Respect
is Peace.

Benito Juarez (1806–1872) was one of Mexico's greatest presidents and a transformative figure in Mexican history. Born into poverty in Oaxaca as a Zapotec indigenous man, Juarez educated himself in law and rose through political ranks to become a governor, Supreme Court justice, and ultimately president of Mexico. His leadership during the War of Reform and the French Intervention cemented his place in history as a defender of republican government against monarchy and foreign domination.

The connection between Juarez and Louisiana runs through the turbulent years of the French Intervention (1862–1867), when Napoleon III installed Maximilian I as emperor of Mexico. The United States, though distracted by the Civil War, ultimately supported Juarez and the Mexican republic. New Orleans, with its significant Mexican and Latin American immigrant community, became a place of solidarity and trade. The city's French and Spanish colonial history also created cultural threads connecting it to Mexico.

Statues of Juarez exist throughout the world, particularly in cities with large Mexican or Latino communities, as gifts from Mexico or as expressions of cultural pride. In New Orleans, the statue honors both Juarez as a historical figure and the city's deep connections to Mexico and Latin America. Louisiana and Mexico share the Gulf of Mexico coastline, trade relationships, and centuries of cultural exchange through the port of New Orleans.