Constitutional empire . On September 27, 1821, after three centuries of Spanish rule,
Mexico gained independence. The
Treaty of Córdoba recognized part of the
Viceroyalty of New Spain as an Independent Empire – "monarchist, constitutional and moderate". The new country named itself the
Mexican Empire. The morning after the
Army of the Three Guarantees entered
Mexico City on September 28, 1821,
Agustín de Iturbide ordered the Supreme Provisional Governmental Junta (September 1821 – February 1822) to meet to elect a president of the Imperial Regency and to issue a declaration of independence for the new nation. Iturbide was elected president of the Regency, and that afternoon the members of the Regency and the Supreme Junta signed the Declaration. A minority of the Constituent Congress, looking for stability, elected
Agustín de Iturbide as emperor. On July 21, 1822, Iturbide was crowned Emperor of Mexico. However, the
Constitutional Empire quickly demonstrated the incompatibility of its two main parts: the Emperor and the Constituent Congress. The deputies were imprisoned just for expressing their opinions, and eventually Iturbide decided to dissolve the Congress and instead establish a National Board. The lack of a legitimate legislature, the illegitimacy of the Emperor, and the absence of real solutions to the nation's problems increased revolutionary activity.
Antonio López de Santa Anna proclaimed the
Plan of Casa Mata, to which later joined
Vicente Guerrero and
Nicolás Bravo. Iturbide was forced to reestablish the Congress and, in a vain attempt to save the order and keep the situation favorable to his supporters, he abdicated the crown of the empire on March 19, 1823. Congress nullified the designation of Iturbide and therefore the recognition of the abdication. It deemed the coronation of Iturbide to have been a logical mistake in consummation of Independence. Unrest in the provinces was widespread. On May 21, 1823,
The Founding Plan of the Federal Republic was enacted. Its sixth article stated, "The component parts of the Republic are free, sovereign and independent States in that which touches internal administration and government". Most of the
Free States, which were invited to form the
Federal Republic, joined the Union, except for the
five Central American provinces, the former
Captaincy General of Guatemala, which formed their own
Federal Republic. On January 31, 1824, the decree to create a
Constitutive Act of the Mexican Federation was issued, which incorporated the basic structure of the Federal Republic. It was determined that the criteria for inviting states to the federation should be that they "...not be so few that through expansion and wealth in a few years they be able to aspire to constitute themselves as independent nations, breaking the federal bond, nor so many that through lack of manpower and resources the system should come to be unworkable." Between 1823 and 1824, some of the
Free States created their own constitutions, and others had already installed a Constituent Congress. Special cases were those of
Yucatán, which on December 23, 1823, decided to join the federation but as a Federated Republic, and
Chiapas, which decided by referendum to join the federation on September 14, 1824. On October 4, 1824, the
Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 was enacted. The constitution officially created the
United Mexican States. The country was composed of 19 states and 4 federal territories. After the publication of the constitution, on November 18, the
Federal District was created. On November 24,
Tlaxcala, which had retained a special status since the colonial era, was incorporated as a territory. On October 10, 1824,
Guadalupe Victoria took office as the first
President of Mexico.
Centralist republic The political structure of the
Republic was amended by a decree on October 3, 1835, when the
centralist system was established. The constituent states of the
Republic lost their freedom, autonomy, independence, and sovereignty by being totally subordinated to the central government. However, the territorial division itself was the same, as the text of Article 8 of the Law determined: The national territory is divided into
departments, on the basis of population, location and other leading circumstances: its number, extension and subdivisions, would be detailed by constitutional law. The
Seven Constitutional Laws () were promulgated on December 30, 1836. The 1st article confirmed the decree of the law October 3, 1835; the
Republic would be divided into departments, these in districts and the districts in parties. The 2nd article posited that the division of the
Republic into departments would be under a special law with constitutional character. On December 30, 1835, a transitory decree was added to the
Seven Laws. The decree stated that the territory of Tlaxcala and the Federal District would become a part of the Department of Mexico. The territories of Alta and Baja California would form the department of the Californias.
Coahuila y Tejas would be divided into two departments. Colima would form part of Michoacán, and Aguascalientes would be declared a department. This period of political instability caused several conflicts between the central government and the entities of the country, and there were rebellions in several states: •
Yucatán, due to being a
Federated Republic, declared itself independent in 1840 (officially in 1841). The
República de Yucatán () rejoined Mexico in 1848. •
Texas declared its independence and declared war against the central government of
Mexico. The
Republic of Texas was created. Texas remained independent until 1845, when it joined the United States of America. From 1861 to 1865, Texas was part of the
Confederate States of America. After the defeat of the Confederacy in the
American Civil War (1861–65) and
Reconstruction, Texas rejoined the United States of America in 1870. • In 1840, the states of
Nuevo León,
Tamaulipas and
Coahuila declared themselves independent from Mexico for just under 250 days; the
República del Río Grande never consolidated because independent forces were defeated by the centralist forces. •
Tabasco declared its separation from Mexico in February 1841, in protest against centralism and the imposed sanctions by centralist president
Anastasio Bustamante. It rejoined in December 1842. On September 11, 1842, the region of
Soconusco joined
Mexico as part of the department of
Chiapas.
Restoration of the Republic and Second Empire The Federal Republic was restored by the interim president
José Mariano Salas on August 22, 1846. The state of
Guerrero was provisionally erected in 1849, on the condition that it be approved by the legislatures of the states of
México,
Puebla and
Michoacán, whose territories would be affected. On February 5, 1857, the
Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857 was enacted. In 1864, however, after the
French intervention, the conservative Mexicans restored the
constitutional monarchy, known as the
Second Mexican Empire, led by the emperor
Maximilian of Habsburg and supported by the French army of
Napoleon III. The Empire was deposed in 1867 by the republican forces of
Benito Juárez and the Federal Republic was restored again under the Constitution of 1857. The
Political Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1917 was the result of the
Mexican Revolution. The third Constitution of Mexico confirmed the federal system of government that is currently in effect. ==See also==