Members of Axixic Mason Lodge 31 gathered at the Ajijic plaza on Thursday, February 26 for a special community mission.
Their purpose was to restore the Benito Juárez monument situated in a small garden plot on the north side of the square, in time for this month’s commemoration of the birth of the beloved 26th president of Mexico.
The Masonic brethren, led by Bob Howe, touched up the resin bust of Juárez, and patched up and repainted the pedestal on which it sits.
Benito Pablo Juárez Garcia was born on March 21, 1806 in San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca, to impoverished Zapotec parents. Orphaned at age three, he grew up under the wing of an uncle who fostered his education. He rose to become a lawyer, military officer, politician and the first indigenous president of Mexico. He was a leading figure in the Reform movement that pursued a liberal agenda, limiting the power of the Catholic Church and promulgating the 1857 Constitution.
Juárez was also a 33rd Scottish Rite Freemason, which is why Masons often take part in annual civic celebrations of his birthday, a national holiday now held on the third Monday of this month, this year falling on March 16.