IGNACIO COMONFORT: BIOGRAPHY, GOVERNMENT AND CONTRIBUTIONS - HISTORY - 2025

Ignacio Comonfort (1812-1863) was a Mexican military and politician who held the presidency of the country for almost two years, from December 1855 to November 1857. Comonfort was born in Amozoc, Puebla, in 1812 and died in 1863 fighting the invaders French.

In his youth, the future president wanted to dedicate himself to letters and began law studies. The death of his father forced him to change his purpose. He participated together with Santa Anna in the fight against the government of Anastasio Bustamante and, later, he entered politics as a deputy in Congress.

Source: By Ramón P. Cantó, via Wikimedia Commons

He joined the rebels in the Ayutla Plan against Santa Anna and was appointed Minister of War in the government of Juan Álvarez. After the resignation of this, Comonfort held the provisional presidency in December 1855. Months later, he renewed the position, already as elected president.

His government, of a liberal nature, promulgated several laws that tried to end the privileges of the Catholic Church. This earned him the rejection of the most conservative sectors, who rose up in arms to occupy power.

Biography

José Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos, full name of the future president, came to the world on March 12, 1812, in Amozoc, Puebla. His father, of Irish descent, was a royalist officer during the viceroyalty.

According to biographers, it was his mother, Guadalupe de los Ríos, who most influenced Comonfort's personality, especially after the death of his father.

It was precisely this death that changed the existence of young Ignacio. Following his vocation in the field of letters, he had begun to study law at the Colegio Carolino de Puebla. After being orphaned of father, the economic situation of the family deteriorated a lot, forcing Comonfort to leave the studies.

With the responsibility of helping his family, Ignacio demonstrated good qualities for business. However, in 1832 he decided to turn his life around and enlist in the army.

Entry into the military and politics

At that time, the country's government was led by Anastasio Bustamante, who had established a dictatorial system. His opponents, commanded by Santa Anna, took up arms, trying to overthrow him. Ignacio Comonfort joined the uprising in 1832.

After the success of the rebellion, Comonfort was appointed commander of the Izúcar de Matamoros square. Somewhat later, he held the same military position in Tlapa, a city in the state of Guerrero.

Comonfort also began to show interest in politics and was elected deputy by Congress in 1842, 1846. The following year he had, again, take up arms, this time to fight against the United States.

Once the conflict ended, he returned to politics. He held seats in Congress and the Senate until 1851 and, in 1853, he was appointed administrator of the Acapulco Customs.

The government of General Santa Anna was very unpopular due to the dictatorship it had established. Comonfort was one of those who showed the most discontent, so the dictator removed him from his post. However, Juan Álvarez, governor of Guerrero, made him head of the Acapulco garrison.

Ayutla Plan

The opponents of Antonio López de Santa Anna organized and, on March 1, 1854, launched the Ayutla Plan. On the 11th of that same month, Ignacio Comonfort and Juan Álvarez joined the uprising.

Comonfort, along with Álvarez, led the rebellion from the south. They managed to resist the siege to which Acapulco was subjected, but they soon realized that they needed help to defeat the dictator. Thus, Comonfort himself traveled to the United States, where he obtained a loan of 60,000 pesos to finance the uprising.

The fight against Santa Anna would continue for several more months. By August 1855, the rebellion had spread throughout the country and the dictator realized that he had no chance of victory. Given that, he went into exile.

Juan Álvarez became president, appointing Ignacio Comonfort as Minister of War. The then general held office from October 10 to December 10, 1855.

Interim presidency

Álvarez's character and ideology did not match the atmosphere that existed among the capital's political class and, in December 1855, he resigned from his post. His substitute was Ignacio Comonfort, who took over as substitute president on the 11th of that same month.

Even before that change in the presidency, conservatives had shown discontent with the progressive and secular laws that Álvarez had enacted. Shortly after Comonfort became president, he had to face an uprising against him that was especially important in Puebla.

