azu_etd_mr_2013_0084... - The University of Arizona Campus

TO RECLAIM THE REPUBLIC: FEDERLISM, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND
LIBERAL DISCOURSE IN EARLY MEXICAN REFORM ERA NA TIONBUILDING, 1854-1857
By
ALEXANDRA M GONZALEZ
A Thesis Submitted to The Honors College
In Partial Fulfillment of the Bachelors degree
With Honors in
History
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
MAY 2013
//
Jadwiga
Piepet~ooney, Ph.;'
Department of History
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ABSTRACT:
The early years of the Mexican Reforma government (1854-1857) represented a
formative era for Mexican nation-building. The Liberal Reform government influenced the
trajectory of Mexican nation-building through its leaders' prioritization of the republican
principles of federalism and religious freedom. Through their work, they successfully introduced
these liberal principles into Mexican political discourse by elevating them to matters of national
importance. This study examines five documents of the early Reforma: The Plan of Ayutla,
Juarez Law, Lerdo Law, Iglesias Law, and Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of
1857 in conjunction with biographical information and personal reflections on these laws and
liberalism from the legislation'S drafters in the form ofletters, speeches, and an autobiographical
account. Through the examination of these documents and the liberal leaders who put them
forward, this study demonstrates the role of individuals and importance of the collaborative
process that allowed the reformers to successfully introduce their liberal concepts to Mexican
political discourse.
Gonzalez 1
I.
INTRODUCTION
On March 1, 1854 in the town of Ayutla, Colonel Florencio Villareal issued a plan
against the government of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. While this declaration against the
incumbent Mexican leadership may have initially appeared unremarkable as it was, after all, one
of several plans issued by military leaders since the nation's 1821 independence to call for the
removal of a sitting president, the Plan de Ayutla initiated the ascension of the Liberal Reform
government to power. J The plan itself articulated the fundamental goal of the Liberals: the
dismantling of Santa Anna's despotic rule in favor of the institution of a republican government.
The era of Reform leadership brought about a number of legal reforms that worked towards the
implementation of such a Mexican republic, yet the stability and trajectory of the liberal
revolution was, at times, uncertain. A coalition of two competing liberal factions, the radical
puros and the moderate moderados, joined to back the Plan de Ayutia, however the liberal rise to
power quickly put the two groups back into competition over the types of reforms to be
implemented. The competing discourses produced by internal dissension among the liberal
leadership effectively worked to create a series of reforms that were fundamental in the process
of Mexican nation-building.
The Reform's key legal reveal an emphasis an emphasis on federalism and religious
freedom, both of which require further examination to understand how they were, in many ways,
indicative of the collaborative process that shaped the Liberal vision articulated in the early
Reform. In the period preceded the Reform from independence to the ousting of Santa Anna, the
institution of federalism and religious freedom were at the forefront of debates regarding the
limits of Mexico's newly gained sovereignty. Debates over the division of state and federal
J Michael P. Costeloe, The Central Republic in Mexico, 1835-1846: Hombres de Bien in the Age of Santa
Anna (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993),298.
Gonzalez 2
power and the role of the Catholic Church in this post-independence era served as antecedents to
liberal views on these topics during the Reform.
In the discourse of the Reform era, the themes of federalism and religious freedom
emerge as central concerns that the Liberals attempted to define, negotiate, and implement
during their tenure. Many studies have addressed the role of these two themes in the trajectory of
Mexican history. Michael P. Costeloe's works on church patronage and attempts to consolidate
central power in the era before the Reform illuminate the often complex colonial carryovers and
precedents that colored political discourse in the early nation? Not only does Costeloe examine
the development of Mexican liberal ideology, but he also analyzes the factors that inhibited the
success of these early attempts to define the Mexican state. These initial attempts to define the
ideal place of religion and the balance of power in Mexico demonstrate the necessity of effective
leadership and a developed ideology at the right historical moment to institute significant reform.
Historians of the Reform era such as Juan Alberto Carbajal identify it as that key historical
moment. In his book La Consolidaci6n de Mexico Como Naci6n, Carbajal exhaustively analyzes
the text of the Reform constitution and legislation in order to demonstrate that the reforms
produced under the leadership of the radical leader Benito Juarez effectively consolidated
Mexico into a nation for the first time. 3 While Carbajal's focus on legal texts and Juarez is
valuable, the dialogue created by the different liberal voices involved in the process of
developing and instituting reforms deserves its due attention, as these reforms were instrumental
in making the Reform a formative era for nation-building. While historians of Mexican history
have placed emphasis on the development of the discourse of federalism and religious freedom
Michael P. Costeloe, Church and State in Independent Mexico: A Study of the Patronage Debate 18211857 (London: Royal Historical Society, 1978).
3 Juan Alberto Carbajal, La Consolidacion de Mexico Como Nacion: Benito Juarez, fa Constitucion de
1857 Y las Leyes de Reforma (Mexico: Editorial Porrua, 2006).
2
Gonzalez 3
prior to the Reform and the role of leaders like Juarez within it, a focus on how these two
discourses were transformed into foundational state policy through the collaborative efforts of
Reform leaders is necessary to highlight the formative nature of the Reform in Mexican history.
The efforts and collaboration of Liberal Reform leaders introduced liberal concepts into
Mexican political discourse, providing a greater foundation for the development of Mexican
liberalism. The establishment of this preliminary foundation can be best understood through an
examination of their treatment of federalism and religious freedom in the Reform era
constitution, laws, and proclamations. Furthermore, the dissent among the liberals regarding
these democratic principles will be examined in conjunction with the legal code in order to see
how these debates characterized the Reform. In addition to studying Reform laws, the personal
views of the individual liberal reforms articulated in their public speeches, autobiographies, and
private letters further illuminate the collaborative process and inter-relationships that worked to
create these laws. Investigating not only the legal code, but also the debates and political figures
instrumental in shaping them further demonstrates the importance of the Reform as the historical
moment where the experiences of early independent Mexico were acknowledged by a driven
liberal leadership with a semi-stable grasp on power to introduce core liberal values that could
benefit the Mexican state.
In order to demonstrate the centrality of the Reform's laws and liberal leadership to the
development of Mexican nation-building, this study will examine the role of federalism and
religious freedom in the history of independent Mexico and in the debates and legal code
produced during the Reform. To illustrate how federalism and religious freedom became so
central to the nation-building process, the role of these two republican features will first be
examined in light of the unique political and social history of independent Mexico that largely
Gonzalez 4
rejected these features until the mid-century Reform. An understanding of this history will
enhance understanding of the disconnect between liberal ideals and Mexican political realities
that Liberal leaders struggled to align. Further, to illustrate the cooperative, yet often strained
nature of the Reform government's Liberal coalition where key nation-building legislation was
produced, this study will situate the Reform's legislation and actors within the context of
political factionalism that plagued this period. This will include an examination of federalism
and religious freedom in terms of both the legal reforms produced pertaining to these principles
and the roles played by the liberal actors involved in the reforms' drafting. Finally, in order to
demonstrate the centrality of debate and cooperation between different liberal factions that
produced key legislation on federalism and religious freedom, this study will examine the
tensions revealed by competing discourses present in the passage of the legal reforms and the
individual voices that worked to shape them.
