Mexico After Independence Economic and Political Situation

Mexico after independence it underwent a great change at the economic, political and social structures and beliefs. The history of the Independence of Mexico (1810 - 1821) is full of fierce struggles for ideals such as freedom, justice and equality.

They were around 11 years of uncertainty, in which each participant fought for their own or common interests, which resulted in the independence of Mexico, and the beginning of another era. The consequences of years of instability, war and oppression became visible in all corners of the new nation..

Well, although the "good guys" won and brought Mexicans closer to their precious freedom, the reality is that the newly formed country was plunged into a crisis that affected most, if not all, areas necessary to promote and maintain its development..

You may be interested in seeing the causes of the independence of Mexico.

Article index

• 1 Mexico after independence
  • 1.1 -Economic scope
  • 1.2 -Political situation
  • 1.3 -Social scope
  • 1.4 -Religious field
• 2 References

Mexico after independence

-Economic scope

Mexico was mired in crisis. The war had reduced the labor force for economic sustenance.

It is estimated that at least one sixth of the population had perished in the battles, and the victims were, statistically, mainly men, who were responsible for most of the physical tasks, such as agriculture and mining..

Such a lack of manpower influenced the decline in food products. In addition, the number of bodies on the battlefields and the overcrowding in the trenches, led to infectious diseases that further plunged the people into misery..

Mexico was independent from Spain, but not from the Church or the wealthy classes. In addition, the new government had inherited the foreign debt that had been contracted to cover the salary of the soldiers, the weapons and all the expenses of the war..

For all this, Iturbide tried to lift the economy with mercantile strategies, but when these failed, he had to resort to drastic means, such as the reduction of taxes on investors and the auction of Church properties. After all, he was the one who possessed the most assets and privileges thanks to the favor of the Catholic kings of Spain..

This caused the discontent of the Church and the upper social classes, who had supported the Independence with the idea of ​​governing the country themselves..

Trade allowed some social classes, such as the mestizos, to prosper through trade. Despite all this, there was soon an economic stagnation due to the lack of transport infrastructure and the high rate of violence that reigned in rural areas..

The country was on the brink of misery and turned to the English to request a loan that only helped for a short period and that failed to inject the expected boom into the exploitation of mines..

In 1830 the Avio bank was founded, with the purpose of solving industries, but the development that was sought was slow compared to the needs of the people.

-Political situation

Between the years of 1821 to 1851, the country had more than 20 rulers. Mexico was a new country, mired in poverty and without diplomatic relations.

He saw his early years directed by Agustín de Iturbide who, despite having openly supported the Independence, soon after plotted and achieved his appointment as emperor..

The change from country to empire did not last long, as Antonio López de Santa Anna, a Veracruz caudillo, upon learning of Iturbide's true objective, took up arms and managed to come to power only 10 months after being supported by Vicente Guerrero and Nicolas Bravo.

Mexico was not ready to leave the revolts and the following years were full of uprisings in struggle for power, which ended up differentiating into two groups, Realists and Conservatives.. 

The royalists were supported by the United States of America and their objective was:

• Make radical changes in the social structure through a democratic and representative Republic for all social classes.
• Establish 3 powers: Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
• Allow freedom of belief
• Individual liberties
• Separate the Church from the State and seize its assets
• Let army crimes be judged fairly
• That education was available to everyone

The conservatives were supported by the privileged classes, the army, Spain and France, and their objectives were:

• Continue the privileges of the rich
• Institute a centralist monarchy with the states as departments
• Allowing clergy privileges and not allowing free choice of religion
• That the church provide the education to eliminate liberal ideas at their roots
• Education available only to the rich

The battles between the two factions returned to plunge the country into disarray, many of the Central American provinces separated, and the congress appointed a "Triumvirate" in which power would fall while a national assembly was convened..

In addition, in 1824, a fundamental constitution of 36 articles was published, which established that the country would be governed representatively and popularly as a Federalist Republic..

States were given power and sovereignty so that, even though they were part of the country, they had their own governments and laws. This was the basis for the current federal governments of the country..

The first president under these premises was Guadalupe Victoria, who was received by the people with the hope that he would bring the true changes of independence..

-Social ambit

Despite the fact that the town was free from Spanish oppression, the social classes remained marked. The rich and landowners continued to have privileges and the poor living in penury, victims of hunger and illiteracy..

Population growth was slow, as the war had raged and living conditions were deplorable The newborn survival rate was very low and the mortality rate from infection and disease very high.

In addition, the attempt at economic development concentrated industries in large cities and capitals, which caused a mass migration to the cities and left the countryside without labor..

These new settlements made cities grow much faster than the development of services allowed, so that large cities were divided between the areas of the rich, with services and amenities, and that of the poor, which were unhealthy and dirty..

Division of urban society

• High: Politicians, military and intellectuals.
• Medium: Artisans, merchants and workshop owners.
• Low: Bricklayers, cooks, porters, stonemasons, etc..

Rural society division

• High. Large merchants, ranchers, ejidatarios and administrators.
• Medium: Shopkeepers, artisans, mine workers and muleteers.
• Low: Indigenous.

Despite the constitution proclaiming equality, the reality was that servants were not allowed to vote and the lower class was marginalized due to their "tendency" to banditry..

The government did nothing to eliminate poverty or expose the leaders of the robber gangs, who were often the farmers themselves or the military leaders..

-Religious sphere

Despite being free from Spain, Catholicism was already ingrained in society; the landowners and descendants of the Spaniards did not allow or conceive of a republic separate from the clergy.

Such was the roots of the religion imposed by the Spaniards upon their arrival, that many of the indigenous people protected it with the same zeal as the upper classes..

The power that the Church maintained over the people and the government was overwhelming, because thanks to the years of inquisition and torture, not only did it have more properties than Congress, but it also had the responsibility for the education of the country, which only the sons of the landowners were allowed.

In conclusion, the beginning of Mexico as an independent country was very far from the expectations of the heroes and not so heroes of independence.

Liberation from an oppressive monarchy did not make the problems of poverty, illiteracy and elitism disappear, but increased them in a country that was left in complete disorder. The military forces, seeing that there was no government, took an important role in the balance of power..

There were no laws to protect the poor from abuses by the rich, the war had left minimal food production and many families lost all their male members, and at that time there were no guarantees or possible support from a disorganized government.

In addition to this, Mexico was the victim of the attempted colonization of several countries, such as France and the United States, which, seeing the fickle nation, tried to invade it and take over its natural resources..

References

1. New Spain versus Mexico: Historiography, Chust, Manuel. Complutense Magazine of America's History; Madrid33 (2007): pages. 15-33. Recovered from search.proquest.com.
2. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: A Legacy of Conflict, Richard Griswold del Castillo University of Oklahoma Press, 09/01/1992, pages 17 - 32. Recovered from books.google.com.
3. A Concise History of Mexico, Brian R. Hamnett, Cambridge University Press, 05/04/2006 - pages 172-182. Recovered from books.google.com.
4. The Crisis of Independence, Instability and the Early Nation by Dr. Eric Mayer, December 29, 2012. Recovered from emayzine.com.
5. The Economic History of Mexico, Richard Salvucci, Trinity University. eh.net/encyclopedia.
6. Caste and Politics in the Struggle for Mexican Independence, Hana Layson and Charlotte Ross with Christopher Boyer. Recovered from dcc.newberry.org.
7. .