A provisional government is installed under Juan Ruiz de Alvarez and the intellectuals of Ayutla; the ensuing period of liberal rule comes to be known as the Reform.

The Reform is touted as a Mexican version of the French Revolution.

Several laws, known collectively as the Reform Laws, abolish the fueros, curtail ecclesiastical property holdings, introduce a civil registry, and prohibit the church from charging exorbitant fees for administering the sacraments.