On the 23rd of November 1876 Porfirio Díaz rode into Mexico City at the head of a “regenerating army” that had just toppled liberal President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada from power through armed insurrection. This was not an unusual incident in Mexico. Since the establishment of the Republic only two presidents had left office voluntarily at the end of their elected terms. The rest had all been deposed, usually after only a year or so in executive power, with the notable exception of Benito Juárez, who died in the office that he apparently intended to retain indefinitely, having held onto it in one way and another for fifteen years.