Monarchism in Mexico is the political ideology that defends the establishment, restoration, and preservation of a monarchical form of government in Mexico. Monarchism was a recurring factor in the decades during and after Mexico's struggle for independence.
Beginning in 1808, it was unclear near the ending of the kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain what form of government—monarchical or republican—might replace the absolutism of Ferdinand VII of Spain, but the default position in that era was monarchy.Van Young, Eric. Stormy Passage: Mexico from Colony to Republic, 1750-1850. Rowman and Littlefield 2022, 180-82 In 1821, Mexico declared the Independence of the Mexican Empire. However, lacking a prince to ascend the Throne of Mexico, Agustín de Iturbide, a criollo royalist general who made an alliance with the insurgents for independence, was proclaimed president of the Regency. His Plan of Iguala united factions for independence and envisioned a sovereign nation, with the stated hope that the new state would be led by a member of the Spanish royal family or a prince from another European royal house.
In the absence, still, of a willing or unprohibited candidate from an established royal house, Iturbide was elected Emperor of Mexico by the Mexican congress in 1822 as Agustín I. Conflicts between congress and the emperor, coupled with the emperor's struggle to pay the military which propped up his regime, led to the empire's collapse. The emperor abdicated and went into exile in 1823. Mexico established a federal republic under the Constitution of 1824, but the idea of monarchy continued among Mexican conservatives.Van Young, Stormy Passage, 183
Mexican monarchism was discredited following the First Mexican Empire's fall, and some scholars have written that "there was no effective monarchist support in Mexico between the Empire of Iturbide and the Empire of Maximilian." Nonetheless monarchists such as Lucas Alamán continued to hope that monarchy was a viable solution to Mexico's political turmoil by inviting a European prince to assume the Mexican throne, following the precedent set by nations such as the United Kingdom, Greece, and Belgium, who elected their monarchs from different countries. Many in the Conservative Party continued to voice monarchical aspirations as early as 1832, with many believing that “only a monarchy could save Mexico from anarchy and the United States”.Costeloe, M. P. (2002). The Central Republic in Mexico, 1835-1846: 'Hombres de Bien' in the Age of Santa Anna. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Pg.288 Regardless, "many times, the monarchist proposals were little more than private intrigues, lacking any real support".
These ideas attracted interest in European courts, culminating in a French intervention in Mexico in 1861, with the aim of helping the Conservative party establish a Mexican monarchy, this time with Archduke Maximilian of Austria as emperor. The idea of monarchy gained increasing Mexican support following the military defeat of conservatives in the War of the Reform, sparked by the promulgation of the liberal Constitution of 1857. The victorious liberal government of Benito Juárez suspended payment to bond holders, which gave European powers the pretext to intervene militarily for debt collection. In these circumstances, Mexican conservatives invited Archduke Maximilian to become emperor as French forces of Napoleon III invaded central Mexico. The establishment of the Empire by French troops, with support of Mexican Imperial forces, tainted the imperial regime's legitimacy from the start. This was further compounded by the fact that Juárez never left the national territory and was considered the legitimate head of state by the United States. Mexican conservatives expected the monarch to adhere to conservative principles, but Emperor Maximilian was politically a liberal and ratified many of the reforms of the liberal republican government that his regime displaced. The Second Mexican Empire was established when the U.S. was engaged in its civil war (1861–65), and with its end could give material support to Juárez's republican forces. With Napoleon III's withdrawal of French forces in 1866-67, the Empire collapsed in 1867. Emperor Maximilian was captured, tried, and executed. His execution by firing squad at the hands of the Restored Republic marked the end of monarchy in Mexico.
The Spanish legacy For over 300 years, the colony of New Spain was ruled by viceroys representing the King of Spain. Only three of the viceroys were ever born in Mexico, the rest having been born in Spain, and usually going back after a few years of ruling.
During this time, two royal houses ruled Mexico. The House of Habsburg ruled Mexico from the conquest up until the War of Spanish Succession in 1714 when control of Spain and her colonies passed over to the House of Bourbon which began a program of centralization known as the Bourbon reforms.
The first proposal for an independent Mexican monarchy came about in 1783, after Spain's support for the successful American War of Independence. Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, 10th Count of Aranda, proposed to Charles III of Spain the establishment of a Spanish Commonwealth with independent kingdoms in New Spain, Peru, and New Granada ("Costa Firme") as a compromise between Spain's colonial interests and the strengthening trend of decolonization. Spain would retain direct control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other islands deemed necessary for Spanish trade, while the king would assume the overarching title of "emperor of the Indies". The proposal was thoroughly ignored by the king.
