Available Online at http://www.recentscientific.com International Journal of CODEN: IJRSFP (USA) Recent Scientific International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Research Vol. 12, Issue, 01 (D), pp. 40680-40689, January, 2021 ISSN: 0976-3031 DOI: 10.24327/IJRSR Research Article POLITICAL CONTEXT, CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN SINALOA Dina Beltrán López DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/ijrsr.2021.1201.5743 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: This article deals with the transformation of the Colegio Rosales into the Universidad de Occidente in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, in 1918; a project promoted by the Ramón F. Iturbe government to th Received 13 October, 2020 develop higher education in the face of political changes at the end of the Mexican Revolution’s th Received in revised form 11 armed phase (1910-1917). The creation of a regional university whose coverage included three states November, 2020 (Sinaloa, Sonora, and Nayarit) and the territory of Baja California, represented an innovative project th Accepted 8 December, 2020 given that it was the first of its kind in Mexico and it worked under an autonomous regime. The th Published online 28 January, 2021 project did not advance due to the struggles between factions of the revolutionary political class and university faculty, which also impacted Sinaloa’s Constitution. Key Words: Regional autonomous university, Political Constitution, political parties, university autonomy in México, Mexican Revolution. Copyright © Dina Beltrán López, 2021, this is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. INTRODUCTION endorsed Iturbe’s candidacy.2 From the onset of the race for the governorship, Carranza canvassed for Flores and urged Iturbe The First Constitutional Government of Sinaloa under not to participate, but the latter refused-despite his political Ramón F. Iturbe affinity with Carranza-proclaiming his commitment to the 3 In November 1910, after more than three decades under a people. dictatorial regime (1876-1911) that neglected the well-being of Iturbe assumed the governorship with several plans in mind to the majority, the Mexican society began a revolutionary improve the state. In regards to public education, the process by attending the Francisco I. Madero’s call to arms. administration of Manuel Rodríguez Gutiérrez (1915-1916) had This complex process concluded with the enactment of a new already drafted some projects. One of them consisted of political Constitution on February 5, 1917. Even though the preparing the conditions to establish a reform that transformed new constitution and the inauguration of office of President the Colegio Rosales (also known as Rosalina) from a college Venustiano Carranza on May 1917, formally marked the into a regional autonomous university.4 This proposal intended beginning of the postrevolutionary state, the armed struggle to break with a tradition of 44 years, in which the educational concluded until 1920, and the winners outlined the new center operated as an institution controlled by the local state characteristics of the Mexican State for the following decades. One of their essential elements was “the leadership of a non- radical revolutionary middle class, based on a great pact with 2Mercedes Verdugo, Gobiernos de la Revolución en Sinaloa. Administración, partidos y the popular sectors”.1 elecciones, el municipio libre, Collection La Suave Patria (México: Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa e Instituto Sinaloense de Cultura, 2010), 63-4. The crucial events of the 1910 Revolution marked a path for 3 Manuel Woolrich, “Ramón F. Iturbe”, in Amado González, Diccionario Geográfico, Histórico, Biográfico y Estadístico del Estado de Sinaloa(México, DF: Gobierno del local politics in each Mexican state. In the mid-1917 Estado de Sinaloa, 1982), 296. gubernatorial elections in Sinaloa, General Ramon F. Iturbe 4Dina Beltrán, “Currículum y educación media superior en la institución rosalina. Un estudio desde la historia cultural” (PhD thesis, Centro Escolar del Mar de Cortés, Culiacán, defeated General Angel Flores by a wide margin.The Sinaloa, México, 2015), 109-10. Progressive Liberal Party and the Sinaloa Liberal Party had Rosalina is the common name to refer to the current Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (UAS) as well as toitspredecessors: Colegio Rosales (1874-1918), Universidad de Occidente (1918-1922), Colegio Civil Rosales (1922-1937), Universidad Socialista del 1 Javier Garciadiego and Sandra Kuntz, “La Revolución mexicana”, in Erick Velásquez Noroeste, and Universidad de Sinaloa (1941-1965). The adjective Rosalina in Spanish García and others, Nueva Historia General de México (México: El Colegio de México, means pertaining to Rosales and is a tribute to General Antonio Rosales, a hero of the War 2010), 563. of the French Intervention. *Corresponding author: Dina Beltrán López International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Vol. 12, Issue, 01 (D), pp. 40680-40689, January, 