VICENTE GUERRERO: BIOGRAPHY AND GOVERNMENT - HISTORY - 2024

Vicente Guerrero (1782-1831) was one of the leaders of the insurgency during the struggle for independence from Mexico. Although he joined the independence troops at the time of Jose María Morelos, his greatest contribution came from his death, when he settled in the south and, from there, resisted and harassed the royalist forces.

Guerrero starred in the so-called Abrazo de Acatempan along with Agustín de Iturbide. The one who would be the first emperor of Mexico had been sent to fight the insurgent, but finally reached an agreement with him to try to implement the Plan of Iguala, which included the independence of the country.

Source: Anacleto Escutia (fl. 1850), via Wikimedia Commons

However, Iturbide's absolutist drift caused Guerrero, with liberal ideas, to rise up against him. When the Republic arrived, he held various political positions until, in 1829, he became President of it. His tenure only lasted a few months, although he left the abolition of slavery as his most important legacy.

The conservative sector that existed in Mexican politics did not accept his decisions and soon began to conspire against him. A coup d'état overthrew Guerrero, who tried to resist by returning to the south of the country.

His adversaries set him up and Guerrero was captured. After a summary trial, he was shot in 1831.

Biography

Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was born on August 9, 1782 in Tixtla, today called Guerrero in his honor. There is some controversy among biographers when it comes to pointing out the ethnic origin of the hero of independence. Thus, he has been described as mestizo, indigenous or mulatto, without knowing the truth for sure.

In this regard, Tixtla was a town with a high percentage of indigenous population. Guerrero was never represented in life and all the paintings or drawings made of him date from years after his death.

One of the few contemporary descriptions of Guerrero was made by José María Morelos, who fought alongside him against the Spanish. Morelos wrote that he was "a tall, stocky young man with a bronze face, an aquiline nose, bright, clear eyes and large sideburns."

Early years

Guerrero followed in the footsteps of his family and began working as a muleteer very young. It was a well-regarded trade at the time and one that brought in significant earnings. Those who exercised it obtained benefits such as the possession of pack animals, the possibility of carrying weapons and the permission to trade.

This allowed the Guerrero family to achieve a good economic position. Socially, they also had a good relationship with the military, with one of Vicente's uncles in the Spanish militia.

His father and two of his brothers also worked as gunsmiths, which allowed Vicente to learn how to handle and repair various types of weapons.

Training

Historians have traditionally considered Guerrero uneducated. This is, perhaps, true if they refer only to what educational centers teach, but during his childhood and youth he acquired knowledge that would be of vital importance in his later career.

In this way, thanks to his work as a muleteer, he became an expert rider. In addition, the transport of goods made him know in detail all the geography of the south and southwest of the country, just where he would later establish his troops.

Likewise, his family relationship with the army provided him with military training. He and his brothers learned to shoot and fight hand-to-hand, apart from practicing some military maneuvers. Guerrero also learned to read and write and was good at numbers.

Joining the insurgency

The arrival of the troops led by Morelos and Montes de Oca to Tecpán changed Guerrero's life. Already in 1810, the same year as the Grito de Dolores, he joined the insurgency, coming first under the orders of Hermenegildo Galeana.

His military career was very fast. In a year he reached the rank of captain and Morelos commissioned him to take Taxco. In 1812, he played a prominent role in the Battle of Izúcar and in the site of Huajuapan. After this, Guerrero is sent to fight in the south of the state of Puebla.

The realistic counterattack was immediate. The Spanish evicted the Congress from Chilpancingo, forcing its members to flee. Guerrero is one of those charged with providing protection to the deputies, although Morelos soon commissioned him to fight in southern Mexico.

After the death of Morelos

The capture and execution of José María Morelos and the royalist victories left the insurgency greatly weakened. In early 1816, many of the independence leaders surrendered, accepting the pardons offered by the viceroyalty.

Guerrero, however, continued the fighting in the southern states. There he organized a very effective militia, which benefited from extensive knowledge of the terrain.

His battalion was called the San Fernando Regiment and he achieved numerous victories against the royalists. Guerrero was named Colonel and his prestige increased over time.

Resistance

The stage in which Guerrero fought the Spanish in the southern states is known as that of Resistencia. The rest of the insurgency was cornered by the royalists in other areas of the country.

Viceroy Apodaca established a policy of pardons to convince the rebels to abandon their arms. Many did, but Guerrero never agreed. The viceroy even resorted to the insurgent's father, a supporter of the Spanish, to try to convince him. However, this strategy did not work either.

It is known that Apodaca corresponded with Guerrero during that time, trying to make him surrender, without ceasing to send military forces to try to defeat him.

In 1818, what was left of the Chilpancingo Congress appointed Guerrero General in Chief of the armies of the South.

Apart from military strategy, Guerrero wrote letters to several high-ranking Spanish military officials to try to convince them to join the insurgency. He presented them with a proposal very similar to the later Plan of Iguala, with independence as its objective.