The debates surrounding federal and religious liberty legislation shed light on the
inherent tensions present in the nation-building process due to conflict between dissenting voices
involved in its development. This process of political negotiation, in turn, was the source of the
Reform's successful establishment of basic tenants of the modern Mexican state. The principles
of federalism and religious freedom articulated in the Plan de Ayutla, Constitution of 1857, and
body of law passed in the period of liberal leadership during the early Reforma from 1854-1857
introduced these two key republican principles through a process of collaboration between
competing liberal voices, resulting in the creation of a political foundation vital to the trajectory
of Mexican nation-building discourse.
I.
THE ROLE OF FEDERALISM AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN EARLY
INDEPENDENT MEXICO
Gonzalez 5
A brief examination of the successes and failures of different forms of government in preReform Mexico reveals the fundamental imbalance between central and regional power that
needed to be overcome by the Reform government in order to create a functioning federal
democratic state. The strength of regional governments in the immediate aftermath of the
dismantling of the colonial system combined with fears of creating a strong executive branch that
may try to monopolize power, resulting in a severely weakened the central government. 4 The
central republic of 1834-1846 notably attempted to consolidate their power under a strong central
government, but political fragmentation, regionalism, economic troubles, social conflict, and the
war with the United States led to centralism's demise. However, as Costeloe notes, the failures of
centralism led Mexico's political leaders to realize that a federal system would better suit the
highly regionalist Mexican landscape. As heirs to this era of centralism, the political figures of
the Reform addressed many of the issues of the centralist era, particularly the implementation of
an effective and autonomous form of government. 5
The Reform government's key legislation focused on implementing a federal system and
religious freedom because, in the context of both liberal discourse and conceptions of nationbuilding, these were two tenants of government meant to prevent despotism, share power, and
establish the state as an entity free from the influence of other institutions. Both federalism and
religious freedom underscore fundamental democratic ideals of safeguarding the rights of
individual citizens and semi-autonomous regional decision-making bodies which, in this case,
were the Mexican states and territories. The choice to construct a federal system and establish
religious freedom reveals the reformers' intent to build a foundation for republican statehood that
had not yet been realized in mid-century Mexico. However, the reformers did have a body of
4
5
Hernandez Chavez, Mexico, 134.
Costeloe, The Central Republic in Mexico, 206.
Gonzalez 6
republican and liberal discourse to draw upon in designing their government. To understand
Refonn legislation on federalism and religious freedom, it is first essential to acknowledge the
manifestations of these principles in early independent Mexico as antecedents to the Refonn
VIsIon.
The establishment of the federal system was crucial to the Refonn because of the
imbalance between central and regional authority in early independent Mexico. For three
decades following independence, central Mexican authority was constantly at odds with the
influence of political players in the Mexican states, leaving Mexico in a state of continuous
political upheaval. Due to the regional character of the nation, the tenn "many Mexicos" is often
used to highlight the diverse and autonomous character of the entities that constitute the Mexican
"state" in this period. 6 As a result, the governments that assumed power in these decades often
maintained only a tenuous grasp on power, the presidency itself having forty-nine occupants
between the establishment of the First Republic in 1824 and the outbreak of the Refonn War in
1857. 7 The Mexican Federal Republic, outlined in the Federal Constitution of 1824 established
Mexico's first republican system, which ultimately dissolved due to its decentralized nature in
the face of regional power. A centralist republic of 1834-1846 and a federalist republic of 18461854 additionally preceded the Refonn. 8 When the Liberals assumed power, they had the
examples of the series of early government systems to draw upon in constructing their ideal
system and an understanding that decentralization and regional power were central concerns they
would need to address.
Costeioe, The Central Republic in MeXico, 2, 9.
Donald Fithian Stevens. Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico (Durham: Duke University
Press, 1991), 12.
8 Alicia Hernandez Chavez, Mexico: A Brief History (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press,
2006), J 27, J 3 I.
6
7
Gonzalez 7
The issue of religious freedom carne to the forefront of Mexican politics following
independence in debates on defining the relationship between the established Catholic Church
and the new Mexican state. In the 1824 Constitution, guarantees of privileges for the military and
clergy contradicted idyllic democratic declarations of equality for all, making the matter of
clerical privilege and patronage a contentious question. 9 Under Spanish colonialism,
ecclesiastical patronage for the Mexican branch of the Church was provided by the Spanish
Crown. The advent of independence spurred many questions regarding the relationship between
the Church and new state in regards to patronage. Mexican conservatives tended to agree that
patronage, whether it was officially inheritable from the colonial period or not, was the
responsibility of the state towards its established religious institution. In their view, the Mexican
state owed the church official patronage and protection of their established privileges. The
liberals argued that the patronage system was abolished with independence, a view consistent
with the ideal of creating a secular nation-state. 10 As the 1824 constitutional provisions
demonstrate, the Catholic Church retained its privileges and patronage largely by default. No real
attempt to curb ecclesiastical privilege was made until the Reform due to the importance of the
Church in Mexican culture and strong backlash any hint of anticlerical legislation produced.
By the time of the Reform, the need to diminish the influence of the clergy and
institutional church was a central tenant of radical liberal discourse. The religious legislation of
the Reform was the puros' attempt to realize the secularist vision of their liberal forefathers.
Liberal intellectual and early proponent of Mexican liberalism Jose Maria Luis Mora was one of
the first to push for the separation of church and state in the 1830s. For Mora and other liberals,
the very existence of an established church was contrary to the rationalist ideals that permeated
Costeloe, Church and State in Independent Mexico, 176.
IOIbid, 2-5.
9
Gonzalez 8
discourse on republican state systems. Their vision for Mexico as a modem, progressive state
conflicted with the notions of clerical patronage and public piety which they viewed as "relics of
a bygone theocratic age" incompatible with the society they envisioned. II Decades before the
Reform, radical liberalism recognized the need to fight against the Catholic Church not only
because of their rationalist convictions on theology, but also because the church and clerical
privilege together represented entrenched wealth, privilege, and power. 12 This antagonistic
relationship established between radical liberalism and the church in early independent Mexico's
history, this animosity carried over to the Reform era. The legal measures of the Reform
characterized as legislation on "religious freedom" in this study, are therefore referring to
legislation focused on limiting the power of the Catholic Church and working towards the
secularization of the Mexican government.
