Ignacio Comonfort Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos ( 12 March 1812 – 13 November 1863 ) was a Mexican politician and soldier . He became President of Mexico in 1855 after a revolt based in Ayutla overthrew Santa Anna . Comonfort was a moderate liberal who tried to maintain an uncertain coalition , but the moderate liberals and the radical liberals were unable to resolve their sharp differences . During his presidency , the Constitution of 1857 was drafted creating the Second Federal Republic of Mexico . The new constitution restricted some of the Catholic Church ' s traditional privileges regarding land holdings , revenues and control over education . It granted religious freedom , stating only that the Catholic Church was the favored faith . The anti - clerical radicals scored a major victory with the ratification of the constitution , because it weakened the Church and enfranchised illiterate commoners . The constitution was unacceptable to the clergy and the conservatives , and they plotted a revolt . With the Plan of Tacubaya in December 1857 , Comonfort tried to regain the popular support from the growing conservative pro - clerical movement . The liberals failed , however , as conservative General Félix Zuloaga overthrew Comonfort in January , 1858 . Career . He was born in 1812 in Puebla de los Ángeles , in the state of Puebla , to French parents . He participated in the Mexican - American War . He was president of Mexico from 11 December 1855 to 21 January 1858 . During his term as president , Benito Juárez served as president of the Supreme Court of Mexico . During Comonfort ' s administration , the country descended into the War of the Reform , a civil war launched by reactionaries against the Constitution of 1857 which , among other things , had abolished privileges for the Catholic Church . Shortly after the adoption of the Constitution of 1857 , a board of generals staged a coup d ' état , proclaiming the , which decreed the nullification of the Constitution . President Comonfort , representing himself as a moderate , wavered but decided to go along with the generals . In exchange , the Catholic Church repealed the March 1857 excommunication decree for those who adhered to the new plan . On 17 December 1857 , anti - constitutional forces led by General Felix Zuloaga took control of the capital without firing a shot . But defenders of the 1857 Constitution did not stay calm for long . President Comonfort then decreed himself extraordinary powers , an action which alienated both the reactionary rebels as well as the constitutionalists . As unrest grew , many opponents were imprisoned or shot . Even Benito Juárez was put behind bars for several days . On 11 January 1858 , General Zuloaga demanded the ouster of the President . Comonfort resigned , and according to the Constitution of 1857 , Benito Juárez , President of the Supreme Court , assumed the presidency . In opposition , the board of generals and Catholic clergy selected General Zuloaga as their president . After seeking asylum in the United States , Comonfort returned to act again as a general against the French invasion in 1862 . He died the next year on 13 November after being attacked by a group of bandits .