What Juárez did for Mexico is similar than what Lincoln did for the U.S. Juárez kept the country together through years of war and foreign occupation. He changed a semi-feudal system to a more market driven system. He also created the separation of church and State, expropriated Church holdings and fought for equal rights for all Mexicans. In many ways, just like Lincoln, he prepared the country for modern times. But unlike the U.S., Mexico was a young and turbulent democracy. Four years after Juárez’s death General Porfirio Díaz appointed himself president of Mexico. Díaz remained dictator of Mexico until 1911 when the Mexican Revolution forced him into exile.
