With Santa Anna's resignation, Juárez returned to Mexico and became part of the activist "liberales" (Liberals). They formed a provisional government under General Juan Álvarez, inaugurating the period known as La Reforma, or Liberal Reform. Juárez served as Minister of Justice and ecclesiastical affairs. During this time, he drafted the law named after him, the Juárez Law, which declared all citizens equal before the law, and restricted the privileges ("fueros") of the Catholic Church and the Mexican army. President Álvarez signed the draft into law in 1855.