Benito Juárez Birthday 2014: Enrique Peña Nieto Attends Ceremony Remembering Mexico’s First Indigenous President

Enrique Peña Nieto headed a commemorative ceremony today in Mexico to celebrate the 208th anniversary of the birth of Benito Juarez, Mexico's first indigenous president. During the ceremony, the Mexican leader headed a national guard of honor accompanied by representative of the three powers of the country: Executive, Legislative and Judicial as well as members of his cabinet and relatives of Benito Juarez, known as Benemerito de las Americas.

Following the ceremony, which lasted just a few minutes, Enrique Peña Nieto greeted Benito Juarez' family members and members of the Federal Cabinet, including the secretaries of Health, Government, Energy and Tourism among others. He also spoke for some time with Alejandro Rubido, who has been suggested as a likely candidate for the National Security Commission (CNS) after ther resignation of Manuel Mondragon y Kalb earlier this week.

Earlier in the day, Enrique Peña Nieto posted a message on the presidential website, explaining that the lasting legacy of Benito Juarez is to encourage the promis of a society in which the rights consecrated in the Mexican Constitution reach all Mexican people. Benito Juarez García was born in 1806 -- he was born in a small village in the mountains of Oaxca, but after attending law school began a lengthy political career which culminated in being president for 14 years.