Federalism and religious freedom emerged as central pillars of the liberal vision during
the Reform due to the nature of instability and liberal discourse that developed during the first
three decades of Mexican independence. The lack of an organized federal administration and the
entrenchment of the Catholic Church were both carryovers from the colonial era. The sudden
removal of colonial administrative infrastructure led to the strengthening of regional
governments, making it difficult to reinstitute centralized power. \3 At the same time, the new
Mexican state was left to define its relationship with the Catholic faith that the Spanish
introduced.
The unique problems that this colonial legacy created are what made the establishment of
a federal and secular government so essential to liberal reformers. The leaders of the liberal
II
12
D
Costeloe, , Church and State in Independent Mexico, 173, 175
Stevens, Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico. 31.
Hernandez Chavez, MeXico, 128-129.
Gonzalez 9
reform had come to terms with the perceived failure of liberal principles in Mexican governance
prior to this period. Rather than viewing liberal ideals as systems that could be directly imposed
on Mexican society, they understood that Mexican society was, in many ways, incompatible with
their vision. In order to implement desired Reforms, the liberals would need to change Mexico's
social and institutional structure. 14 Armed with evolved liberal discourse on federalism and
religious freedom and wary of their predecessors' struggles, the liberal reformers used their
tenure to shape a republican Mexican state that could address some of Mexico's unique
problems.
II. THE LIBERAL ASCENSION TO POWER
The Liberal Reform was a moment in Mexican history where evolved liberal discourse
met with a leadership that understood the limitations a distinctly Mexican context posed. With
their philosophy developed and goals identified, the liberals faced the challenge of gaining the
power necessary to take action. The Mexican-American war and its aftermath presented an
excellent opportunity to gain political control through the combined power of the puro and
moderado liberal sects. However, the liberals faced serious competition from conservatives and
their institutional supporters in the church and military. It is the liberal triumph over conservative
forces in this key moment that gave the liberals a period of semi-stability needed to enact Reform
legislation. The conditions under which the liberals came to power demonstrate why they chose
to prioritize federalism and religious freedom as the central issues of the Reform.
The declaration of the Plan de Ayutla was not just a denouncement of Santa Anna's
dictatorship and profound mismanagement of the American invasion, but a call for stability and
order in the face of serious political and social discord. The toll of the Mexican American war
1-1
Stevens, Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico, 75.
Gonzalez 10
included serious economic damage and the loss of half of the nation's territory in addition to the
loss of 10,000 Mexican soldiers and civilians. IS The territorial loss in particular prompted the
need for a reevaluation of Mexican politics; was the nation so weak that it lacked the ability to
defend itself? In the war's wake, two solutions were proposed to create a stable and balanced
system of governance. Mexican conservatives pointed to a constitutional monarchy as a form of
government that would offer a strong centralized power under the influence of hereditary
leadership. Liberals, in contrast, saw the institution of a federal republic as the answer to
stabilizing the nation. Although some blamed political instability on republicanism itself: the
federal system garnered more support than the monarchial. 16
The liberal rise to power that followed the declaration at Ayutla was the result of both the
weakness of conservative's centralist system Mexicans experienced from 1834-1846 and the
liberals' efforts to self-brand themselves as the defenders of the Mexican patria or homeland,
something they equated closely with the idea of a Mexican republic. The centralist system failed
to acknowledge the need for some regional political autonomy that the Mexican states had come
to expect from their post-colonial experience. In contrast, the liberals offered federalism as a
compromise between regional and national power. This appeal to regional powers, in tum,
helped the liberals to develop ties to locally controlled national guard units. This military alliance
allowed liberals to successfully defeat conservative forces in 1854 following the Revolution of
Ayutla and again in the Three Years' War from 1857-1861. The military success of the liberals
15 Mark Wasserman, Everyday Life and Politics in Nineteenth Century Mexico: Men, Women, and War
(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000) 87.
16 Hernandez Chavez, Mexico, 147.
Gonzalez 11
helped them create an image of themselves as defenders of the Mexican patria, in stark contrast
to the centralist conservative forces that failed to defend Mexico from the US invasion. 17
The liberals' ascension to power and successful drafting and passage of legislation on
federalism and religious freedom through the Reform required both proper timing and an
understanding of the history of independent Mexico. The war with the United States prepared the
nation for new leadership after the failed centralist era and autocratic reign of Santa Anna. The
liberals' core ideology had time to develop in light of Mexican history and could articulate the
role a federal system and secularization process had to play in a democratic system.
However, the success of the Reform rested on another key factor, its leadership. The
drive of these leaders to see their vision realized and collaboration that shaped their work gave
the Reform its direction and energy. The role of these individuals in shaping Reform legislation
should not be discounted; their contributions are vital to understanding the Reform as a formative
moment in Mexican nation-building where an ideal political climate intersected with a
knowledgeable and driven leadership to create a republican state system.
III. FEDERALISM, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, COLLABORATION, AND EMNITY
IN EARLY REFORMA LEGISLATION
The trajectory of the reform is far from linear; it was a complex negotiation process
characterized by frequent challenges to dominant leadership. This study examines the legislation
of the early Reform that began in 1854 with the proclamation of the Revolution of Ayutla, and
cumulated in the Federal Constitution of 1857. However to understand why this early period of
the Reform is so essential, it is beneficial to understand the basic historical trajectory of the
17
Thomson, "Liberalism and Nation-Building in Mexico ... ",208.
Gonzalez 12
Reforma. The coalition of puros and moderados that backed the 1854 Plan de Ayutla officially
came to power in late 1855 following a prolonged a military struggle with Santa Anna that lasted
sixteenth months. This administration, first headed by Juan Alvarez and then Ignacio Comonfort,
was the interim government that focused on the passage the Reform's most vital laws and 1857
Constitution. However, enmity between these liberal leaders over the elements of radicalism
found in the constitution and the consolidation of conservative strength to challenge the liberal
government's leadership led to the outbreak of the Reform War, a struggle that lasted three years
between the remainingpuro liberal leadership under Benito Juarez and the conservative faction
that seized control of Mexico City.18 Interrupted by the liberal-conservative struggle, and
following that, a period of French Intervention, the brief period of cooperation and stability
managed from 1855-1857 emerged as the moment where liberal ideas could be properly
articulated. The stability maintained by the tenuous bonds of the Ayutla coalition provided the
opportunity for the liberal vision of Mexico as a federal and independent republic to be
expressed through legislation.
