At least 16 letters, some love letters, written in the fist of Benito Juarezdisappeared from General Archive of the Nation (AGN), with no indication of his whereabouts so far.
The letters were written by Oaxacan politician between 1855, when he was in exile during the regime of Antonio Lopez de Santa Annaand 1872, months before his death.
Juárez’s letter to his wife on the death of their son
One of the lost lettersis one that Benito Juárez writes to you from New York to your wife Margarita Maza of Juarezdays after the death of their son:
“I suppose you are full of sorrow for the death of our tender son Antonio as I am too. Bad luck follows us; but against her what are we going to do; It is not in our power to avoid those blows and there is no more discretion than to have serenity and resignation. Keep taking care of the children we have left and take good care of yourself. Try to distract yourself and do not fix your imagination on past misfortunes.
As will be seen, the previous letter helps us to appreciate, from a more intimate perspective, Benito Juárez, hence the importance of the stolen epistolary collection.
Since 2006 they realized the lack of letters
According to an investigation by Daily Millenniumthe General Archive of the Nation It is unknown since what year the letters of the Benemérito de las Américas have not been found, in the documents that are kept in the Lecumberri Palace, however they realized their absence in 2006.
However, they reported his non-appearance at the time Office of the Attorney General of the Republic in 2006 (today General Prosecutor of the Republic), without any announcements of progress on his whereabouts, nor possible responsible for the abduction.
It is believed, however, that the theft of Benito Juárez’s letters could have occurred several years before the year in which his absence was discovered, possibly between 1991 and 2002.
No information on the whereabouts of Benito Juárez’s letters
“The Directorate of Legal and Archival Affairs of the AGN is carrying out various steps to provide more elements to the Public Ministry of the Federation and continue with the investigation”, indicates the AGN in response to a request for information made by the aforementioned newspaper.