CASEMATE PLAN: BACKGROUND, GOALS, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The p lan Casamata was a signed document few years after the declaration of independence of Mexico. Its proclamation took place on February 1, 1823, in the town of Casamata, Tamaulipas. Its promoter was Antonio López de Santa Anna, who was joined by other soldiers who had participated in the fight against the Spanish crown.

After achieving independence, Mexico had been proclaimed an empire. Agustín de Iturbide was crowned the first Emperor of the country. However, there were numerous currents that demanded other forms of state, especially a republic.

Antonio López de Santa Anna

One of the soldiers who had most opposed the proclamation of the Mexican Empire had been Santa Anna. Others who shared his criteria were Nicolás Bravo, Vicente Guerrero and Guadalupe Victoria, all former insurgents.

The main point of the Plan was the restoration of the Congress, which had been eliminated by Itúrbide. The most immediate result was the abdication of the Emperor and the election of Guadalupe Victoria as the first president.

Background

The beginning of the process that led to Mexican independence did not pretend a total break with Spain. Part of the rebels feared that the Napoleonic invasion of the metropolis would affect the then Viceroyalty.

Likewise, they were not supporters of the liberal laws that had been promulgated in the Constitution of 1812 in Cádiz. Thus, at first, the different conspirators declared their loyalty to the Spanish King, although, over time, the situation changed.

When the country declared independence in 1821, many of the protagonists had been part of the old royalist army and were quite conservative.

One of them, Agustín de Iturbide, was the first ruler of independent Mexico. The model of state chosen was the Empire and Iturbide proclaimed himself Emperor.

The Empire

From the beginning there were different currents on the way in which independent Mexico should be constituted. Many of the protagonists of the war against Spain preferred the republic, dividing themselves between federalists or centralists.

The instability meant that the Iturbide government did not have a single moment of tranquility. From the moment of his coronation, the republican revolts followed one another.

In the Congress formed at the time, apart from supporters of the Bourbons, Iturbidistas and Republicans lived together. A series of confrontations between the Chamber and the Emperor caused the latter to dissolve it. In their place, he appointed 45 affected deputies.

Heroes of independence, such as Nicolás Bravo, Vicente Guerrero and Guadalupe Victoria, felt the elimination of Congress as an authentic betrayal.

Veracruz Plan

Another of the protagonists of the War of Independence was Antonio López de Santa Anna. His role in the moments after Iturbide's coronation was quite variable. At first he aligned himself with the new Emperor, who appointed him General Commander of Veracruz.

There is no consensus among historians to explain his change of opinion. Some claim it was the dissolution of Congress and others point to the problems he had in his position as Commander. The truth is that, already at the end of 1822, Santa Anna positioned himself against Iturbide.

His first move was made on December 2 of that year. That day, he proclaimed the so-called Plan of Veracruz, in which he did not know the Emperor and declared himself a supporter of the republic and Guadalupe Victoria.

In his Plan, Santa Anna called for the formation of a new Congress that would decide the form of government. After this, he took up arms and began his fight against the government. The first battles were not favorable, so he had to seek allies.

Casemate Plan

On February 1, 1823, Santa Anna proclaims a new document contrary to Iturbide. That day the Casemate Plan was born, signed in the town that gives it its name.

In this case, he achieved the support of other important figures during the years of the independence struggle. Among them, Vicente Guerrero or Bravo.

Likewise, it got the support of the military who, until then, were part of the imperial army. Among these stood out José Antonio Echávarri who, curiously, had been sent to finish off Santa Anna.

goals

The main objective of the plan was for Congress to be reinstated. In his articles he even proposed the system for electing its members.

Although the Plan declared disobedience to the Emperor, it did not specifically mention his removal. In fact, one of its clauses prohibited any type of violence against him.

What it did proclaim was Iturbide's obligation to obey the decisions of the future Congress. A good summary is the following paragraph of the Plan:

“Therefore, he must not recognize himself as such an Emperor, nor should his orders be obeyed in any way; It will be our main duty to bring together all the deputies, until we form the Sovereign Mexican Congress, which is the organ of the true voice of the Nation ”.

Towards the Federal Republic

Although it was not clearly stated in the Plan, its purpose was the creation of a Federal Republic in Mexico.

From the outset, the insurgents' movements pointed in that direction. Copies of the plan were sent to all county councils to join individually. This disempowered the central government, creating a kind of federal structure already at that time.

Consequences

The pressure that the support of the councils and prominent independence leaders represented was undermining the power of Iturbide. This was forced to reconvene Congress, in an attempt to calm the situation.

The gesture was not enough and the rebels continued with the campaign. Finally, on March 19, 1812, Iturbide abdicated and left the country.

The first consequence was the separation of some areas that had been part of the Empire. Except for Chiapas, the rest of the Central American territories decided not to continue in the new Mexico.

Change of government

Once Iturbide left for his exile (from which he would return to be executed), the Congress recovered all its functions. What did not change was the tension between the Federalists and the Centralists.

The power passed to occupy a board formed by Pedro Celestino Negrete, Nicolás Bravo and Guadalupe Victoria. The latter would shortly after become the first president of the Republic.

Then began the so-called First Mexican Federal Republic, officially the United Mexican States. It lasted 11 years, until 1835.

Constitution of 1824

All territorial and political changes were included in the Constitution of 1824. Federalism, according to its supporters, was the only way for the country to hold together. In fact, one of the most important provinces, Yucatán, had required this system to remain within Mexico.

The first meetings of Congress have already been directed towards making the Federal State official. The Federalists clearly prevailed on the supporters of a more centralist system.

From then until the beginning of 1824, the parliamentarians began to elaborate the Constitution that would mark the first years of the Republic.

In it it was declared that Mexico would be composed of "independent, free, sovereign states in what exclusively concerns their administration and internal government."

Apart from this, the Constitution established the equality of all Mexicans, Catholicism as the only religion, and freedom of the press.

The first elections were called immediately. In them, Guadalupe Victoria was elected president and Nicolás Bravo, vice president.

References

1. Carmona, Doralicia. With the Plan of Casa Mata, the first pronouncement of Mexican troops occurs. Obtained from memoriapoliticademexico.org
2. Brief history of Mexico. The Plan of Casa Mata. Obtained from historiademexicobreve.com
3. Mexico history. Plan of Casa Mata. Obtained from independencedemexico.com.mx
4. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Plan Of Casa Mata. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com
5. Revolvy. Plan of Casa Mata. Retrieved from revolvy.com
6. Fehrenbach, TR Fire & Blood: A History of Mexico. Recovered from books.google.es
7. Mexican History. The First Mexican Empire and Agustín de Iturbide. Retrieved from mexicanhistory.org