Plan of Tuxtepec - Background

Background

After the death of the president Benito Juárez in 1872, the first magistracy of the country was occupied by the vice-president Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, who called for new elections. Two candidates were registered: he himself, Lerdo de Tejada, and the General Porfirio Díaz, one of the heroes of the Battle of Puebla which had taken place on 5 May 1862, and who had occupied several public positions. Díaz had challenged Juárez with his Plan de la Noria, in which he stated his disagreement with presidential re-election and he call for a Constitutional Congress. The loss of prestige that Díaz suffered with his plan, made him lose the elections of 1872. Towards the end of his government, Lerdo, who had already incorporated the "Reform Laws" to the Constitution of Mexico, tried to get re-elected, causing him to lose popularity. On March 21, 1876, Don Porfirio Díaz rebelled against President Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada. The Plan of Tuxtepec defended the "No Re-election" principle and emerged as the flag of the General Porfirio Díaz. The victory of the Plan of Tuxtepec, gave the interim presidency to Jose Maria Iglesias and later, as the only candidate, the General Porfirio Díaz assumed the presidency on May 5, 1877.