These attempts were unsuccessful, so the situation remained the same: Guerrero triumphantly resisting the different royalist armies that were sent to defeat him.

Meeting with Iturbide

Precisely, the continuous victories of the insurgents caused the viceroyalty to change the command of the troops. The new person in charge was Agustín de Iturbide, who took command in November 1820.

Iturbide's role during the following weeks generated some controversy among historians. It is known that he was part of the Conspiracy of the Professed, a group that advocated for the independence of Mexico under an absolutist monarchy exercised by some Spanish infant.

Iturbide and Guerrero faced each other militarily on several occasions, with the second victory. The Spanish military also wrote several letters to the insurgent proposing an alliance.

Iturbide tried to convince him by promising positions in the future government. Guerrero's response was in line with his liberal ideas. Thus, he affirms that he could accept the alliance, but in order to create a system with social justice, freedom and a self-government.

In the end, Guerrero achieved his goal and Iturbide agreed to meet him. The agreement was symbolized with the so-called Abrazo de Acatempan, on February 10, 1821. Days later, the Plan of Iguala was promulgated and the troops joined together to form the Trigarante Army.

Mexican empire

After a few months of fighting, on September 27 of that same year, the Trigarante entered Mexico City. It was the end of the War of Independence.

Circumstances changed the initial project of Profesa. It was Agustín de Iturbide himself who proclaimed himself Emperor and appointed Guerrero Captain General of the Imperial Army, Superior Political Chief of the Southern Province and Field Marshal, as well as Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Guadalupe.

The agreement between the two was short-lived. Iturbide, with great opposition, ordered to dissolve Congress and break with the Plan of Iguala. Given this, Guerrero once again took up arms and joined the Plan of Veracruz proclaimed by Antonio López de Santa Anna. The Plan sought the creation of a republic that gave importance to social aspects.

The revolt was successful and the Emperor was overthrown. With the new government, Guerrero is appointed alternate member of the Supreme Executive Power. After a period of interim, Guadalupe Victoria is elected the first president of Mexico from April 1 to October 10, 1824.

In the Republic

Vicente Guerrero remained loyal to the new President of the Republic. In addition, at that time he joined the York Freemasonry, one of the most liberal within the movement.

For their part, the conservatives used to belong to the Scottish lodge and political confrontations between both sides occurred throughout Victoria's term.

Arrival to the presidency

The conspiracies were more or less constant during those years. One of the most important occurred in 1827, when the Spanish conservatives tried to overthrow the president. However, Guerrero and his supporters avoided it.

The next elections were scheduled for 1828 and Guerrero was one of the most valued candidates. His main opponent was Gómez Pedraza, also a liberal but much more moderate.

The electoral system did not establish popular voting, but rather the vote of the representatives of the states. Therefore, the chosen one was Gómez Pedraza, despite the fact that Guerrero enjoyed greater popular support.

The election process was plagued with irregularities, in addition to causing discontent in the streets. This led Guerrero, supported by Santa Anna, to request the annulment of the elections.

Congress ended up acceding and named Vicente Guerrero president. The former insurgent took office on April 1, 1829.

Presidency

Guerrero's presidency was characterized by the enactment of various social laws. The most important, perhaps, was the abolition of slavery. Guerrero recovered the law on the subject that Miguel Hidalgo had already drawn up in 1810, ending slavery in Mexico.

On the other hand, Guerrero promoted the creation of public schools, as well as a system so that education was free. He also tried to carry out an agrarian reform that favored the peasants.

On the economic side, his measures were held back by the bankruptcy he encountered when he came to power. The years of war had left the country without economic reserves, so its attempt to develop the industry did not come to fruition. The same happened with other liberal measures.

Apart from the economic problem, conservative groups exerted stiff opposition from the beginning. The leaders of the self-styled group "good men" were Anastasio Bustamante and Lucas Alamán. Among its supports were the church and the wealthy class. They all wanted to end the Guerrero government.

Attempted Spanish invasion

The attempt by the Spanish to reconquer their former colony only further complicated the situation of Guerrero and his government.

A Spanish army tried to attack Mexico in September 1829. The invaders were repulsed by the troops of General Santa Anna, whose prestige was increasing.

Coup

Guerrero asked Congress for special powers to be able to face all the difficulties that the country was going through, from the Spanish threat to economic bankruptcy.

The "good men", led by Vice President Bustamante, accused him of violating the Constitution. In December 1829, the Conservatives staged an armed rebellion against the government.

The President decided to put himself in command of the troops who wanted to stop the insurrection. To do this, he had to leave office temporarily, which became effective on December 16. The conservatives took the opportunity to take over Congress and force Guerrero's interim replacement, José María Bocanegra, to resign.

Bustamante, meanwhile, won support from the army to carry out a coup. His first steps were to arrest liberals and end press freedom.

Guerrero, before what happened, decided to march south, to the same area in which he had settled during the War of Independence. What followed was an authentic civil war, despite Guerrero's calls to Bustamante to call new elections.

