Miguel Miramón

Who was Miguel Miramón?

Miguel Gregorio de la Luz Atenógenes Miramón y Tarelo was a Mexican conservative general. He served as anti-constitutional interim conservative president of Mexico in opposition to the constitutional president, Benito Juárez of the Liberal Party.

Miramón was born in Mexico City into a family of French heritage. At the age of 15 he was made prisoner during the United States assault on Chapultepec Castle in the Mexican-American War. In his late teens and early twenties he rose through the army ranks rather quickly, becoming famous for his personal charisma, his competence as a soldier and his guerrilla tactics.

He was a staunch conservative, a supporter of monarchy, aristocracy and religious privileges for the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church supported his military efforts against the constitutional forces with loans.

During the War of Reform he fought in the central lowlands on the side of a reactionary military junta which had staged a coup d'état in defiance of the Constitution of 1857. A series of presidents were appointed by this junta as factions within the junta vied for power.