Ignacio Comonfort

José Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos (Amozoc, Puebla; March 12, 1812 - Chamacuero, Guanajuato; November 13, 1863), was a Mexican politician and military man. He was president of Mexico, in an interim capacity, from December 11, 1855 to November 30, 1857, and constitutional, from December 1, 1857 to January 21, 1858. He was of Irish descent. He completed partial law studies at the Carolino College, left them and enlisted in the Army, where he had a brilliant career. In partial retirement from the military he dedicated himself to commerce.

Early years and training

Due to the economic hardship of his family, he left his law studies at the Colegio Carolino (today Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla). In 1832 he enlisted in the army alongside Santa Anna to fight against the dictatorial government of Anastasio Bustamante. He was appointed military commander of Tlapa, in the current state of Guerrero. He was a deputy to Congress in 1842-1846 and fought in the Valley of Mexico in the American invasion in 1847. He was again a deputy to Congress in 1848 and a senator until 1851. In 1853 he was named administrator of the Acapulco Customs House.

Together with Juan Álvarez, in March 1854 he led the revolution against Santa Anna in a campaign through the south and resisted the siege of Acapulco. Which meant the definitive fall of Santa Anna. He then went to the United States, where he obtained resources from a private individual to continue the war.

Santa Anna, seeing how uncontrollable the revolution was and how it was spreading everywhere, left the country on August 9, 1855 and General Juan Álvarez assumed the presidency, naming General Comonfort Minister of War. As Álvarez resigned from the presidency, General Comonfort remained as interim president.

President of Mexico (1855-1858)

His administration was the prelude to the Reform War. On February 5, 1857, the new Constitution had been promulgated, which contained aggressive provisions against the possessions and privileges of the Catholic Church. In the following month, the Church threatened with excommunication all those individuals who swore it, but doing so was mandatory for the military and members of the government. The problems did not wait.

Elections were held and General Comonfort was elected president of the Republic on December 1; At that time the president of the Supreme Court of Justice was Benito Juárez.

With his conciliatory spirit, Comonfort wanted to organize a mixed cabinet—of liberals and conservatives—that became a Pandora's box. Thus, on December 17, General Félix María Zuloaga, with the support of President Comonfort himself, proclaimed the Tacubaya Plan, for which he was unaware of the Constitution. By adhering to the plan and thus ignoring the constitution that he had sworn months ago, it could be said that Comonfort staged a self-coup.

The troops of the Citadel gave him support, he took control of the capital on December 17, 1857 without firing a shot. It seemed that the revolution had triumphed, but it didn't take long for tempers to flare up and the forces in conflict (radicals and conservatives) began to guard their weapons and criticize, both, the coup president. Comonfort thus took extraordinary powers, which exacerbated the spirits of both forces: he was already repudiated by the liberals and abandoned by the conservatives.

On January 11, 1858, Zuloaga himself retraced his steps and demanded that the Tacubaya Plan be abandoned. Some of the dissidents supported President Comonfort; others to General Zuloaga, and that same day there were even statements in favor of the return of the banished dictator Santa Anna. Comonfort was deposed as president, and quickly left for the United States.

Benito Juárez, who served as vice president and Minister of the Interior, was later named president of the Supreme Court of Justice, for which he assumed the presidency of the republic on January 21 as interim president, as mandated by the Constitution. Thus began the Reform War.

Death

In 1863, Juárez accepted his offer to join the fight against the French invaders and Comonfort returned to the country and was named commander of the so-called Army of the Center.

On May 8, 1863, the Army of the Center was defeated by the French army in the Battle of San Lorenzo (Mexico), forcing its divisions to retreat towards Tlaxcala.

Comonfort took charge of protecting Santiago de Querétaro, but one day, on the way to Celaya, he was attacked by the guerrillas of the conservative Sebastián Aguirre in the town of Chamacuero. He was mortally wounded on November 13, 1863, and He died while being transferred to Celaya. He was buried in the Panteón Museum of San Fernando.

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