MARIANO OTERO: BIOGRAPHY, POLITICAL BEGINNINGS, PUBLICATIONS - ARTE - 2025

Mariano Otero (1817-1850) was an important Mexican politician of the 19th century, who stood out for his knowledge as a jurist. His most important contribution was the creation and application of the so-called amparo trial.

This work served to defend the fundamental rights of Mexicans, which were called individual guarantees and are currently defined in the Constitution of the country.

Statue of Mariano Otero in the «Rotonda de los Jaliscienses Ilustres. Source: Elmerhomerochombo, via Wikimedia Commons.

Otero stood out for the ideas he left embodied, especially because while he lived Mexico he witnessed important episodes of war and conflict. It was part of an important time for the formation and consolidation of Mexico as a Republic.

He held different positions at the political level. Among them, he was a deputy for five years and mayor in 1844. His role in the history and political development of Mexico was not more profound because he died young, only 33 years old.

Biography

José Mariano Fausto Andrés Otero Mestas was the full name given to the politician. Better known as Mariano Otero, Guadalajara was the city of his birth on February 4, 1817.

A common practice during the time in which Otero was born was to perform baptism, in this way the church was recognized as an institution. Otero received this sacrament in the Parroquia del Sagrario Metropolitano, located in Jalisco.

His parents were the couple formed by José Otero and Ana Gamarra. Her father died when Mariano was still very young. He then received the support of José Luis Verdia Bravo, 20 years older than Otero and also a native of Guadalajara.

Thanks to the help of Verdia, Otero managed to complete his studies. During his early years he sought to deepen as much as possible in his training as a jurist and surrounded himself with great thinkers of the time.

Studies

There are several documents that attest to the education that Mariano Otero received during his youth. To begin with, Jacobo Alcocer signed the title that shows that he completed the necessary four years of education in the area of ​​Civil Law.

Otero completed his high school education when he was only 18 years old. In order to obtain the title, he also had to pass an opposition contest, which is a test in which the knowledge and abilities of the students are tested.

Domenico Sánchez was in charge of examining Otero. Finally, Otero's title was signed by Jacobo Alcocer, secretary of the University.

Another document, a year later, attested to the first steps that Otero took to complete his education. In this case, Pedro Zubieta signed a voucher in which he assured that Otero had an internship with him. He praised his mastery of the legal subject, as well as his way of putting into practice all the theory learned.

Political beginnings

Otero's first steps in politics took a while to occur. In 1841 he was part of the so-called Plan of Jalisco, a movement that had the support of many soldiers and that had great strength. The central idea of ​​the plan was to repudiate and exclude Anastasio Bustamante from power.

Also in 1841 he was the substitute for Deputy Ignacio Vergara for Jalisco in the Board of Representatives, also known as the Board of Notables. The objective of this committee was focused on choosing the president who was going to take the reins of the country on an interim basis.

A year later, in 1842 he moved to Mexico City because he was elected as one of the representatives who would be part of the Constituent Congress. It was the fourth time that a Parliament of this type had been held in Mexico. They didn't really promulgate any constitutions, they just published two bills that were not approved.

Mayor

With the passage of time, Mariano Otero was occupying positions of greater value within Mexican politics. By 1844 he was part of the Ateneo Mexicano, whose work focused on the education of the country. Mariano Otero was vice president of the group in 1844, managing the area that dealt with legislative issues.

For a year he served as Third Mayor by decision of the City Council of Mexico City. In the historical archive you can find some papers that give rigor to the decision. In these documents it was specified what his role would be while he was in office, during which time he had confrontations with citizens of great economic power.

The president of Mexico at the time, José Joaquín de Herrera, was in his second term and was part of the Liberal party. Herrera invited Otero to occupy the position of Minister of Interior and Foreign Relations. Otero did not accept the offer.

One of his most important achievements was that Otero served as a deputy. The first time he was only 25 days in office, although more an important precedent. The deputies elected at that time had to be over 30 years old, but Otero lied about his age, since he was only 28.

