5.5: The Industrial Revolution and Nation-Building in the Americas - Mexico in Crisis

Major Problems in Mexico at Independence

Mexico, in contrast to the USA, experienced acute political and economic instability, but the political system of Mexico was much more democratic and racially inclusive than the USA. However, the nation remained underdeveloped. Its exports consisted of primary products including silver cochineal, tobacco pepper, sisal, sugar, coffee, and tobacco. This primary product production entailed seizing land from indigenous peoples. In both the USA and Mexico, the natives put up fierce resistance which included litigation in the USA and a major uprising in Mexico. When war broke out between the USA and Mexico in 1846, it was by no means a foregone conclusion that the USA would soundly defeat Mexico. The USA was not an economic or military global power. For the most part, Mexico’s defeat was not a result of the power and strength of the USA but was the result of the acute instability within Mexico. As Mexico was fighting the USA, there were internal conflicts that sapped the strength of its military.

Mexico faced serious economic problems when it gained independence in 1821. Overall, the wars for independence devastated the Mexican economy. Mexico, like most of Spanish America, was undergoing its most severe political instability during 1820-1870. However, at this moment the USA, Japan, and much of Europe underwent the industrial revolution. The new nations in the Americas missed a crucial period and by 1900 were very far behind the major industrial powers technologically.

Overall, the break from Spain was a radical transformative break socially, politically, and economically. The independence of the USA from Britain was not as radical. The US colonies simply became states and the colonial legislative assemblies became state assemblies. The early leaders of the USA already had political experience governing their colonies. Spanish America did not have strong representative colonial institutions. These all had to be created by the new national leaders who lacked governing experience. The only two major institutions to survive independence were the military and the Catholic church which were allied with each other to maintain their power. Generals such as Augstin de Iturbide were not accountable to civilian institutions the way that George Washington was accountable to the Continental Congress. Additionally, economic instability hurt public finance and fostered regionalism. Look at the portraits of US President George Washington and Mexican General Augustin de Iturbide in Figure 5.5.1. Augustin de Iturbide was a Mexican general who made himself emperor while George Washington was a general who only served two presidential terms. In the portraits, Iturbide is dressed in full military attire while Washington is dressed in civilian clothing. Note how the artist, Gilbert Stuart, depicts Washington as a new Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, the ancient Roman statesman who laid down his arms after establishing peace. Based on these two images, how was George Washington a different type of leader from Agustin de Iturbide?

 

 

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Official Painting of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, National Portrait Gallery, in the Public Domain and Oil Portrait of Agustín de Iturbide by Primitivo Miranda, Museo Nacional de History, in the Public Domain

For the most part, there was very little consensus in Mexico as to how much power the national government should have. American leaders had similar conflicts, but they did not flair up into violence and instability until the Civil War in 1860. Additionally, the military and the Catholic church were powerful and caused conflict as well. The Conservatives, who wanted to maintain the power of these institutions, fought with the the Liberals who wanted to diminish the power of the military and the Church. In 1821, the church and military both had their own special courts called fueros and the Church controlled a substantial amount of land in Mexico.

The Constitution of 1824 created a very democratic country compared to the USA. Everyone born in Mexico was a citizen regardless of race and almost all male citizens had the right to vote. Mexico would then go on to have many mestizo presidents throughout the 1800s. In general, this constitution created a very weak national government and powerful state governments. As a consequence, the national government lacked the power to collect sufficient revenue in taxes. By 1828, the national government was bankrupt and defaulted on its loans from Britain. Frequent rebellions resulted as military officers and government officials could not be paid. This political climate only generated more economic problems, because people would not invest when there was so much political instability. There was little industrialization and no railroad construction.

Identity in Mexico much like the USA was local. Outside of Mexico City, few actually called themselves Mexican.  Most Mexicans were loyal to their local or state governments before the national government. To generate a sense of national identity and loyalty to the national government, good infrastructure is necessary. Mexico lacked railroads and the road system was utterly inadequate. It took weeks to travel from central Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico in the north. Education could also be used to create a sense of national identity, but Mexican parents needed the labor of their children and villages were too impoverished to employ well-educated teachers.

