Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857

The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857 (Spanish: Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1857) often called simply the Constitution of 1857 is the liberal constitution drafted by 1857 Constituent Congress of Mexico during the presidency of Ignacio Comonfort. It was ratified on February 5, 1857,[1] establishing individual rights such as freedom of speech; freedom of conscience; freedom of the press; freedom of assembly; and the right to bear arms. It also reaffirmed the abolition of slavery, eliminated debtor prison, and eliminated all forms of cruel and unusual punishment, including the death penalty. It was designed to guarantee a weak central government through federalism, created a strong legislature and an independent judiciary, and a weak executive in order to prevent dictatorship. Liberal ideology of the centrality of private property and suspicion of ownership of property, that is, indigenous communities and the Catholic Church saw the Ley Lerdo incorporated into the constitution.

Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States
Original front of the 1857 Constitution
JurisdictionMexico
Created1856–1857
Ratified5 February 1857 (1857-02-05)
SystemConstitutional presidential republic
Branches3
ChambersUnicameral, amended in 1874 to reestablish the Senate.
ExecutivePresident
Electoral collegeYes, presidential elections are validated by the Deputies.
First legislature7 September 1857
Repealed5 February 1917
Amendments32
Last amended7 November 1911
LocationMuseo Nacional de las Intervenciones
Author(s)1857 Constituent Congress
Supersedes1824 Constitution of Mexico

A number of articles were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church, such as education free of dogma, the removal of institutional fueros (privileges) and the forced sale of property belonging to the church. Conservatives strongly opposed the enactment of the new constitution and this polarized Mexican society. The Reform War began as a result, with the conservatives winning on the battlefield. With that loss, conservatives sought another way back into power and politicians invited Maximilian Hapsburg to establish a monarchy with the support of the church.[2] The republican government under Benito Juárez was in exile and remained for the United States the legitimate Mexican government. With the ouster of the French and defeat of the conservatives in 1867, the Restored Republic once more was governed under the Constitution. It remained as Mexico's constitution until 1917, but many of its provisions were not enforced.

Background

Having overthrown the dictatorship of Antonio López de Santa Anna in 1855, liberals sought to implement their ideology in new laws. Liberal Juan Álvarez held the presidency for a short period. According to the established in Plan of Ayutla he convened the Constituent Congress on October 16 the same year, in order to establish headquarters in Dolores Hidalgo to draft a new constitution, embodying liberal ideology. The following year, the incumbent president, Ignacio Comonfort, endorsed the call for moving the headquarters to Mexico City.[3]

The Congress was divided between two main factions. The larger being the moderate liberals whose plan was to restore the Constitution of 1824 with some changes. It included prominent figures like Mariano Arizcorreta, Marcelino Castañeda, Joaquín Cardoso and Pedro Escudero y Echánove. The opposition was the pure liberals,[4] who wanted to make a complete new version of the constitution. Among them were Ponciano Arriaga, Guillermo Prieto, Francisco Zarco, José María Mata and Santos Degollado. The discussions were heated and lasted over a year.[3]

President Comonfort interfered, through its ministers in favor of the moderate faction, which he preferred.[5] Despite opposition from the executive branch and to be minority, 'pure liberals ensured that their proposals were included: the prohibition of purchase of property by ecclesiastical corporations, the exclusion of the clergy in public office, the abolition of ecclesiastical and military fueros[a] (Juárez Law), and freedom of religion.