Comonfort put himself in front of the troops and managed to defeat the rebels. The Confiscation Law, promulgated in June 1856, provoked a new uprising based in the Convent of San Francisco de la Capital. Like the previous one, it was defeated, but the attempts were made in other parts of the country.

In February 1857, Comonfort promulgated the new Constitution, drawn up by a Commission that Álvarez had set up. This Magna Carta included the so-called Reform Laws, which eliminated the privileges of the Catholic Church.

The religious institution reacted by threatening to excommunicate all those who swore the new constitutional text.

Constitutional presidency

While the situation became more tense at times, Comonfort won the elections of July 13, 1857. On December 1, 1857, he began his stage as constitutional president and appointed Benito Juárez as President of the Supreme Court of Justice.

In an attempt to pacify the country, Comonfort organized a cabinet that included both liberals and conservatives. However, by that time, the Conservatives already had a plan to seize power. Comonfort himself, much more moderate than much of his party, was aware.

Meetings with Conservatives

On November 15, 1857, a meeting had taken place at the Archbishop's Palace in Tacubaya. It was attended by very influential figures, such as the governor of the Federal District, General Félix María Zuloaga and the president Ignacio Comonfort himself. That meeting is considered as the beginning of the conspiracy against the liberal government.

As noted above, Comonfort belonged to the moderate wing of the liberals and, as such, he was not quite convinced of some of the anti-church laws that had been enacted.

According to some historians, the President attended the meeting to gather opinions about the advisability of continuing the legislature with the same government.

Comonfort thought that the majority of the population disagreed with the most controversial articles of the Constitution, reason why he considered that they should not be maintained.

Tacubaya Plan

Events accelerated from that moment on. On December 17, 1857, the conspirators met again in Tacubaya, a town that ended up naming the established Plan.

That document stated that "the majority of the people were not satisfied with the Constitution." This, according to the signatories, made it necessary not to obey it. As for the presidency, the Plan of Tacubaya declared that it should continue to be exercised by Comonfort, who would be granted almost absolute powers.

According to many biographers, Comonfort was slow to support the plan, which was practically a self-coup. It seems that he was sorry for having supported the measures that were damaging to the Church. Some historians point out that his mother advised him not to contravene religious precepts and, finally, he joined the conspirators.

The Church itself quickly joined the Plan. Thus, she declared excommunicated all those who remained faithful to the Magna Carta and forgave those who regretted having supported it.

Within days, various state governments joined the uprising. For his part, Benito Juárez refused to accept the Tacubaya Plan.

Dismissal

The uprising, already supported by Comonfort, not only received support from various states. The troops of the Citadel took control of the capital, without even having to shoot, on the same day, December 17.

At the time it seemed that the conspirators had succeeded immediately, but nevertheless the situation soon began to heat up. Comonfort, who had received the extraordinary powers included in the Plan of Tacubaya, soon became the center of criticism from both sides, liberals and conservatives.

On January 11, 1858, Zuloaga demanded that the original Plan be abandoned, eliminating the part that kept Ignacio Comonfort in the presidency. Ultimately, it was a part of the army that decided the issue. The mobilization of some troops, calling for the change of president, ended with Comonfort expelled from office.

His overthrow seemed to give impetus to a Comonfort that had been overtaken by events. Thus, before leaving the presidency, he ordered the release of Juárez, who had been captured by the rebels.

Despite this, without support from either side, Ignacio Comonfort had to leave Mexico. He marched to the United States on February 7, where he stayed for several years.

Return to Mexico and death

In 1863, Juárez gave Comonfort the opportunity to return to Mexico. The politician had volunteered to fight the invaders during the Second French Intervention and Juarez appointed him Commander of the Army of the Center.

The former president was moving between San Miguel and Chamacuero, on November 3 of that year, when he was ambushed by guerrillas from the conservative side, an ally of the French.

During the combat, he was hit in the head with a machete. The wound did not cause his immediate death, but Ignacio Comonfort died while being driven to Celaya.

