The Mexican reform movement is inspired by…

The Mexican reform movement is inspired by the liberal political philosophies of European intellectuals, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, and Pierre Joseph Proudhon, their views adopted by a group of Mexican intellectuals who share a strong commitment to moralize Mexican politics.

Benito Juárez, a Zapotec lawyer and politician and the most outstanding member of the group, goes with his colleagues into exile in Louisiana, where they draw up the Plan of Ayutla for the overthrow of Santa Anna.

As the plan gains broad-based support, the conspirators began to return to Mexico.

The Plan of Ayutla, initially drafted on February 24, 1854, by Colonel Florencio Villarreal, is proclaimed on March 1, 1854, in Ayutla, Guerrero, by General Juan Álvarez and seconded by moderate liberal politician Ignacio Comonfort.

The Plan not only aims at removing the dictator but also convening a constituent assembly in order to draft a federal constitution.