The Reform offered a platform for notions of federalism and religious freedom shaped by
the historical legacy of Mexican liberalism and democracy to be articulated and implemented at
the federal level. The collaboration, discussion, debates, and experiences of the liberal leadership
created legislation that properly voiced their republican ambitions and created a foundation for
the Mexican nation-state. The personal and political experiences of the leadership, as well as the
collaboration and enmity apparent between liberal leaders, should not be undervalued in an
18 Jose Antonio Aguilar Rivera, "Constitutional Government of Mexico, 1857-1861," in Liberty in
Mexico: Writings on Liberalismfrom the Early Republican Period to the Second Half of the Twentieth
Century, trans. Janet Burke and Ted Humphrey, ed. Jose Antonio Aguilar Rivera (Indianapolis, Ind:
Liberty Fund, 2012), 353.
Gonzalez 13
examination of the Reform's importance. Examining the role of these individuals had in shaping
Reform legislation reveals the tensions at work between the idealistic repUblican visions the
Liberals had for Mexico and the reality of Mexico's historical and social framework. To
demonstrate the interconnectivity of legislators and their legislation, this study will present an
analysis of Reform legislation that links the Reform's political leadership and their experiences
to both the legislation and their liberal vision.
While the Plan de Ayutla is not part of the body of Reform legislation, it represented a
vision of the democratic Mexican state and is therefore a valuable tool for understanding how its
drafters understood their role in the development of a Mexican republic. The proclamation at
Ayutla also represented the tensions between the puros and moderados as both sides struggled to
see their views represented in this plan for the new nation. This struggle for the upper hand in
Mexican politics largely characterized the relationship between the puros and moderados
throughout the early years of the liberal administration until tensions reached a boiling point
following the triumph of radical liberalism in the 1857 Constitution. The plan was offered as an
opportunity to implement a republican style of governance, immediately seized by liberal figures
who recognized it as an opportune moment to try to implement their particular vision for
Mexico.
The Plan de Ayutla was drafted by members of different liberal camps that managed to
attract a diverse group of liberals and moderates to the Ayutla Revolution. The first, Juan
,
Alvarez, was a hacienda owner from the southern state of Guerrero.
19
Although a member of the
liberalism's more radical sect, Alvarez was politically astute and flexible in choosing his political
alliances, exemplified by his willingness to form a coalition with the moderados under the plan.
19
Stevens, Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico, 120.
Gonzalez 14
Alvarez found common ground will his more moderate associate Ignacio Comonfort, a fellow
hacienda-owner and retired militia colone1. 2o Like Alvarez, Comonfort hailed from southern
Mexico, and viewed Santa Anna's declining power as an opportune moment to move away from
centralism and towards a constitutional government. Although Comonfort was skeptical of
federalism and puro notions of disbanding the army and eliminating the Church, his aspiration of
constitutional government led him to adopt a more conciliatory attitude towards the puros in the
early years of the Revolution. 21 Comonfort's military training and connections made him a
valuable asset to the Ayutla coalition, despite his more cautious liberal politics. 22 The plan,
drafted at a meeting on Alvarez's hacienda and sent to a military commander in southern Mexico
Colonel Florencio Villarreal, ignited a revolutionary movement in southern Mexico that then
connected with a supporting movement in northern Mexico to dismantle the government of Santa
Anna over the course of sixteen months. 23
While the text of the document supported the creation of a constitutional system, it
refrained from outlining specific republican institutions and liberal discourse in order to unite a
more diverse group under the plan. Rather than using the plan as a platform for liberal idealism,
its drafters instead acknowledged the political realities of the Mexican system and used the
frustration with the ineffectiveness of the declining central republic as a tool to gain more
widespread support for their cause. The text proposed a simple, yet somewhat fatalistic assertion,
claiming that the nation "[could not] continue much longer without constituting itself in a stable
and lasting way", nor let its very political existence depend on the "capricious will of a single
Brian R. Hamnett, Juarez (London: Longman, 1994) 57.
Stevens, Origins of InstabiliZv in Ear~v Republican Mexico, 121.; Hamnett, Juarez, 57.
22 Rosaura Hernandez Rodriguez, Ignacio Comonfort: Trayectoria Politica, Documentos (Mexico:
Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de Mexico, Instituto de Investigaciones Hist6ricas, 1967) 31.
23 Hamnett, Juarez, 58.
20
21
Gonzalez 15
man".24 This reference to not only Santa Anna, but also the great territorial loss and state of
instability that characterized his rule was designed to attract the support of the centralist regime's
political opposition.
In acknowledging the failings of the centralist system, the plan offered some autonomy
back to the regional powers. Following the plan's adoption in most territories, a constituent
congress was to be convened "with a representative from each State and Territory" to select an
interim president of the Republic. 25 While it did not yet propose a federal system, both Alvarez
and Comonfort recognized the vital importance of gaining regional support for the national
regime. At the same time however, liberal desires to overcome regional tensions and distinctions
that led historians to view the national makeup as "many Mexicos" were overwhelmingly present
in the document. The text emphasized the existence of a Mexican nation that, while containing
diverse states and territories "is and will always be one, singUlar, indivisible, and independent. ,,26
The plan walked a fine line between ensuring territorial rights while also claiming the supremacy
of the central government's power, as did the liberal government that followed it. However,
while doing so, it attracted sufficient regional support to overthrow Santa Anna's regime and
draw liberals throughout the nation and in exile in the United States back into the political arena
to playa role in the Reform administration.
Alvarez and Comonfort successfully created a document that united disparate factions in
order to gain power, a step that recognized the political utility of compromise, particularly in
efforts to gain power. The successful Revolution furthermore represented an understanding of
Mexico's regionally fragmented political system, correctly assessing the regional leaders'
24 -. 1854 Plan de Ayutla." Memoria Politica de Mexico. Instituto Naci6nal de Estudios Politicos, 2012.
http://memoriapoliticademexico.orgiTextos/3 Reformal1 854PDA.html.
25 Ibid.
26 Ibid.
Gonzalez 16
frustration with attempts at centralism and therefore their willingness to support a government
that recognized some degree of regional autonomy. In absence of outlining clear liberal political
institutions to be put in place, it instead acted as a call to arms for all those opposed to Mexican
centralism. Once it became clear that the Plan had sufficient military support to overcome Santa
Anna's government, it gained the backing of the moderado Jose Maria Iglesias and notable puros
Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, and Benito Juarez. Further, its success drew conservative defectors
from Santa Anna's own regime, including Felix Zuloaga, one of Santa Anna's military
commanders, and Antonio Haro y Tamariz, his former finance minister?7 While the presence of
conservatives like Zuloaga and Haro y Tamariz in the revolutionary movement may appear
puzzling, it speaks to the power of the plan's call for Reform and the desire of Mexican
politicians of all political orientations to have a voice in it. The Plan de AyutIa's brilliance lies in
its non-specificity; the proposition of a constitutional system allowed a diverse group of Mexican
politicians to view the movement as their own potential path to power.