Characteristics of his government

Comonfort's government was very brief, barely reaching two years between the interim and constitutional periods. During that time, he promulgated some of the so-called Reform Laws, although more under pressure from the most progressive of his party than because of his own convictions.

All these laws were included in the Constitution of 1857. The rejection provoked by the most conservative sectors of the country led to the so-called War of Reform.

Liberal ideology

Comonfort reached the presidency supported by the Mexican liberals. Personally, according to biographers, he was among the moderates of the party, but ended up promulgating laws demanded by the most radical. Among those that caused more internal conflict were those related to the Catholic Church.

Attempt at conciliation

As president, Comonfort timidly tried to reconcile the two existing camps in Mexican politics: liberals and conservatives. The struggle between the two had been a constant since independence, sometimes coming to clash militarily.

The governments formed by Comonfort included ministers of both sensitivities. In a somewhat naive way, according to many historians, he tried to enforce liberal laws while ingratiating himself with conservatives harmed by them, especially members of the clergy and the military.

The result of that attempt was a failure. His mixed cabinet made the nation ungovernable and raised the tension all the way to war.

Indecision

Despite his decision to support the Plan of Tacubaya, a kind of self-coup, most historians do not attribute his performance to ambition. In general, Comonfort is accused of indecision and not being able to define himself at any time.

He was a hesitant president, who tried to please everyone and ended up without any support. One of his phrases perfectly defines his character: "If necessary, I will be there where my presence is needed, and even if it is the place of greatest danger, I clench my teeth and let myself be dragged."

Contributions

Part of the contributions made by Comonfort and his government were, rather, decisions beyond their control. Thus, the Reform Laws came from their predecessor, Juan Álvarez, and from the most progressive liberals. The same happened with the Constitution of 1857, undoubtedly his most outstanding legacy.

Reform laws

The Reform Laws were a set of legal norms promulgated between 1855 and 1863. The first were issued by the government of Juan Álvarez, the second by Ignacio Comonfort, and the last by Benito Juárez.

The main purpose of all of them was to separate the Church and the State. To do this, they eliminated a series of privileges that, historically, the religious institution had maintained.

The series of laws began with the so-called Juárez Law, promulgated on November 23, 1855. Through it, the special courts were abolished, they were military and religious. Since then, all citizens were equal before the law.

With Comonfort in the presidency, the Iglesias Law, the Lafragua Law, the Lerdo Law and the Civil Registry Law were enacted. They all went in the same direction, limiting ecclesiastical powers and granting rights to citizens.

Thus, the collection of fees and parish tithes were prohibited, freedom of the press was regulated, the assets of Manos Muertas were confiscated and the Civil Status Registry was established.

Constitution of 1857

The Ayutla Plan, promulgated to end the dictatorship of Santa Anna, established in its points the need for a new Constitution for Mexico. Álvarez and Comonfort obeyed what was signed and called a Constituent Congress.

Most of the members were liberals, but within this current there were two distinct factions. Thus, a group called for radical reforms, which would end the power of the Church and the Army.

The other faction was much more moderate in its demands. Comonfort, a sympathizer of this second group, tried to soften the constitutional content.

However, despite being in the minority and with the President against, the most radical managed to impose their proposals. The most controversial were the prohibition of ecclesiastical corporations from acquiring property, the exclusion of members of the clergy from public positions, secular education, and freedom of worship.

The Constitution of 1857 also established federalism, as well as the representative republic. It established 25 states, a territory and the federal district, and supported the autonomy of the municipalities.

References

1. EcuRed. Ignacio Comonfort. Obtained from ecured.cu
2. Biographies and Lives. Ignacio Comonfort. Obtained from biografiasyvidas.com
3. Mexico history. Who was Ignacio Comonfort ?. Obtained from historiademexicobreve.com
4. Revolvy. Ignacio Comonfort. Retrieved from revolvy.com
5. Ernst C. Griffin, Angel Palerm and Others. Mexico. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. TheBiography. Biography of Ignacio Comonfort (1812-1863). Retrieved from thebiography.us