THE PRONUNCIAMIENTO IN YUCATÁN: FROM INDEPENDENCE TO INDEPENDENCE (1821-1840) Shara Ali A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2011 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/1693 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License The Pronunciamiento in Yucatán: From Independence to Independence (1821-1840) Shara Ali Thesis submitted for the Degree of Ph.D. University of St. Andrews September 2010 I, Shara Ali, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 86,500 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2007 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in September, 2010; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2007 and 2010. Date 4/2/11 signature of candidate I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Ph.D. in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date 4/2/11 signature of supervisor In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. We also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. We have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Access to Printed copy and electronic publication of thesis through the University of St Andrews. Date 4/2/11 signature of candidate signature of supervisor Contents Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Understanding the Pronunciamiento 31 Chapter 2: Independence and establishing the Yucatecan pronunciamiento trend: The Pronunciamiento of 1821 72 Chapter 3: Federalism and Inter-Regional Factionalism: The Pronunciamientos of 1823-1824 94 Chapter 4: Centralism, Secession, the Military, and the beginning of the crisis de legitimidad: The Pronunciamiento of 1829 129 Chapter 5: Local Politics and National Influence: The Federalist Pronunciamientos of 1831-1832 158 Chapter 6: Centralism and Civil War: The Pronunciamientos of 1833-1835 173 Chapter 7: The Forgotten Hero: The Santiago Imán Pronunciamiento of 1836-840 202 Conclusion 241 Bibliography 252 Maps Map One: Mexico 16 Map Two: Yucatán 206 Acknowledgements First and foremost, this thesis would have not been possible without the never-ending guidance, insight, and support of my supervisor Professor Will Fowler. I owe my deepest gratitude to him, for his constant assistance, inspiration, encouragement, and hard work from the very beginning to the very end of this project. To my Mum, Dad, and Aunt Vasanti, you not only supported me financially in this decision, but you kept me sane in all realms during these past three years. None of this would have happened without your support and love. I would also like to thank Professor Terry Rugeley at the University of Oklahoma, Professor Nigel Dennis at the University of St. Andrews, and Professor Paul Garner at the University of Leeds for their extremely helpful comments, suggestions, and reviews throughout this project. In Yucatán, I would like to thank Dr. Arturo Güémez Pineda for all his academic as well as general assistance throughout my stay; it has been extremely appreciated. I am particularly grateful to the Vergara family (especially Andrea Vergara Medina and Cinthia Vanessa Fernández Vergara) for welcoming me and making me one of their family. Thanks to them, my stay in Yucatán was one of the happiest periods of my life. In the Archivo General del Estado de Yucatán, I would also like to thank Cinthia Vanessa Fernández Vergara for her constant assistance. I am also grateful to Carmen Méndez Serralta, for providing me with essential primary source documents. At the Centro de Apoyo a la Investigación Histórica de Yucatán, I am extremely indebted to Elizabeth García Avilés, not only for her help at the Centre, but for her enduring friendship. I also give thanks to Felipe Escalante for all his assistance at the Centre. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank my colleagues and fellow pronunciados at the University of St. Andrews, especially Melissa Boyd and Kerry McDonald for their invaluable companionship and support along the way. i Abstract Unique to nineteenth-century Spain and Central America, the pronunciamiento can be interpreted as an act of insubordination against ruling authorities, which included a written document with a list of complaints or demands. The practice was almost always carried out by members of the army, but usually involved heavy participation by political and civilian sectors of society as well. The pronunciamiento more often than not contained a threat of military violence if the grievances of the pronunciados were not listened to; as a result, it carried with it the implicit consequence of armed revolt. The pronunciamiento was responsible for major political changes in early nineteenth- century Mexico and Yucatán, and was also one of the most powerful forces of political and societal destabilisation during this period. Indeed, the pronunciamiento was responsible for the establishment of federalist and centralist systems, changes of constitutions, and constant overthrows of presidents. This was also true on a smaller scale in Yucatán, as the pronunciamiento was not only used to depose governors and administrations, but was the key negotiatory mechanism between the Yucatecan and Mexican administrations; yucatecos resorted to the pronunciamiento to realise their secessions from and reunifications to Mexico throughout the early nineteenth century. The aim of this thesis is to expose the dynamic of the Yucatecan pronunciamiento. It will challenge the present depiction of the pronunciamiento as military exercise of destabilization, and will instead concentrate on exposing it as a highly intricate process of political representation and negotiation, at both local and national levels. This will not only contribute toward a greater understanding of pronunciamiento culture on a local and more general scale, but will also reveal a more comprehensive analysis of the socio-political and economic circumstances of nineteenth-century Yucatán. This in turn will aid in re-defining early nineteenth-century Mexico, questioning its traditional depiction as an age of “chaos”, ii and instead exposing it as one dominated by political and ideological forces and factions, who used the pronunciamiento to express their beliefs and to negotiate for change. iii Introduction The early independent years of nineteenth-century Mexico (from independence in 1821 to the beginning of the Porfirio Díaz administration in 1876) were plagued by instability, factionalism, civil conflict, insurrections, and wars, as powerful sectors of society in Mexico City along with those of its regions struggled with the novelties of self- governance, the definition of their political identities, and the understanding and formation of the political system of the nation. Despite inheriting a land ravaged by the War of Independence with stalled economic development, Mexicans still had hopes for a peaceful new nation. Nevertheless, at almost all levels Mexicans were inexperienced with self-rule, and despite the high expectations brought with freedom, it cannot be denied that Mexicans were inheriting a land which had been profoundly conditioned by a colonial structure, with a powerful defined elite above the popular classes. Additionally, there was a severe lack of agreement on the political system which the nascent nation should take. Some – in particular the elite sectors of the regions – preferred a federalist organisation which allowed provinces significant administrative and economic power over their realms; but others believed in a centralist system with Mexico City in main control of resources and administration, and which also preserved the two bastions of colonialism: the Church and the Army (in Terry Rugeley‟s words, “a kind of Spain without the Spaniards: regal, mercantilist, and above all Catholic.”)1 The inexperienced and internally divided society was consequently constituted of several clashing political factions with each believing that it had the solution for creating a stable political system which would bring peace and development to the country. There were different strategies used to express the political ideals of these groups; lawful methods such as elections and constitutions were a constant in the nascent nation. 1 Terry Rugeley, “The Compass Points of Unrest: Pronunciamientos from Within, Without, Above, and Below in Southeast Mexico, 1821-1876” in Will Fowler (ed.), Malcontents, rebels and pronunciados: The Politics of Insurrection in Nineteenth-Century Mexico (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, in press). 1 Then there were other means: revolts, civil wars, insurrections, and above all, pronunciamientos. Pronunciamientos inundated the country as the military constantly intervened and mixed with political affairs at both local and national levels, consequently provoking endemic political, social, and economic instability.