Later, a year later, in 1846 he was again appointed as a deputy. This time he shared with figures of great importance in Mexican politics such as Benito Juárez. Three topics focused his attention at that moment.

Otero showed his rejection of the request to transform the laws made by Valentín Gómez Farías, who later became President of the Republic and persecuted Otero for his writings. In addition, he became interested in the conflict with the United States and worked on a proposal to reform and reapply the Constitution of 1824.

Article 25: Amendment Act

By 1846, Mexico and the United States were already at war. Otero published an offer in October so that the respect for fundamental rights, also known as individual guarantees, that citizens had will be reflected in the Constitution.

It was a way to protect the population from any arbitrariness that the government could commit against them.

All this was motivated by his conflict with President Gómez Farías. In this way, the foundations of today's constitutional trials were laid. Then he modified articles of the Constitution of 1824 that had to do with the legislative issue.

It was not until April 1847 that his proposal for the amparo trial, also known as the "Formula Otero", was definitively published. Later, his offer was included in the act of reforms as Article 25 and in May the reform of the Constitution of 1824 was approved.

Opposition

At the end of 1847 Otero was also against the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, officially known as the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits and Definitive Settlement. A proposal that was made between Mexico and the United States to end the war between the two countries

Otero, along with three other legislators, voted against this proposal, which among other things established that the United States would receive the territory that today corresponds to California, Nevada, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming.

Minister and Senator

José Joaquín de Herrera, in his third term as president of Mexico, appointed Otero to occupy the Ministry of Foreign Relations. He was in charge of many issues, especially the negotiations with England to settle the debt they had, although he also investigated them for arms trafficking. He only lasted a few months in office.

The following year he was part of the Senate, an institution that he even presided over. He participated in different decisions, especially those relating to the fundamental rights of citizens. He was one of those in charge of the reforms that occurred in the prisons of Mexico.

Publications

His writings had a great impact on the political decisions of the country. He focused on different topics and spoke about the problems at the social, political level and especially in the legal area of ​​the country.

The first written record of which there is evidence was published in Guadalajara in 1841. It was a speech delivered in September of that year in his city of origin.

A year later he wrote the most important document of his authorship. He analyzed the country's situation in Essay on the true state of the social and political question that is agitating in the Mexican Republic.

As time went by, he continued to express his ideas and proposals. He focused on the importance of reforming the laws of the country, specifically talking about the criminal laws that existed. He touched on the subject of the penitentiary system and the need for a modernization of its structure and operation.

He was very critical of the war in the United States. He published Considerations on the political and social situation of the Mexican Republic in 1847. This document served as a continuation of the one published in 1842.

Legacy

His role was very important, especially at the legal level. Today their contributions are still visible thanks to the creation of the amparo lawsuit. For the formulation of this judicial action, the participation of Manuel Crescencio Rejón is also taken into account.

Thanks to the amparo trial, citizens have a way of asserting their fundamental rights and thus prevent the government or any authority from committing any abuse. It was a step forward in the defense of human rights.

Death

Mariano Otero's life was short, but very relevant. He died when he was only 33 years old from cholera. It was the second epidemic that was experienced in Mexico, a country that would later experience two more epidemics of similar characteristics.

His remains were initially deposited in the Panteón de San Fernando, currently one of the oldest cemeteries in Mexico City. In 1982 the decision was made to transfer the remains to a monument that was built in 1952 in the city of Guadalajara.

References

1. Canales Gómez, Tirso, and Mariano Otero. Mariano Otero And His Essay On The True State Of The Social And Political Issue That Stirs In The Mexican Republic. National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1966.
2. Olveda, Jaime et al. Mariano Otero Visionary Of The Republic. Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, General Directorate of Studies, Promotion and Development of Human Rights, 2017.
3. Otero, Mariano, and José de Jesús Covarrubias Dueñas. Mariano Otero. University of Guadalajara, 2010.
4. Otero, Mariano, and Jesús Reyes Heroles. Plays. Editorial Porrua, 1967.
5. Tovar de Teresa, Guillermo. Letters to Mariano Otero. National Institute of Anthropology and History, 1996.