Centralist Republic of Mexico
The Centralist Republic of Mexico (Spanish: República Centralista de México), or in the anglophone scholarship, the Central Republic, officially the Mexican Republic (Spanish: República Mexicana), was a unitary political regime established in Mexico on 23 October 1835, under a new constitution known as the Siete Leyes after conservatives repealed the federalist Constitution of 1824 and ended the First Mexican Republic. It would ultimately last until 1846 when the Constitution of 1824 was restored at the beginning of the Mexican-American War.
Mexican Republic República Mexicana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1835–1846 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mexico disputed land between Texas and Mexico | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Capital | Mexico City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common languages | Spanish (official), Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya, Mixtecan languages, Zapotec languages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Religion | Catholic (official religion) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Government | Unitary presidential republic under a military junta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1835–1836 | Miguel Barragán (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1846 | José Mariano Salas (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legislature | Congress | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Upper house | Senate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Lower house | Chamber of Deputies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 October 1835 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Siete Leyes | 15 December 1835 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Independence of Texas | 2 March 1836 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Pastry War | 1838-1839 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Siege of the National Palace | 1840 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Independence of Yucatan | 1841 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1843 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Mexican–American War breaks out | 12 May 1846 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1824 Constitution restored | 22 August 1846 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1836 | 7,843,132 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1842 | 7,016,300 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Currency | Mexican real | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | MX | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Today part of | Mexico United States |
History of Mexico |
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Pre-Columbian |
Timeline |
Mexico portal |
Two presidents would predominate throughout this era: Santa Anna and Anastasio Bustamante.
The Centralist Republic marked nearly ten years of uninterrupted rule by the Conservative Party. Conservatives had attributed the political chaos of the First Mexican Republic to the empowerment of states over the federal government and mass participation in the political system through universal male suffrage. Conservative elites saw the solution to the problem as abolishing the federal system and creating a centralized one, reminiscent of the political system during the colonial era.
The political and economic chaos that had marked the First Republic, however, continued well throughout the Centralist Republic. Infighting among the conservatives resulted in administrations continuing to be interrupted by successful military coups, and another centralist constitution known as the Bases Orgánicas would be attempted in 1843. Significant political and military agitation for the restoration of the federalist system continued as well. The period was marked by multiple secession attempts across Mexico, including the loss of Texas and Yucatan, and two international conflicts: the Pastry War, caused by French citizens' economic claims against the Mexican government, and the Mexican–American War, as a consequence of the annexation of Texas by the United States.
The Centralist Republic would be followed by the Second Federal Republic of Mexico.