While gaining the support needed to bring the revolutionary movement to power, the Plan
de Ayutla set the stage for a power struggle between its coalition's disparate factions. Alvarez
and Comonfort understood that by offering power to both puros and moderados, the new
government would have to operate on cooperation and compromise or fall victim to liberal infighting. The revolutionary government that came to power under Juan Alvarez in late 1855 and
continued under Ignacio Comonfort's through 1857 was the administration that tasked itself with
passing key legislation designed to modify Mexico's traditional social structure to accommodate
a Mexican federal republic.
27
Hamnett, Juarez,
T'
59 .
Gonzalez 17
The early Refonn government put into effect three laws through executive decree
designed to redefine the relationship between the Mexican Church and state and implement
equality before the law. Ley Juarez, Ley Lerdo, and Ley Iglesias were largely driven by the
political concerns of their namesakes and shaped as reactions to internal debates occurring
between the puro and moderado factions of the early Refonn cabinet. The passage of these laws
both introduced new political leaders to forefront of Mexican politics and hinted at the growing
dominance of the radical liberalism that would be fully realized in the provisions of the 1857
Constitution.
Ley Juarez, the first of these laws, was passed shortly after the Alvarez administration
assumed power in November 1855. Its swift implementation and focus on equality before the
law attests to the legal preoccupation of President Comonfort's Minister of Justice, Benito
Juarez. Juarez, the most famous of the liberal reformers, was a fervent proponent of the puro
liberal vision, yet strived to overcome partisan divides to benefit the Mexican nation. Born a
member of the Zapotec civilization in Oaxaca, Juarez developed a connection with budding
Mexican liberalism as a student at the Oaxaca Institute. Contrary to the conservative tendencies
expressed by many indigenous politicians in the early independent era, Juarez identified with the
ideas of liberalism which he viewed as an equalizing force. By the time he became Minister of
Justice in the Reform administration, he had experience as a lawyer, judge, and member of the
nascent liberal movement in Oaxaca, serving as governor of the state from 1847-1852. 28
Juarez's assessment of the conservative and liberal struggle at the national and local level
profoundly influenced his political outlook and goals. In the failed national liberal regimes of
1829 and 1833-1834, he saw the personal ambitions and political immaturity of the
28
Hamnett, Juarez, 21-23, 45.
Gonzalez 18
administrations' leaders as the fundamental obstacle to their success. 29 For Juarez, the key to
creating a democratic Mexican state was the elimination of personal ambitions and enmities. In a
speech at Hidalgo, commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Mexican independence
struggle on September 16, 1840, he declared that it was the role of a politician to place "loyalty
to the nation above private political objectives" in order to ensure the continued survival of
Mexico as an independent nation. 3o The establishment of the nation as the authority that upheld
"the supremacy of civil power and the law" lay at the heart of Juarez's political objectives. 31
The Juarez law worked to re-establish the supremacy of civil authority by making the
privileged classes more equal in the eyes of Mexican law. The law, officially known as the Law
of the Administration of Justice and Organic Courts of the Nation and District Territories,
eliminated the special court system for the military and clergy and special privileges the Church
had maintained since colonial times. 32 In a letter to a political associate named Romero, Juarez
described how, upon the first meeting of Alvarez's cabinet, he felt it was essential to
immediately introduce such reforms:
Since then I stated that, in my opinion, it was essential to introduce in the field of
administration of justice some reforms, repealing, or modifying for now, the provisions
that brought about special tribunals, [known] to be notoriously harmful to society, by the
abuse of[the] social classes whom it [served] and to be in open conflict with the principle
31
Ibid, 26.
Ibid, 27.
Ibid, 10.
32
Hernandez Chavez, Mexico, 147.
29
30
Gonzalez 19
of equality that the nation, [that] the latest revolution that had just triumphed, intended to
proVl'de. 33
Juarez justified the reform of the judicial system by explaining it as the elimination of privilege
and institution of equality among social groups. While this law and others he supported were
often framed by clerics and their conservative supporters as anti-clerical, Juarez was careful to
couch such provisions in terms of eliminating privilege. 34 Interestingly, Juarez went on to note
the reception his court reform received from President Alvarez and Igancio Comonfort, who was
then the Minister of War, noting that Alvarez was in agreement with the reform while Comonfort
was not hostile towards it. The tacit acquiescence of Comonfort in particular, who Juarez
claimed did not have the time to attend a reading or discussion of the law's draft, is glaring when
compared to his hostility towards provisions similar to the Juarez law that appeared in the 1857
Constitution. 35 In the early administration, the moderate Comonfort seemed far more willing to
make concessions with his radical counterparts.
The text of the law places the removal of judicial ecclesiastical privilege in the greater
context of reforming the entire legal system to make it more equitable. Under the law, all special
courts were abolished apart from military and ecclesiastical courts which had their jurisdictions
severely limited. In articles 42 and 44, the law specifically removes the ecclesiastical courts'
jurisdictions over civil and criminal cases, taking care to note that "the provisions covered by this
33 Benito Juarez, Letter to Romero, in Biografia del C. Benito Juarez: La Independencia lnterrumpida,
Anastasio Zerecero and Jose Carmen Soto Correa (Mexico, D.F.: Instituto Politecnico Nacional, UNAM,
2006),56.
31 Hernandez Chavez, Mexico, 147.
35 Benito Juarez, Letter to Romero, 56.
Gonzalez 20
article are general for the Republic, and the states shall not change or modify them.,,36 This
assertion of the supremacy of national law serves as a reminder to state governors and other
regional leaders of the limits of their autonomy. Yet, the text additionally reveals the
administration's acute awareness of the delicate grasp they had on power. This is perhaps best
exemplified by the oath Supreme Court Justices were required to uphold that asked Justices "to
observe and enforce the Plan of Ayutla and the laws issued in consequence, dispensing justice
and faithfully and loyally fulfilling your orders". The law goes on to add that, if they are inclined
to disagree with this oath, they should realize that God and the nation will demand this allegiance
of them. 37 By adding the statement of supremacy and oath of allegiance to the Revolution of
Ayutla, the drafters acknowledged the controversial nature of the law and the existence of
opposition to any elimination of clerical privileges.
The law in its entirety was an overhaul of the Mexican legal system that specifically
struck at the power of courts, making them subordinate to executive power. 38 This was a part of
the administration's larger goal of demonstrating the supremacy of civil power while keeping the
judicial system under their control and, therefore, more immediately aligned with the promotion
of liberal institutions. Judicial power would fall under even more direct control of the
administration when Juarez was appointed Chief Justice in 1857.
