of the Catholic Church and the army, as well as undermine indigenous communities as a protected group.
caption: Benito Juárez, a Zapotec Indian who became president of Mexico during the Reform.
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