Benito Juárez
Early life and education

Benito Juárez was born on March 21, 1806, in the village of San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca, located in the mountain range since named for him, the Sierra Juárez. It was a small settlement of about two hundred inhabitants, made up of straw huts, and a small church, the village being located at the edge of a mountain pond known for its picturesque transparent waters, and called La Laguna Encantada, the enchanted pond.

His parents, Brígida García and Marcelino Juárez were Zapotec peasants. He described his parents as " indios de la raza primitiva del país " (Spanish: " Indians from the primitive race of the country"). He had two older sisters, Josefa and Rosa. Juárez became an orphan at the age of 3. His grandparents also died shortly after, and Juárez was raised by his uncle Bernardino Juárez.

He worked in the cornfields and as a shepherd until the age of 12. Up until then Juárez had also been illiterate and could not speak Spanish knowing then only his native Zapotec language. However, his sister had previously moved to the city of Oaxaca for work, and that year Juárez moved to the city to attend school. There he took a job as a domestic servant in the household of Antonio Maza, where his sister worked as a cook.

In 1818, while the Mexican War of Independence was ongoing, a twelve year old Juárez entered domestic service under the lay Franciscan and bookbinder Antonio Salanueva. The young boy showed potential at primary school, upon which Salanueva sought to sponsor Juárez to enter a seminary to study for the priesthood.

Juárez entered the seminary in Spring of 1821, only a few months before Mexico won its independence in September of the same year. He continued his theological studies for six years, but eventually decided that he was not interested in the priesthood.

An Institute of Arts and Sciences had been founded by the Oaxacan state legislature in 1826, and Juárez transferred there in 1827. In 1829, Juárez was appointed a teacher of physics. In 1831, Juárez accepted the post of Regidor del Ayuntamiento, or judicial secretary to the municipal council of Oaxaca City. In 1832, he graduated from the Institute of Arts and Sciences with a degree in law. He was eventually admitted to the bar on January 13, 1834.
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