These reforms were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church. During the course of sessions in Congress, an insurrection in favor of the clergy supported by conservative, the staunchest opponents of the Liberals, gathered force in Zacapoaxtla and Puebla. Comonfort sent federal troops, and the rebels were subjected.[6]

Finally, the Constitution was promulgated on February 5, 1857,[7] under the threats of the clergy that who swore the Constitution would be excommunicated.[8]

Content

The Constitution of 1857 consisted of 8 titles and 128 articles, was similar to the 1824 Constitution, federalism and representative republic was again implemented, which consisted of 23 states, a territory and the federal district. Supported the autonomy of municipalities in which each state was divided politically. The most relevant articles were:

  • 2. Abolition of slavery. (Ratification, the Decree of Abolition of Slavery was made on September 15, 1829) by President Vicente Guerrero.[9]
  • 3. Free tuition (no limit in favor of dogma or religion).
  • 5. Freedom of vocation, a ban on contracts with loss of freedom for the sake of work, education or religious vows.
  • 7. Freedom of speech.
  • 10. Right to bear arms.
  • 13. Prohibition of privileges to individuals or institutions, elimination of special courts (Juarez Law).
  • 12. Titles of nobility are not recognized.
  • 22. Prohibition of punishment by mutilation, beatings, branding, flogging, beating with sticks, torture of any kind, excessive fines, or the confiscation of goods.
  • 23. Abolition of death penalty for political prisoners. It was subsequently modified to permit execution of traitors under the law of 12 April 1869.[10]
  • 27. No civil or ecclesiastical corporation has the capacity to acquire and manage real estate, except buildings to service or purpose of the institution (Lerdo Law).
  • 30. Definition of Mexican nationality.
  • 31. Obligations of the Mexicans.
  • 36. Obligations of citizens.
  • 39. The sovereignty of the nation comes from the people.
  • 50. Division of powers: Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
  • 124. Prohibition on internal customs checkpoints.
  • 128. Inviolability of the Constitution.

Among other things, included a chapter on individual guarantees, and judicial proceedings to protect those rights known as amparo. (created, used and endorsed by the Republic of Yucatán, now, state of Yucatán)[11]

Despite the Texas case, some Deputies proposed a law granting certain rights to foreign colonization arguing that the country needed to be settled, the law was rejected.[3]

Federation
Main article: Territorial evolution of Mexico

At the time of the promulgation of the constitution, the nation was composed of 23 states and one federal territory. Nuevo León merges with Coahuila adopting the latter name, besides, ratified the creation of a new state and admitted three of the four territories as free states of the federation.

Map of Mexico under the Constitution of 1857 The 23 states of the federation were:

States admitted by the Constitution of 1824 were::[12]

Order Name Order Name
1
México
 11
Querétaro
2
Guanajuato
 12
Sonora
3
Oaxaca
 13
Tabasco
4
Puebla
 14
Tamaulipas
5
Michoacán
 15
Nuevo León
6
San Luis Potosí
 16
Coahuila y Texas
7
Veracruz
 17
Durango
8
Yucatán
 18
Chihuahua
9
Jalisco
 19
Chiapas
10
Zacatecas
 20
Sinaloa

New state created::

Order Name Date of Admission
to the Federation		 Installation date
of the Congress
21
Guerrero
 27-10-1849[13] 30-01-1850

States admitted in 1857:

Order Name Date of Admission
to the Federation		 Installation date
of the Congress
22
Tlaxcala
 09-12-1856[14] 01-06-1857
23
Colima
 09-12-1856[15][16] 19-07-1857
24
Aguascalientes
 05-02-1857[17]

The only federal territory was: Baja California, Mexico City was called state of Valley of Mexico, but only if the powers of the Federation to move to another site. On February 26, 1864, Nuevo León was separated from Coahuila and regained its status as free state.[18]

Negative Reactions

On December, 1856, Pope Pius IX denounced the new Constitution, criticizing the Juárez Law and Lerdo Law. In March 1857 Archbishop José Lázaro de la Garza y Ballesteros, stated that Catholics could not swear allegiance to the Constitution on pain of excommunication.[3][19]

Justice Minister Ezequiel Montes met in the Holy See with Cardinal Secretary of State. The pope accepted the Ley Juárez and disposals of Lerdo Law, but demanded the ability to acquire political rights. The negotiations were interrupted by the resignation of President Comonfort.[3]

Conservatives began planning a coup. Conservative General Félix María Zuloaga repudiated the Constitution. On 17 December 1857 he proclaimed the Plan of Tacubaya, which sought repeal of the Constitution and the convening of a new Constituent Congress. This was a coup against the Congress and the Constitution. Several ministers of Presidential Cabinet resigned. President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Benito Juárez, and the President of Congress, Isidoro Olvera, were taken prisoner.

