Mexico, Centralism

When Mexico first became an independent nation, it faced the problem of creating a system of government within a liberal constitutional framework. Following the failure of the monarchy led by Agustín de Iturbide (1822–1823), the viable options were those of either a federal or unitary republic. Federalism prevailed in 1824. From that time on, the proponents of centralism believed that the federal system was not appropriate for Mexico because regional interests would divide the nation. The first experiment in Mexican federalism reached a crisis point in 1834. The centralists came to power and were able to establish two systems of centralized national organization between 1835 and 1846: the República de las Siete Leyes (Republic of the Seven Laws, 1835–1841) and the República de las Bases Orgánicas (Republic of Organic Foundations, 1843–1846). The centralist system sought to make political order compatible with political freedoms for Mexicans: it attempted to rein in military caudillos (charismatic, authoritarian leaders) and prevent undue influence by the army; it sought a better balance of powers; it abolished the sovereignty of the Mexican states and limited that of municipalities, while awarding departments (which took the place of the states) the necessary autonomy to ensure their welfare; it placed restrictions on political participation, as was common in most of the world; and finally, it centralized the national treasury.

Centralism did not last long in the nineteenth century, given the highly conflictive domestic and international contexts. In retrospect, it was an isolated phenomenon in the history of Mexican political organization. However, several concepts of this centralism were incorporated into Mexico's constitutional system: an express declaration of the rights of all Mexicans, the strengthening of the national government vis-à-vis that of the states, the suppression of the vice presidency, and the need to establish a body to oversee the constitutional order and protect the rights of citizens from abuses by entities of the state.

See alsoFederalism .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Costeloe, Michael P. The Central Republic in Mexico, 1835–1846: Hombres de bien in the Age of Santa Anna. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Sordo Cedeño, Reynaldo. El Congreso en la Primera República Centralista. Mexico: El Colegio de México-ITAM, 1993.

                               Reynaldo Sordo CedeÑo