The Santa Anna Dictatorship and Revolt

By 1834, General Lopez de Santa Anna saw political instability and decided that a strong hand was necessary for peace.  So, Santa Anna overthrew the government and established a more powerful national government, but instability remained.  During 1833-1855, the presidency changed hands thirty-six times and the average term was seven and half months. There were major revolts in Guerrero, Jalisco, Zacatecas, the Yucatan, and Texas against Santa Anna. Public finance remained weak and resources were squandered on imports, monuments, statues, public buildings, and theaters.  Little was spent on education and infrastructure.

Nevertheless, the only revolt against Santa Anna to succeed was Texas. Many Mexicans in Texas rose up against the government and they received substantial support from Americans who had flooded into Texas to set up cotton estates. For the most part, these Americans feared that the Mexican government would abolish slavery in Texas. The Mexican government did not recognize Texas as an independent country. However, US President Jackson recognized Texas as an independent country and supported the expansion of cotton and slavery westwards.

Right as the Mexican government was fighting the Texas rebels, another major revolt broke out in the Yucatan. The native Mayans were adversely affected by the demand for primary products as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Beginning in the 1820s, Mexican elites increasingly took over land to produce sugar and sisal which is used to bind bales for North American farms and later to stuff seats for automobiles. The native communities were driven off their land and forced to work on plantations. There was also less land for the natives to grow corn.   Additionally, the natives had to pay taxes and serve in the army in the far north to fight Texas. The crisis came in 1838 when a faction of the military in the Yucatan declared independence until the 1824 Constitution was put back in place. The native Mayans were promised land and reduced taxes to join this rebellion. When the Mexican government granted the Mexican elites of the Yucatan self-government, these elites agreed to rejoin Mexico. However, the native Mayans were not given land or reduced taxes. So, a full-blown race war took place. The revolt was only put down after 30% to 40% of the Mayan population perished or were sold into slavery in Cuba.

The Mexican-American War and Its Aftermath

For the most part, the Mexican-American War occurred, because America’s new president James Polk was determined to acquire California in 1846. Oftentimes, the Americans who wanted national expansion also wanted to extend slavery.  Expansion also entailed taking land from racially mixed and non-white groups in northern Mexico.  The US annexed Texas in 1845 and this intensified major conflicts between the US and Mexico.  When fighting broke out, the USA was easily able to take over northern Mexico. The Mexican army was mostly in central Mexico and it would take weeks to get to northern Mexico.  The Mexican government was immediately thrown into crisis. The 1824 Constitution was reimplemented, but this constitution provided minimal funding to the national government to wage a major war. After US General Winfield Scott took Veracruz in 1847, the will to resist diminished.  The states would not provide money and men for the national government.  The 1848 peace treaty stipulated that the US would pay fifteen million dollars for Northern Mexico which constituted half of its territory. The Mexican government was on the verge of collapse by this point and desperately needed to end the fighting.

Mexico’s problems were far from over after the Mexican-American War. A civil war erupted during the 1850s and 1860s as a new generation of politicians led by Benito Juarez, sought to strip the Catholic church and the military of their powers. Then, the French invaded Mexico at the invitation of both institutions. Juarez ultimately regained power, but Mexico was then governed by dictator Porfirio Diaz who seized power in a military coup. For the most part, Diaz was supported by the elites and stripped the natives of their communal landholdings. As a result, the peasants and middle-class liberals rebelled in 1910. However, the opposition to Diaz was divided. While middle-class leaders wanted political change only, the peasants sought land redistribution. Ultimately, a new government emerged that addressed the demands of the peasants in the 1920s. However, Mexico would not have free and fair elections until the 1990s.

Review Questions

• What were the causes of instability in Mexico?
• How was the resistance of the Mayans in the Yucatan different from the Cherokees in the USA?