2021 through a Board of Counselors. The latter was the highest allied as interim governor-the local representative Eliseo ruling body in education, and the governor chaired it during Quintero. After two extended leaves of absence,15Iturbe most of its existence.5 The leadership of Bernardo J. Gastélum reassumed his position on December 1. However, he only was fundamental to achieve the education reform.6 remained in office until December 31, when he again requested another leave for an indefinite period after having accepted the The atmosphere was very adverse to this project because the position of Chief of the First Northwest Division headquartered struggle for power remained very intense. Several high-ranking in Mazatlán. The local Congress then appointed representative military officers believed they deserved the governor’s chair. Miguel L. Ceceña, an Iturbe’s political adversary, as interim During the discussion in the Congress to approve the governor.16 appointment of Iturbe as governor, Miguel L. Ceceña, a local representative, claimed that Iturbe was an illegitimate governor The Conflict between Venustiano Carranza and the Sonora because he failed to meet the age requirement. Even though Group and its Effects on Sinaloa this was not the dominant position among representatives, an As the Carrancista administration winded down, the networks array of city councils rejected him as governor.7 of power around its succession were woven and unwoven. As The defeated candidate Ángel Flores led the opposition. He had General Álvaro Obregón realized that he was not the plotted with a group of military officers to prevent Iturbe from President’s candidate, helaunched an independent candidacy in taking office as governor. On July 2, Fernando Espinoza de los June 1919.17 At the local level, the Sinaloan Democratic Party Monteros, a former general in Pancho Villa’s army took up (SDP) was formed the previous month to support the arms, forcing the government to transfer state powers from Obregón’s political project as well as to promote the candidacy Culiacán to the port of Mazatlán.8 But the movement was of Ángel Flores for governor of the state of Sinaloa.18 short-lived because General Álvaro Obregón intervened as a At the beginning of 1920, a conflict erupted between the mediator9 and this ended up with the detention of Espinoza de President and the Sonoran group allegedly because Carranza los Monteros and the restoration of state powers to Culiacán on had declared federal waters both the San Miguel Horcasitas and August 9, 1917. On July 23, 1917, from Huatabampo, Sonora, the Sonora rivers. As differences intensified, the Sonora group Obregón had expressed to Iturbe and Flores his willingness to stopped recognizing Carranza as legitimate president and intervene “in the simple role of a former comrade-in-arms”.10 declared the Plan of Agua Prieta on April 23, 1920. The In compliance with Sinaloa’s Constitution, in effect since Sinaloan generals who followed the Plan included: Angel September 1894, Iturbe should have never competed for the Flores, Francisco R. Serrano, Roberto Cruz, MacarioGaxiola, governorship. At the time of the election, he was only 27 years Anatolio Ortega, Guillermo Nelson, and Pablo Macías old, while the Constitution stipulated that candidates had to be Valenzuela.19 There were also university proffessors who at least 30 years old to hold the office.11 Nevertheless, Iturbe supported the cause, including the lawyers José Luis Valencia and his party argued that because the national constitutional and Fortino Gómez, the engineer Ramón Ponce de León, and order had been interrupted in February 1913, the application of the mathematician Epitacio Osuna.20 the 1894 local constitution was suspended. This discussion was one of the factors that triggered a change to the state Generals Iturbe and Juan Carrasco sided with Carranza. On Constitution-approved in August 1917-, which reduced the April 21, Iturbe issued a manifesto in Mazatlán, condemning requirements for holding the office of the governor from 30 to the separatist movement led by the state of Sonora. He argued 25 years.12 that the federal government was “obligated to prevent any symptom of national dismemberment,” and called the Iturbe had to overcome several obstacles, including the Sinaloans to support the President.21 Due to this turbulent animosity of the Flores’s faction, and governed Sinaloa until political climate, on April 15 the local government of Sinaloa August 1919, when the Congress granted him a leave of had approved once again to transfer state powers from Culiacán absence to travel to Mexico City.13 One of the purposes of this to Mazatlán.22 trip was to negotiate the payment of the debt of the federal government to Sinaloa that amounted to $337,102.85 pesos, The national conflict had a major impact on Sinaloa as Ángel originated from loans that Sinaloa made to federal forces Flores and his followers intended to prevent Iturbe from during the Revolution.14Iturbe also sought a further returning to power by all means, causing government involvement in national politics.