Was Porfirio Diaz a better leader than Benito Juárez? Benito Juarez and Porfirio Diaz held the office of President of Mexico for multiple terms during the second half of the 19th century. Porfirio Diaz was President of the Mexican Republic at the period called "the Porfiriato" when Mexico was modernized, and economic growth began as he brought order, peace, and progress. Juarez became a national icon as an indomitable, peripatetic figure who kept the idea of a sovereign republic alive, sometimes only a few leagues ahead of the empires pursuing forces in his simple black coach. Benito Juarez achieved equality, and brought education to the nation but even though Porfirio Diaz was a strict leader, he brought much prosperity and stability to Mexico than Juarez. Benito Juarez was the head of liberal reform and president of the country from January 15, 1858 to April 10, 1864. Benito Juárez took possession of the Presidency after the flight of Ignacio Comonfort, before the War of Reformation. Juarez wanted to institute constitutional reforms and create a democratic Mexico, but the French intervened. However, he endured the French invasion and protected the Mexican government from being overthrown by an itinerant government. Even though Juarez created economic dependence with the United States, he was never able to give the country economic or social stability due to French invasions and a state that never consolidated. Although he murdered people behind the back of the law, and