On December 19, President Ignacio Comonfort adhered to the plan saying: "I just change my legal title of president, by those of revolutionary miserable".[3] States of México, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tlaxcala and Veracruz signed onto the Plan Tacubaya. Veracruz changed from support of the conservatives to the liberals, a major blow against Comonfort. Without an alternative, Comonfort had to resort to the pure and released Juárez and other political prisoners. On January 11, 1858, Comonfort resigned, and left with a guard for Veracruz. On 7 February he sailed for exile in the United States. As head of the Supreme Court, Juárez became president of Mexico on 21 January 1858.[20]

Immediate impact
Alegoría de la Constitución de 1857, Petronilo Monroy, 1869.

Conservatives refused to recognize the new constitution or the liberal government. Conservative Félix Zuloaga established a Conservative Government in Mexico City; through the promulgation of Five Lawsrepealed the liberal reforms. Liberal were forced to move the seat of government to Guanajuato. Armies of the two opposing governments clashed in the Reform War.

States of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Colima and Veracruz supported the liberal government of Benito Juárez and the Constitution of 1857. States of México, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Chihuahua, Durango, Tabasco, Tlaxcala, Chiapas, Sonora, Sinaloa, Oaxaca and Yucatán supported the conservative government of Zuloaga.[20]

After the Liberal government won the Reform War, President Juárez and his government added to the Constitution of 1857, the Reform Laws that had been enacted in Veracruz. Because of the civil war, the Constitution remained without effect on almost all the country until January, 1861, when the Liberals returned to the capital. In 1862, as a result of Franco-Mexican War and the establishment of Second Mexican Empire, the Constitution was suspended. In 1867 the liberal, republican forces succeeded in ousting the monarchy, and restored the Republic and bringing the constitution into effect.[21]

Repeal and the Constitution of 1917

On February 5, 1903 in protest against the regime of Porfirio Díaz a liberal group placed on the balcony of the newspaper's offices El hijo de El Ahuizote a great black curly for mourning with the legend "The Constitution is dead," a precursor of many that eventually trigger the Mexican Revolution on 1910, that overthrew Diaz and end with the enactment of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1917 during the government of Venustiano Carranza.

Notes
  • ^a The fueros were privileges that kept the military and clergy to forbade members of these two groups were judged by the law, which effectively put them above the law and that no matter what kind of crime they committed, could not be judged, or in the best cases judged by special courts.