However, the reach of executive power is often viewed as a secondary, if not incidental,
implication of the law compared to the elimination of clericalfueros or special "rights". Debates
over the nature of the relationship between the Mexican state and Catholic Church were not
36" 1855 Ley de Administraci6n de Justicia y Organica de los Tribunales de la Federaci6n, Ley Juarez".
Memoria Polilica de Mexico. Instituto Naci6nal de Estudios Politicos, 2012, Articles 42 & 44.
http://www.memoriapoliticademexico.orgiTextos/3Reforma!1855LEJ.html.
37 Ibid, see the 4th Article under Articulos Transitorios.
38 Hamnett, Juarez, 60.
Gonzalez 21
novel, nor was anti-clerical rhetoric and legislation from radical liberals in local and territorial
governments. Although the notion of eliminating the preferential treatment of the Church had
long been an ideal in radical liberalism, the Juarez law was the first significant attempt to
eliminate clerical influence imposed at the national level. As Jose Maria Iglesias, a moderado
and key figure in the Treasury Department, later noted in his autobiography, "with the exception
of only a few bold steps", past governments, even liberal ones, "had not ventured [into] religious
matters.,,39 Iglesias's words seem to reflect a common dissatisfaction with previous efforts to
reform clerical privilege (or the lack thereof) since Mexican independence. The Juarez law,
viewed in conjunction with later laws like Ley Lerdo, which disentailed church property, and
Ley Iglesias, which placed limits on the amount of money parishes could collect from
parishioners, was part of an active effort of the radical forces in the Reform administration to try
to dismantle the privilege and power structure of the Church.
Historians like Michael Costeloe have noted the liberal focus on clerical reform appears
to be a "moot point" because clerical judicial privilege had been "virtually abolished" in practice
under Spanish colonial rule for "any serious crime against civil or criminal law". 40 Yet, the
Reformers were undoubtedly aware of these common legal procedures, suggesting that there was
a motivation for instituting these measures beyond countering a problem with clerical abuse of
justice that did not exist. While Juarez and other leaders may have believed that the special
courts were harmful to society in practice, they also emphasized that the very existence of these
special courts was "in open conflict with the principle of equality" that they intended to
Jose Marfa Iglesias, Autobigrajia (Mexico: Instituto de Estudios Hist6ricos de la Revoluci6n Mexicana,
1987),20.
40 Costeloe, Church and State in Independent Mexico. 173.
39
Gonzalez 22
impose. 41 The official restriction put on the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical church acted as a
symbolic removal of privileged institutions that established a finn break with the Church and
state relationship of the past.
While the Juarez law alone may have caused some controversy, the Lerdo law,
promulgated in June 1856, added significantly to the enmity between the Church and Comonfort
administration, which had just took office the previous December. The crux of the law is
expressed in its very first article which stated "all rustic and urban fanns managed [and owned]
by the civil or ecclesiastical corporations of the Republic" must sell these properties "to those
who have leased [it], for the value corresponding to the income that the tenants currently pay ... ".
The law, aimed to make the ownership of land accessible to a larger number of Mexicans, forced
the sale of properties managed, but not presently occupied by civil or ecclesiastical corporations.
The provisions required corporations to first offer the land to their current tenants before opening
it up for public sale. The corporations would receive payment for their lands, however Article 25
prohibited corporations from purchasing or managing real estate apart from buildings for
immediate use that directly service the institution. 42 Prefacing the law's provisions was a
statement from the administration explaining the reasoning behind the disentailment of corporate
properties:
" ... considering that one of the biggest obstacles to prosperity and greatness of the nation,
is the lack of movement or free flow of much of the real estate, the foundation of public
~I Benito Juarez, Letter to Romero, 56.
42
"La Ley Lerdo," Instituto Nacional de Estudios Historicos de las Revoluciones de Mexico, 2013
http://www.inehrm.gob.mx/PortaIlPtMain.php?pagina=exp-ley-Ierdo.
Gonzalez 23
wealth, and in exercise of the powers vested in me [President Comonfort] proclaimed in
Ayutla plan and renovated in Acapulco has seen fit to decree as follows ... ".43
Like the Juarez law, Ley Lerdo was aimed at correcting what Reformers perceived to be a
fundamental injustice, the monopolization of a large portion of Mexico's real estate by
corporations. While not directed solely at the Church, as a major landholder this law would
constitution as a major loss for ecclesiastical corporations.
The Lerdo law was met with a mixed response from both radical liberals and
conservatives. Unlike the Juarez law, which was passed by executive decree before the
establishment of an elected legislature, the Lerdo law was subject to debate and passage by the
unicameral legislature. Conservatives, who were represented in the legislature, albeit in small
numbers, vehemently opposed the provision as they viewed it as a direct attack on the Church
itself.44 Conversely, some puros believed the simple sale of properties to be too lax; they called
for the nationalization of corporate lands. After a debate, nationalization was deemed too
extreme a measure at present and the law was adopted in its entirety by a vote of 78 to 15.
45
While Lerdo was responsible for the drafting of the law as Treasury Secretary, his own
feelings on the measure are somewhat unclear. Miguel Lerdo de Tejada was a leading puro from
Veracruz who developed an enmity with President Comonfort, who he perceived as acting too
conciliatory towards their conservative opposition by allowing them representation rather than
eliminating them.
H •• La
46
However, given his role in drafting the text of the law, it seemed that Lerdo
Ley Lerdo".
14 Hamnett, Juarez, 68.
45 Raul Gonzalez Lezama, "La Ley Lerdo: un gran paso para la secularizaci6n de la sociedad mexicana,"
Institufo Nacional de £Studios Hist6ricos de las Revoluciones de Mexico, 2013.
http://www.inehrm.gob.mx/PortaI/PtMain.php?pagina=exp-ley-lerdo-articulo.
46 Stevens, Origins oj Instability in Early Republican Mexico, 127; Hamnett, Juarez, 68.
Gonzalez 24
was aware of the potentially negative implications of nationalization and opted for the less
controversial route of forced property sales to maintain some stability and not ignite outright
rebellion against the liberal administration. Here, the perspective of Lerdo' s fellow cabinet
member and Chief Clerk of the Treasury, Jose Maria Iglesias can be illuminating. Iglesias, a
moderate from Mexico City, recounted the fallout of Lerdo's famous law in his autobiography,
noting his frustration with the bureaucratic difficulties the Lerdo law presented:
Having issued his famous law of June 25, 1856 on confiscation of church property ... all
matters relating to this business ran by my section, [while] his law does not correspond to
his office. This is [enough] to form centenaries of expedients with countless cases and
queries that [require] resolution. Many of the agreements in [this] sector were published
in the report that Mr. Lerdo formed from the acts of his ministry, and all or almost all
such arrangements were written by me. 47
It is notable that Iglesias refers to Ley Lerdo as "on the confiscation of church property", perhaps
revealing how he and perhaps others viewed the law's true focus at the time. Iglesias'
recollection demonstrates that the bureaucratic impacts of the Lerdo law may have initially been
overwhelming for the fledgling administration.