Monarchism and Mexican independence
Mexico gained its independence in 1821, under the leadership of Agustín de Iturbide who sought to revive the commonwealth idea through the Plan of Iguala, which stipulated for Mexico to be an independent monarchy, nonetheless with a monarch from the royal Spanish family. The plan was ratified by the Spanish viceroy Juan O'Donojú through the Treaty of Córdoba and commissioners were sent to Spain to offer the Mexican throne to a Spanish prince. The Spanish government however, rejected the matter out of fear that any concession in favor of Mexican independence would cause Spain to entirely lose its influence in Mexico, and under the false assumption that there was still a significant pro-Spanish party in Mexico.
After news of the rejection arrived in Mexico there were mass demonstrations in favor of elevating Iturbide to the throne, and congress held an extraordinary session on the matter. Within congress there were both monarchists and republicans, but monarchism at this point was divided at this point into two factions: those in favor of crowning Iturbide, and those who had not yet given up hopes on inviting a Spanish prince to the throne. On May 18, 1822, congress elected Agustín de Iturbide as Mexico's first Emperor.
It was around this time that José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi wrote a monarchist pamphlet, endorsing the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under Iturbide, recognizing the debates going on at the time over the ideal form of government for Mexico, but also arguing that the form of government matter less than whether or not a government acts justly. Lizardi also published a pro-Iturbide newspaper known as Pensador Mexicano.
After his coronation, Iturbide alienated his supporters when in the struggles between congress and the crown, it became clearer that Iturbide wanted to totally dominate the legislature, betraying the ideal of a constitutional monarchy. The Emperor shut congress down and replaced it with a smaller body of loyal deputies. Iturbide's pretext for closing the legislature had been that congress had accomplished nothing in the eight months it had been in session, work on a constitution had not begun despite that being the main purpose for its convocation, and that the matters of justice and finance had been completely neglected. Nonetheless the emperor himself was unable to bring order into the finances of the nation, and the military began to grumble at their lack of pay. The military turned against Iturbide, and unable to defeat the insurrection, Iturbide reassembled congress, and offered his abdication in April, 1823 being exiled from the nation shortly after. When he attempted to return in 1824, Iturbide was captured and executed.
In 1828, Spain attempted to reconquer Mexico, and the conservative paper El Sol pondered the Bourbonist cause, ultimately arguing that it was futile to join the Spaniards when popular opinion against Bourbon rule was overwhelming, and so it urged all its readers to unite patriotically against the Spanish intervention.
In 1835, Spain's queen regent Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies recognized the independence of Mexico in return for Mexico assuming the debt contracted by the Spanish colonial government as propia y nacional ("[their] own and national"), leaving both countries "free and without any responsibility" to each other. In 1847 Mexico agreed to create a special debt-payment fund to settle this debt, turning it into foreign debt. This was the origin of the 1861 debt claim that justified the Convention of London and the Second French intervention in Mexico.Hidalgo y Esnaurrízar, J.M. (1864). Apuntes para escribir la historia de los proyectos de monarquía en México: desde el reinado de Carlos III hasta la instalación del emperador Maximiliano. Imprenta de F. Diaz de Leon y Santiago White, 236 pages.
Plan of Chicontla A pronunciamiento for a "plan for an indigenous monarchy" was made in Chicontla (Puebla), on 2 February 2 1834 by the priests Carlos Tepisteco Abad and Epigmenio de la Piedra. The plan called for the establishment of a congress with representation of one deputy per 100,000 citizens, who would draft a "moderate" monarchist constitution, elect an emperor, and form a state council within six months. The emperor would be chosen by draw, from among "twelve celibate young men" born and resident in Mexico, who could demonstrate direct descent from Moctezuma II. The winner would have to swear fealty to the Catholic Church, the new constitution, and the integrity of national territory. If Indian, he would have to marry a white woman, and if white, a "pure Indian" woman. Additionally, a permanent elective state council would be established, formed by one Indian and one 40 year-old person chosen from among the other races.The pronunciamiento in independent Mexico, 1821-1876: A research project at the University of St Andrews The project was unpopular and did not have any relevance.
Gutiérrez de Estrada's essay
In 1840, in the aftermath of the Federalist Revolt of 1840 which had led to twelve days of fighting in Mexico City and substantial damage to the National Palace, José María Gutiérrez de Estrada published a pamphlet advocating for a constitutional convention to examine what had gone wrong with the nation. He also argued that the convention ought to be given the power to suggest any form of government as a remedy for Mexico, and openly argued that a monarchy headed by a foreign prince was the best form of government for Mexico at the time.
He strongly criticized the notion that there was one ideal form of government for all nations and all circumstances and pointed out the troubled history of the First French Republic as an example. He also warned that the chaos Mexico was experiencing was inevitably leading to foreign intervention. He warned of a future American annexation of Mexico, and preferred to at least have the choice of selecting a foreign monarch who would have a vested interest in the success of Mexico.