See also

References
  1. "Día de la Constitución Mexicana" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2003-08-11.
  2. Martin Quirarte. "Visión panorámica de la historia de México". Librería Porrúa Hnos y Cia, S. A. 27a. edición 1995. México, D. F. Pág. 170-171.
  3. Tena Ramírez, Felipe Op.cit. capítulo "La Constitución de 1857"
  4. Reyes Heroles, Jesús Op.cit. p.200 : "On December 14, 1838 a popular movement emerged in Mexico City that invades the National Palace acting against the constituted authorities and according to Bocanegra, under the slogan of ¡We want tailless Constitution and pure Federation!. From this comes, by the same author, the title of pure, which met the radical sector of the Mexican liberals (according to the book in 1858, was popular advises that pure going forward, the moderate did not move and conservative went backward)".
  5. "El Liberalismo Moderado en México" (in Spanish).
  6. Valadés, Diego; Carbonell, Miguel Op.cit. "Fernado Zertuche Muñoz" p.865-867
  7. "El Congreso Constituyente a la Nación al proclamar la nueva Constitución Federal" (in Spanish).
  8. "El clero, intolerante, amenaza a quienes juren la constitución" (in Spanish).
  9. "El presidente Vicente Guerrero expide un decreto para abolir la esclavitud" (in Spanish).
  10. Perry, Juárez and Díaz: Machine Politics in Mexico, p. 10
  11. "El Juicio de Amparo" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  12. "Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos" (in Spanish).
  13. "Portal Estado de Guerrero" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  14. "Portal Gobierno del Estado de Tlaxcala" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2009-12-27.
  15. "Portal Ciudadano de Baja California" (in Spanish).
  16. "el Comentario" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2010-08-10.
  17. "Gobierno del Estado de Yucatán" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2010-04-11.
  18. "Información turística INEGI" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-22.
  19. Paul Vanderwood, "Betterment for Whom? The Reform Period: 1855-1875" in The Oxford History of Mexico, Michael C. Meyer and William H. Beezley, eds. New York: Oxford University Press 2000, p. 373.
  20. El Colegio de México, Op.cit. p.597-598
  21. "La República Restaurada. Una década en busca de un nuevo Estado" (in Spanish).

Further reading
  • Hamnett, Brian. "The Comonfort presidency, 1855-1857," Bulletin of Latin American Research (1996) 15#1 pp 81–100 in JSTOR
  • Knapp, Frank A, Jr., "Parliamentary Government and the Mexican Constitution of 1857: A Forgotten Phase of Mexican Political History," Hispanic American Historical Review (1953) 33#1 pp. 65–87 in JSTOR
  • Knowlton, Robert J. "Some practical effects of clerical opposition to the Mexican Reform, 1856-1860." The Hispanic American Historical Review 45.2 (1965): 246-256.
  • Perry, Laurens Ballard. Juárez and Díaz: Machine Politics in Mexico. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press 1978.
  • Scholes, Walter V. "Church and State at the Mexican Constitutional Convention, 1856-1857" The Americas, vol. 5, no. 1.
  • Scholes, Walter V. Mexican Politics during the Juárez Regime 1855-1872 (University of Missouri Press, 1957)
  • Sinkin, Richard N. The Mexican Reform, 1856-1876:A Study in Liberal Nation-Building (University of Texas Press, 1979)

In Spanish
  • Cosío Villegas, Daniel. La constitución de 1857 y sus críticos. Mexico City: SepSetentas 98, 1973.
  • García Granados, Ricardo. La constitución de 1857 y los leyes en México. Mexico City: Tipografía Económica 1906.
  • Guerra, François-Xavier, México: del antiguo régimen a la revolución. Vol. 1. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica 1988.
  • El Colegio de México (2009) Historia general de México, versión 2000 capítulo "El liberalismo militante", Lilia Díaz, México, ed.El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Históricos, ISBN 968-12-0969-9
  • Reyes Heroles, Jesús (2002) Los caminos de la historia, edición de Eugenia Meyer, México, ed.Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, ISBN 978-968-36-9350-1 texto en la web consultado 3 de noviembre de 2009
  • Rabasa, Emilio. La constitución y la dictadura: Estudio sobre la organización política de México. Mexico City: Porrúa 1974.
  • Ruiz Castañeda, María del Carmen. La prensa periódicoa en torno a la Constitución de 1857. Mexico City: Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, UNAM 1959.
  • Tena Ramírez, Felipe (1997) Leyes fundamentales de México 1808-1992 México, ed.Porrúa ISBN 978-968-432-011-6 texto en la web consultado el 23 de octubre de 2009
  • Valadés, Diego; Carbonell, Miguel (2007) El proceso constituyente mexicano: a 150 años de la Constitución de 1857 y 90 de la Constitución de 1917, "El congreso constituyente de 1856-1857: el decenio de su entorno" Fernando Zertuche Muñoz, México, ed.Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, ISBN 978-970-32-3930-6 texto en la web consultado el 23 de octubre de 2009
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