The final law issued that was vital to Reform nation-building was yet another provision
dealing with the power of the Church, the Iglesias law. Issued in April 1857 to touch on
provisions not covered by the Constitution promulgated that February, the law was penned by
Jose Maria Iglesias to impose limits on amounts parishes could collect from their parishioners or
47
Jose Maria Iglesias, Autobigrafia, 19.
Gonzalez 25
charge for religious services. While imposing limits on how much and from whom the church
could collect offerings, the law reflects Iglesias' more moderate viewpoint by providing financial
support for parishes that would struggle financially as a result of the law's provisions. In the first
article, the law enumerates a series of restrictions on money collection already part of local legal
codes, many of which date to the colonial period. These impose limits on the amounts the church
can collect, specifically prohibiting them from collecting from the poor who Article 2 defines as
"those who do not acquire from [their] personal work ... more than the daily amount necessary for
subsistence", an amount to be determined by the government of each state or territory.48 Article I
additionally identifies laws preventing the charging of exorbitant fees for religious services,
particularly baptisms, marriages, and funerals. Further, Article 5 states that any parish found to
be violating collecting more than what was permitted would be fined three times the amount they
over-collected, which would then be redistributed to the affected parties. Despite these harsh
restrictions, Iglesias included a provision in Article 12 which states that if a church operating in
"strict observance of the provisions of Article 1 of this law" has insufficient funds from
following these laws, "the government will take care to provide [for] them [sufficiently)".49 It is
likely that Iglesias included this provision to encourage adherence to Article 1 rather than out of
concession, given his views on the necessity of eliminating clerical privilege.
In a way, Iglesias saw his work as a part of the legal framework that included the Juarez
and Lerdo laws that had landed "successive blows against clerical domination."so While Lerdo
himself was not a constituent diplomat or participant in the constitutional convention, he
involved himself in legislative business by virtue of his work in drafting the Iglesias law and
48" 1857 La Ley Iglesias, sefiala los aranceles parroquiales para el cobra de derechos y obvenciones".
Memoria Politica de Mexico. Instituto Naci6nal de Estudios Politicos,
2012. http://'Www.memoriapo1iticademexico.orgiTextos/3 Reformal1857LU.html.
49 "1857 La Ley Iglesias".
50 Jose Maria Iglesias, Autobigrafia, 19.
Gonzalez 26
promulgating the Lerdo law through his work at the Department of the Treasury.51 In his
autobiography, Iglesias makes it clear that he knew his position as Secretary of Justice, a post he
held from January to May 1857 following his position as chief clerk of the Treasury, was a
"delicate" position due to the inevitability of dealing with ecclesiastical affairs. However, he
viewed his role in limiting ecclesiastical influence as vital, because, under colonial rule, "the
clergy had exercised complete dominion over consciences," which, in tum, influenced
government action. Upon achieving independence, Iglesias and other liberals recognized that this
"theocratic element" remained and saw the need of the government to remove the influence of
"the two privileged classes", namely the army and clergy, to progress as a nation. 52 However
Iglesias, writing with the benefit of hindsight, acknowledged the strong clerical opposition that
would develop in response to these laws. He attributes the liberal and conservative clash in the
Reform war to the enflamed clerical response to the laws which, due to many provisions that
additionally affected the military, received ample military support in its insurrection. 53 However,
these liberal-clerical tensions would not reach a boiling point until the passage of the 1857
Constitution that enshrined the provisions of the Juarez and Lerdo laws in constitutional
legislation while additionally restructuring the nation along federal lines.
Out of the Plan de Ayutla, the three key laws that restricted clerical privilege, and the
1857 Constitution, the Constitution emerged as the document most representative of the
Reform's process of negotiation and conflict. The Constitution was subject to fierce debate
between the puro and moderado sects of the early Reform era's Constituent Congress, which
Javier Moctezuma Barragan, Jose Marfa Iglesias y la Justicia Electoral (Mexico: Universidad Nacional
Aut6noma de Mexico, Instituto de Investigaciones Juridicas, 1994),26.
52 Jose Maria Iglesias, Aurobigrajia, 20.
53 Ibid. 21.
51
Gonzalez 27
contained representatives from each Mexican state and territory. 54 The divide of the Congress
along puro and moderado lines became apparent based on what provisions the different sects
advocated. Moderates were not always comfortable with the idea of a republic, which made them
approach calls for the implementation of a federal system with skepticism. While they agreed
that some limits should be imposed on the Church's power, they took issue with the rapid and
expansive nature of ecclesiastical reform, particularly Ley Lerdo' s provision of land
disentailment. However, they agreed with the puros over some fundamental democratic ideals,
like equality before the law, the need for a constitution-based system, and free speech and press.
The moderate viewpoint promoted creating a function democratic government, yet one with
relatively limited powers that would not break entirely with tradition and some of the existing
infrastructure of the state. 55 In contrast, the puros advocated for the establishment of a federal
republic with a federal system and complete separation of church and state. They viewed the
establishment of a secularized republican infrastructure to be fundamental for making Mexico a
modem and progressive nation. 56 These conflicting viewpoints on the extent to which liberalism
should alter Mexican society served as the primary points of contention in the constitutional
debate.
The 1857 Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States served as the culmination of
the revolutionary vision for a republican society articulated in the Plan dy Ayutla and the efforts
made by the liberals to limit ecclesiastical power in the Juarez and Lerdo laws. In the
Constitutional Convention of 1856-1857, the representatives of the Constituent Congress focused
on two key proposed features of the document, the institution of federalism and the expression of
religious freedom through the official separation of the Catholic Church and the Mexican state.
54
Carbajal, La Consolidadon de Mexico Como Nadon, 20.
55
Stevens, Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico, 111.
56
Ibid, 31.
Gonzalez 29
provisions clearly reflect the puro belief that strong federal control was necessary to establish the
supremacy of civil power and law.
The puro belief in strong federal control carried over to the debate on religious freedom
in which puros pushed for the complete disestablishment of the Catholic Church and explicit
separation of Church and state. While the measure for complete separation was defeated by the
moderados, the incorporation of the Juarez and Lerdo laws in addition to provisions that barred
clerics from office viewed as a radical victory. 59 In addition to the moratorium imposed on
corporations purchasing real estate (Article 27) and the elimination of special courts (Article 13),
Articles 56 and 77 forbid clerics from holding executive or legislative office. The clergy had
been denied representation in the constitutional convention, an act done to once again emphasize
the supremacy of civil power. The systematic exclusion of their participation in future
government decisions was consistent with liberal attitudes towards the negative influence of
clerics. 60 Though the Constitution did not explicitly institute separation of Church and state, the
anti-clerical provisions in the text made it evident that the puros not only wanted to eliminate
clerical privilege, but also wanted to prevent clerical privilege and civil power from intersecting
altogether.
