Who was Benito Juarez, the Mexican president honoured in the Grammys?

Alicia Keys' husband wore a jacket with a famous quote from her.

Among the many anecdotes of the latest edition of the Grammy Awards, the jacket that struck the spotlight was the one that Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys' husband, wore, in which the phrase:"Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace. The author of this quote was Benito Juarez, president of Mexico, and a true legend for the inhabitants of that country.

Nicknamed "El Indio" for belonging to the Zapotec ethnic group, Benito was born in the town of San Pablo Guelatao in 1806, when Mexico was still under Spanish rule. Despite the poverty of his family, he managed to study thanks to the influence of Antonio Salanueva, a Franciscan who took him under his protection. He even applied for admission to a seminary, where his education was completed, although he left before being ordained a priest to study law. After the country's independence, Benito Juarez had already become a brilliant jurist.

It was then that he entered politics, becoming governor of Oxaca and minister of justice. Although he was banished after General Santa Anna (the same one who swept away El Alamo) came to power, Benito had to go into exile, first to Cuba and then to the United States.

In 1861, because Mexico could not pay the foreign debt, the country was invaded by Spanish, French and British troops. After a year of occupation and an agreement, the British and Spanish withdrew. but the French did not, because Napoleon III decided to stay with the country, appointing an emperor to a puppet ruler, Archduke Maximilian of Austria.

Juarez then became the president in exile of Mexico and the symbol of the resistance against the French occupation, which allowed him to achieve the status of myth for his compatriots. Finally, in 1866, the French were expelled, and Maximilian was taken prisoner. The Archduke had tried to be a good ruler for the country, but all his initiatives had been ignored by the French, who were cruel and despotic. Juarez was aware that Maximilian had only been a puppet and that he was not guilty of the atrocities committed, but he still ordered his execution, despite the personal esteem he felt for him:"I don't kill the man, I kill the symbol,"he said after signing the execution order.

Benito Juarez was president of Mexico until his death in 1872. During his tenure he sincerely tried to reduce social inequalities, although he did not succeed. Although it did modernize the country in many ways and managed to heal its economy. In addition to maintaining good relations with the United States and most European nations. After his death, the convulsive revolutionary period that lasted until almost the second decade of the twentieth century began.