Cinco de Mayo"After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, it faced internal power struggles that left it in an unstable state of rebellion and instability for years." In 1846, the Mexican government, under dictator Santa Anna, went to war with the United States. As a result of that war, Mexico lost a large amount of land, the land we know today as Texas. In 1854, Juan Alvarez and his troops led a successful revolt to oust Santa Anna from power. One of Alvarez's strongest supporters was a man named Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian leader. In 1855 Juarez became Minister of Justice under the new regime and issued two new controversial laws. One denied the right of ecclesiastical and military courts to adjudicate civil cases and the other made the sale and distribution of church lands legal. Many people disagreed with these laws, and a civil war raged between the two sides for three years. In 1861 Juarez took control of the capital, Mexico City, and put his new Constitution into effect. Not only had Juarez's laws divided the country, but they had caused the civil war that left Juarez in debt to Spain, England, and France. The three countries were worried about the debt, so they met in London, during which Spain and Great Britain agreed to renounce the debt in exchange for military control of the Vera Cruz customs house. France did not accept these terms and invaded Mexico in 1861 in hopes of defeating the country and getting rid of Juarez. French troops, considered among the best trained and equipped in the world, marched into the city of Puebla on May 5, 1862, without expecting resistance. The French army consisted of 6,000 men under the command of Marshal Lorencz. The French were met by an armed force of 2,000 peasants under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza. Mexican guerrilla forces successfully defended their positions and attacked and repelled the French forces. The victory, however, was short-lived. Within a year, France successfully conquered Puebla and the rest of Mexico, and continued to rule there until 1867, when Juarez returned to power. He governed the country until his death in 1872. Cinco de Mayo, therefore, does not celebrate Mexico's independence, but symbolizes "the right of the people to self-determination and national sovereignty, and the ability of non-Europeans to defend such rights against modern military organizations.