Historian D. F. Stevens has argued that, in their struggle to limit state-supported
privilege, the puros ironically constructed an "increasingly powerful state apparatus".61 The
sprawling nature of this federal state's power, also evident in the Constitution's extensive
systems set up to limit ecclesiastical privilege, is both what makes the Reform so fundamental to
Mexican nation-building, but is also, in part, why the early Reform administration dissolved. The
puro provisions of the constitution caused significant friction between the puros and the
59
611
61
Stevens, Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico, 3 I.
Hamnett, Juarez, 62.
Stevens, Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico, 3 I.
Gonzalez 28
The concerns over federalism primarily dealt with the equitable distribution of power
between the federal government and Mexican states in territories. As the text of the document
demonstrates, the puros, who insisted on the vital importance of emphasizing the supremacy of
civil law above all else, successfully campaigned for the establishment of a strong federal
government that would ideally have the power to reign in disorder and rebellion in the Mexican
states and territories. While in practice this subordinacy was not truly honored, especially due to
the shifting nature of military allegiances, the establishment of a federal system in this vein drew
on the liberal ideas of the United States Constitution and a direct predecessor to the development
of Mexican liberalism, the Constitution of Cadiz. 57
Articles 40 and 41 in the constitution's section on sovereignty and form of government
state establish the fundamental relationship between the federal and state governments. Article
40 asserts that "It is the will of the Mexican people to become representative, democratic,
federal, and free and sovereign in all matters relating to their internal government, but united in a
federation established according to the principle of this fundamental law." The following article
further establishes that the actions of any state may not "contravene the provisions of the federal
pact." Later articles enumerate the specific powers that belong to each of the federal
government's three branches (Articles 72-102), the powers forbidden to the states (Articles 111
and 112), the powers reserved for the states by nature of not being reserved for the federal
government (Article 117), and the establishment of the Mexican Supreme Court as the venue for
settling conflicts of jurisdiction between the federal government and states (Article 99).58 These
Hamnett, Juarez, 71.
"1857 Constituci6n Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos". Memoria Politica de Mexico. Instituto
Naci6nal de Estudios Politicos, 2012.
http://www.memoriapoliticademexico.orgiTextos/3ReformalI85 7CFM.html.
57
58
Gonzalez 30
moderados at the highest level of governance. In late 1857, President Comonfort, unhappy with
the radical provisions and their perceived overreach, decided to no longer uphold the constitution
and instead called for another constitutional convention to draft a new constitution that would be
more acceptable to all factions. This act, however, lost him the support of the puros and ended
with his swift deposition from power and the start of the Reform War struggle between the
conservatives and radical liberal forces led by Benito JUareZ.
62
The outbreak of the war marked
the end of the early Reform government and the spirit of compromise that characterized and
balanced it.
The viewpoints articulated in the 1857 Constitution, Plan de Ayutla, and laws of Reform
revealed the anxieties liberal leaders had regarding Mexican nation-building. Their anxieties
were both specific to the Mexican context and its complex colonial and independent legacy, but
also articulated in larger concerns of liberal and democratic nation-building discourse such as
federalism and religious freedom.
IV.
CONCLUSION
The Mexican state came of age in the early nineteenth century, an era where models of
democratic nation-building were scarce, leaving newly independent nations susceptible to
fragmentation as different groups pushed for their own visions of a repUblican system to be
realized. The ideals of Liberalism and the models of early republican state systems such as the
United States may have provided some direction for Mexican elites in the post-independence
period. However, adopting ideals into a republican system with functioning state institutions that
could successfully address the challenges of converting a colony rife with social, economic,
raciaL and religious tensions into a modem democratic state inevitably led to the formation of
62
Aguilar Rivera, "Constitutional Government of Mexico", 353.
Gonzalez 31
groups with wildly different views on how to achieve this goal. 63 The Liberal refonners were not
immune to this factionalism, yet they transfonned the competing discourses of the puro and
moderado liberals into a successful tool to examine differing views on state-building. The era of
Liberal Refonn became central to Mexico's nation-building process because it was the first time
in Mexico's independent history that a group was able to consolidate their power and, anned
with the knowledge of the success and failures of their early post-independence predecessors,
implement a series of refonns that created the foundation for a democratic Mexican state.
Some historians view the significant period of the Refonn as one that extends from the
declaration at Ayutla in 1854 to the end of Juarez's presidency in 1872.64 The radical liberals
who remained under Juarez's leadership during the Refonn war and French occupation
continued to issue legislation intended to refonn the government along republican lines. Yet the
legislation issued prior to 1857 represented the outlook of a collaborative process. This early
legislation represented a more balanced point of view that proved vital to Mexican nationbuilding; the perspective of the moderados largely prevented the puros from taking too extreme
steps that would provoke their political enemies. The existences of both the moderados. who
held a cautious liberal vision infonned by Mexico's political realities, and the puros, who fought
for the realization of an idealized liberal Mexico, developed legislation that established and
reinforced core liberal values to Mexican political discourse. The strength of the Refonn
legislation lies the efforts of this coalition that, while limiting itself through internal dissent, still
held to a liberal vision for the Mexican state that touted federalism and religious freedom as the
harbingers of democracy and modernity.
63 William G. Acree and Juan Carlos Gonzalez Espitia, introduction to Building Nineteenth-Century Latin
America: Re-rooted Cultures, Identities, and Nations, Ed. William G. Acree and Juan Carlos Gonzalez
Espitia (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2009), 3.
64 Carbajal, La Consolidacic5n de Mexico Como Nacion, 408.
Gonzalez 32
The Liberals realized that, in order to establish their core liberal values as important
tenants of Mexican political discourse, idealism often had to be exchanged for policy molded by
the political realities of the nation. As early as the divisive period of the Reform War, it became
clear that these liberal principles did not establish a federal and secular democratic Mexico.
However, the work of the Reformers was valuable because it officially introduced these
principles into Mexican political discourse through their administration, elevating liberal ideals
to matters of national importance and discussion. Through the speeches and legislation of these
liberal leaders, those outside of the liberal movement were exposed to their concepts and
idealisms. While the Reform did not formally establish republican governance in any lasting
way, this period was vital to Mexico's nation-building trajectory because it introduced core
liberal values to a Mexican audience on a national level, values that, fittingly and in the spirit of
democracy, largely represented views of both the puros and moderados and their collaborative
efforts.
Gonzalez 33
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