TUXTEPEC REBELLION: BACKGROUND AND CHARACTERS - HISTORY - 2024

The Tuxtepec rebellion was an armed movement in Mexico that began in 1876 under the leadership of General Porfirio Díaz in response to the re-election claims of President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.

It was a period of convulsion and violence in the interior of the country that ended with the victory of the rebels, the exile of Lerdo and the members of his cabinet and the beginning of the Porfiriato (government of Porfirio Díaz).

Porfirio Díaz and Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada

Background to the revolution

The Tuxtepec rebellion originated after the death of Benito Juárez in 1872, when, following what was dictated by law, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, then President of the Supreme Court, peacefully assumed the interim presidency of the country, ending to the La Noria Revolution (the one that demanded the resignation of Juárez).

Near the end of his four-year presidential term, at the end of 1875 Lerdo de Tejada announced his intention to seek re-election.

That simple announcement reactivated the same reactions as the previous revolution: a large part of the country took up arms demanding his resignation, appealing to the Plan of Tuxtepec.

This Plan promulgated the ignorance of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada as president of Mexico and had as its motto: "Effective suffrage, no re-election", to indicate the non-perpetuation in power by a single man.

Porfirio Díaz captured this plan in a document (almost traced to the "Plan de la Noria") in which things such as:

Art. 1.- The supreme laws of the Republic are: the Constitution of 1857, the Reform Laws promulgated on September 25, 1873 and the Law of December 14, 1874.

Art. 2.- The privatization of the re-election of the President and the governors has the same validity as the supreme laws.

Art. 3.- Don Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada is disallowed as President of the Republic, as well as all the officials and employees of his government.

Art. 4.- The governments of all the states will be recognized if they adhere to this plan. If this does not happen, the chief of the army of each state will be recognized as governor.

Art. 5.- There will be elections for the Supreme Powers of the Union, two months after the occupation of the capital of the republic, and without convocation. Elections to Congress will be held in accordance with the laws of February 12, 1857 and October 23, 1872, the first being the first Sunday following two months after the occupation of the capital.

Art. 7.- Once the VIII Constitutional Congress has been set up, its first works will be: the constitutional reform of Article 2, which guarantees the independence of the municipalities, and the law that the political organization gives to the Federal District and the territory of California.

Art. 9.- The generals, chiefs and officials who with opportunity help this plan, will be recognized in their assignments, rank and decorations.

Art. 10.- Porfirio Díaz will be recognized as General in Chief of the Army.

Article 12.- For no reason will it be possible to enter into agreements with the enemy, under the threat of life to whoever does so.

In this way, Díaz promised to respect the 1857 constitution and offered the guarantee of municipal autonomy, both issues that gained him popularity.

As in the Noria Revolution, on this occasion Porfirio Díaz was seconded by many politicians and soldiers who recognized him as the leader, perhaps because he was the hero of the war during the second French intervention in Mexico or because they saw President Lerdo as a son. of Spaniards.

Made in rebellion

While in the interior of the country uprisings and confrontations were taking place, in the capital, the president of the Supreme Court, José María Iglesias resigned his position and Lerdo was re-elected in an electoral process whose legality was questioned by many despite being ratified by the 8th Congress on September 26, 1876.

Iglesias claimed the presidency because, according to him, it corresponded to him because of his investiture as president of the Supreme Court and because Lerdo's re-election had been fraudulent.

Then he undertook a trip to Guanajuato to begin his search for support; the governors of Guanajuato, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora and Zacatecas, supported him but without greater repercussions than a few battles in which the church members participated.

Meanwhile, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada attacked and persecuted the rebels in numerous military confrontations that seemed to guarantee his victory, to the point that the government's military activity was diminished after the defeat of Porfirio Díaz in the confrontation of Icamole, Nuevo León.

The revolution spread from northern Mexico to Oaxaca, and although Porfirio Díaz was defeated on several occasions, he achieved his objective after winning the Battle of Tecoac with the support of the troops commanded by Generals Juan N. Méndez and Manuel González.

In the battle of Tecoac they defeated the 4 thousand soldiers of Lerdo de Tejada, pushing him and several of his ministers into exile, and opening the way for Porfirio Díaz to enter Mexico City victorious on May 5, 1877.

This revolution, also known as the last great armed conflict in Mexico in the 19th century, ended with the defeat of José María Iglesias, who never recognized the Plan of Tuxtepec.

Prominent figures

Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada

He was the President of the Supreme Court when Benito Juárez died, so he immediately became the interim president and was later elected as president by Congress. Declared the Reform Laws as part of the Mexican Constitution.

Porfirio Diaz

He was an officer and participated in the defense of Mexico during the French intervention. He was the leader of the insurgency movement before Benito Juárez and Sebastián Lerdo.

After his victory with the Tuxtepec Plan, he was the leader of a dictatorship that lasted 35 years.

General Donato Guerra

Leader of the Mexican army who participated in the War of the Reform and in the French intervention. He supported Porfirio Díaz with the plans for La Noria and Tuxtepec.

Jose Maria Iglesias

He was president of the Supreme Court during the presidency of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.

Porfiriato

Porfirio Díaz assumed power after winning the elections on February 12, 1877.

Once there, he applied the Tuxtepec Plan, promoting two reforms to the Constitution in 1878: he eliminated the office of vice president of the president of the Supreme Court of Justice and prohibited re-election.

Thus began his presidential term that soon became a dictatorship that lasted 35 years, between 1884 and 1911, until his overthrow by Francisco Madero during the Mexican Revolution under the same motto of: Effective suffrage, no reelection.

References

1. Academyc (s / f). Mexico history. Recovered from: partners.academic.ru.
2. Mexican history (s / f). Tuxtepec Revolution. Recovered from: lahistoriamexicana.mx.
3. Nava, Melvin (2016). Tuxtepec Revolution. Recovered from: lhistoria.com.
4. Travel by México (2011). Tuxtepec Revolution. Recovered from: mr.travelbymexico.com.