When President Benito Juarez died unexpectedly of a heart attack
in 1872, the Mexican government declared a seven-day period of
mourning. Nearly the entire population of Mexico City filed past
Juarez's body as it lay in state in the National Palace. Over
100,000 people watched the magnificent procession of his hearse,
and countless mourners vied for position to listen to his eulogies.
Juarez's was the last state funeral for a sitting president in
republican Mexico, and the public response proved the existence of
a Mexican national community. It also gave birth to the cultural
politics and mythical discourse of the Porfirian regime that would
overthrow Juarez's successor in 1876.
In 1902 Mexican journalist, congressman, and intellectual Justo
Sierra asserted that Mexico gained both national pride and its
international personality during the long reign of Porfirio Diaz.
Matthew Esposito argues that much of this identity stemmed from
Diaz's reliance on memorialism. Over the course of thirty-five
years, the Porfirian state constructed dozens of national
monuments, performed countless commemorations, and held 110 state
funerals. While most historians have argued that Diaz's reign owed
its longevity to extralegal activities and personal appeals to
loyalty, Esposito examines Diaz's successful manipulation of cults
of the dead, hero cults, and national memory to shape the
perception of his leadership.
General
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