PRISCILIANO SÁNCHEZ PADILLA: BIOGRAPHY, POLITICS, AWARDS - ARTE - 2024

Prisciliano Sánchez Padilla (1783-1826) became governor of Jalisco in 1825 by constitutional decree. In addition, he is considered one of the great heroes of the city for all his contributions to the development of the State.

Of strong independence convictions, he was the first person to hold this position in the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, which was founded in 1823 and whose capital is Guadalajara.

Source: Salvador alc, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sánchez Padilla held different public positions throughout his life. He was a deputy, was characterized by supporting the independence movements in Mexico and advocated so that all the states of the country could use their own means.

Their contributions and proposals were highly relevant and in some cases their impact has remained until today. He had a very important influence on decisions about state education, electoral affairs and the administrative organization of public powers.

Biography

Early years and studies

Prisciliano Sánchez was born Mexico under the rule of the Spanish and the crown. His birthplace was Nayarit, in the Ahuacatlán area, which on January 4, 1783 was part of the Kingdom of Nueva Galicia along with Aguascalientes and Jalisco.

When he turned 20, he changed his place of residence and settled in Guadalajara. There he attended the San Francisco Monastery where it only lasted a year. He immediately moved to San Luis Potosí where he continued his studies related to Latin and philosophy.

In 1806 he received his degree and decided to begin his education in canon law at the University of the city of Guadalajara.

He did not sign up for other degrees or doctorates because he did not have enough money to face this type of training. He also did not know anyone who could help him, something normal in those times.

After his studies, he decided to return to the state of Nayarit and settled in the town of Santiago de Galicia de Compostela. He worked in a store in the city, although with the passage of time he was occupying positions of greater relevance. He served as alderman, who was a kind of vigilante of local affairs and was also a trade unionist and mayor of the city.

Personal life

The couple made up of Juan María Sánchez de Arocha and Mariana Lorenzo padilla were the parents of Prisciliano Sánchez. They both died when Prisciliano was in his teens. The relatives of the then young man did not have much resources to help him, so he began to learn grammar on his own.

Sánchez Padilla was married twice. First in 1812 with María Durán Quintero of whom he was widowed. Then, in 1824, he remarried, this time as María Guadalupe Cosío.

He was the oldest of the five children his parents had. They were followed by María Mariana de los Dolores, José Francisco Ruperto, José María and José Patricio.

Political charges

With the passage of time it was having much more power and importance at the political level. By 1822 he served as a deputy in the first Congress that was formed once Mexican independence was achieved. Their contributions as deputies were very important.

That same year, he set out in a document, entitled We are not going to risk anything with this experience, his ideas to eliminate some taxes that were charged by the Spanish Crown. In the end, the publication was about a bill that was never approved.

In 1823 he wrote the Federal Pact of Anahuac where he delved into the characteristics that a federal government should have. This document laid the foundations for the country's first constitution, as it dealt with the structure that the country's political powers and states should have.

Later he was a deputy in Jalisco, forming part of different commissions. He became president of Congress and had a fundamental role in the writing of the first Constitution of Mexico that was approved in 1824.

Also in 1824 he was elected deputy to the first Legislature of Jalisco. On January 8, 1825, he was declared constitutional governor of Jalisco in Congress, and took office on the 24th of the previous month and year.

Elected governor of Jalisco

One of the most important roles that Prisciliano Sánchez fulfilled was that of governor. He was elected in Jalisco and by Congress as the first constitutional governor. He took office in 1825.

He made important decisions for the present and future of the State. It established the rules for holding elections in the state of Jalisco, defined the tax code in which taxes began to be collected with direct contributions.

Prisciliano formed a group of armed citizens who acted in parallel with the army and who became known as the civic militia. And he also made different decisions to modify the judicial system.

As governor, he became influential even in creating new educational programs. In 1826 he proposed to Congress a change in public education. Sánchez was the culprit for the creation of the Jalisco State Institute of Sciences in 1826. He founded this educational facility and also appointed the first professors who would be part of the institution.

The Institute of Science only began to operate the year after its foundation and, by that time, Prisciliano Sánchez had already died suddenly. He only lasted a couple of years in office, but his impact was truly significant.

Death

Prisciliano Sánchez died in December 1826 from cancer. At first, his remains were buried in the Bethlehem Hospital cemetery.

Months later, Congress decided that he should receive honors for his contributions to the development of the state and they placed him in the Government Palace. A portrait of him was present in the room where the deputies met.

His remains continued to be transferred to different sites over the years. In 1834 a centralist regime was established and supporters of federalism decided to hide the remains of Prisciliano Sánchez to avoid the contempt of the government in power. A decision that was adopted by José Antonio Romero.

Recognitions

It was ordered in 1828 that all public venues in the State of Jalisco will have a portrait of Prisciliano Sánchez. A street was named in his honor, as was an educational institute.

References

1. Bautista González, Enrique. Jalisco Preparatory School. Editorial Universitaria, 2014.
2. Cuevas Contreras, Marco Antonio. Claim of Don Prisciliano Sánchez. H. Constitutional City Council of Guadalajara, 2003.
3. Madero Estrada, José Miguel. Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit. Autonomous University of Nayarit, 2002.
4. Jalisco Magazine, Volumes 4-6 - Prisciliano Sánchez. Editorial Unit of the Government of the State of Jalisco, 1986, p. 65.
5. Werner, Michael S. Encyclopedia Of Mexico. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997.