The Congress, without opponents and under a dictatorial command, declared Guerrero unable to exercise the government.

Southern War

The following period is known as the War of the South. Guerrero settled in Tixtla and obtained strong support in Michoacán. Popular uprisings in that state allowed the insurgent and his supporters to take control.

Faced with the failure of the military expeditions against Guerrero, Bustamante and his supporters planned to treacherously set him up.

Betrayal and execution of Guerrero

The plan of Bustamante and his war minister, José Antonio Facio, began with the hiring of a Genoese mercenary, Francisco Picaluga. Pretending to support him, Picaluga convinced Guerrero to get on his ship, the Colombo.

Guerrero was immediately arrested and transferred to Oaxaca. There, in a summary trial he was sentenced to death. The former insurgent leader, president, and hero of independence was shot in Cuilapan on February 14, 1831.

The reactions to this event were immediate, inside and outside the country. Picaluga, who had received fifty thousand pesos in exchange for his participation, was declared by the Genoese government a "bandit of the first order" and sentenced to death.

Similarly, the Central American government requested that the ship the Colombo be sunk without delay.

Within the country, the military who took part in the whole process ended up being expelled from the army.

Although he had to wait a few years, Guerrero was declared Benemérito de la Patria in 1833. Likewise, his state was baptized with his name in 1849.

His remains were deposited in the Pantheon of San Fernando. They were kept there until 1925, when they were transferred to the Column of Independence in Mexico City.

Characteristics of the Vicente Guerrero government

Many authors have pointed to the populist and egalitarian tone of the Guerrero government, and some of its gestures foreshadowed those of the Latin American populists of the 20th century.

Guerrero, for example, invited the poor of Mexico to his birthday party, and understood the symbolic value that the abolition of slavery had for his mulatto supporters, even though there were actually few or no slaves in Mexico.

The Guerrero administration emphasized the fight against foreigners. These efforts were manifested more directly in the declaration of the Second Law of Expulsion.

Some considerations of different kinds that had an effect during Guerrero's term are outlined below.

Economic considerations

During the Guerrero government, extreme measures were proposed such as bills that intended to make the commercialization of any imported merchandise illegal in public stores.

It was also proposed to prevent immigrants from accessing home loans. Although these measures did not become law, they suggest the tone of the time.

Anti-Spanish sentiment was linked to much of the measures the Guerrero government took to help its impoverished supporters. The ruler prohibited the importation of textiles and other goods that competed with products made by Mexican artisans.

Guerrero criticized in his inaugural speech the "application of bastard economic principles" for having allowed foreign merchandise to displace Mexican workers.

In May 1829 he signed protective measures for local production, but their application was conditioned by the opposition of the Minister of Finance Lorenzo de Zavala and later by the need to obtain customs revenues to finance the defense against the imminent Spanish invasion.

Guerrero's supporters justified their protectionist policies by claiming that prohibiting the commercialization of imported products would generate greater demand for Mexican products.

Therefore, foreign investors would have to acquire new manufacturing technologies that would generate jobs in the local market and even the possibility of manufacturing goods to be marketed in international markets.

Religious considerations

The Guerrero government differed from its liberal successors in that it took no action against the riches of the Church. Guerrero pledged to protect religion in his inaugural address, noting that Catholicism was one of the foundations of the 1824 Constitution.

The alliances with clergy authorities, allowed Guerrero the support of the Church in the preparation of resistance to the imminent Spanish invasion.

The Archdiocese of Mexico published a pamphlet criticizing Spanish claims that religion would return only when the Spanish did; this pro-independence position was particularly important considering that the Mexican government and the papacy still disputed the right to appoint clerical officials.

Political considerations

The Guerrero government anticipated the liberal movement that later emerged. Most remarkable was the way in which he explicitly embraced federalism and accused his detractors of centralism.

In his inaugural speech, Guerrero defended egalitarianism and the equitable distribution of power at the local level, insisting that:

«… The interest of the localities is the most adequate to defend the interest of the individuals. As authorities multiply, needs are examined and better known. Everywhere there will be a closer power to do good and avoid evil. The authorities will be in all the strata of the town, avoiding to grant titles of superiority that cause distinction and preference ”.

References

1. Biographies and Lives. Vicente Guerrero. Obtained from biografiasyvidas.com
2. Presidency of the Republic. Vicente Guerrero (1782-1831). Obtained from gob.mx
3. Televisa SA Vicente Guerrero: the first Afro-American president in Mexico. Obtained from noticieros.televisa.com
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vicente Guerrero. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. LoveToKnow. Vicente Guerrero Facts. Retrieved from biography.yourdictionary.com
6. TheBiography. Biography of Vicente Guerrero (1783-1831). Retrieved from thebiography.us
7. Devotion Davilmar, Cassandre. The Americas' First Black and Native President: Vicente Guerrero. Retrieved from beyondvictoriana.com
8. Tuck, Jim. Vicente Guerrero: A study in triumph and tragedy (1782–1831). Retrieved from mexconnect.com