The Great Bronze Man: Liberal Projects and Indigenous Populations in "México in Juárez, su obra y su tiempo" (1905), by Justo Sierra

Abstract

This article aims to discuss how the itinerary of one of the most important characters in Mexican history, the liberal leader of Zapotec origin Benito Juárez (1806-1872), was mobilized, in the first decade of the 20th century, with a view to explaining political and conceptions about the past and national identity in Mexico. Specifically, it focuses on Juárez, su obra y su tiempo (1905), a biography written by one of the main intellectuals of the Porfiriato (1876-1911), the scientist Justo Sierra (1848-1912). In this work, the affirmation of a process of “individualization” that would have been experienced by Juárez during the years of his formation was carried out. This path, significant of a departure from his indigenous origins, constituted, in Justo Sierra’s narrative, as a kind of synthesis of the Mexican historical trajectory in the 19th century and as a sign of his perspectives about the future of his country.