Plan of Tuxtepec

The Plan de Tuxtepec was a plan in Mexican history. It was drafted by Porfirio Díaz in 1876 and proclaimed on January 10, 1876 in the Villa de Ojitlán municipality of San Lucas Ojitlán, Tuxtepec district, Oaxaca. It was signed by a group of military officers led by Colonel Hermenegildo Sarmiento and drafted by porfiristas Vicente Riva Palacio, Irineo Paz, and Protasio Tagle, which were instigated by General Porfirio Díaz. Díaz signed the previous version of the plan in December 1875, which did not include three articles, the ones that were the most important of the plan appointing Diaz as president. It disavowed Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada as President, while acknowledging the Constitution, the Reform Laws and proclaimed General Porfirio Díaz as the leader of the movement. Díaz later became the president of Mexico.

Background

After the death of the president Benito Juárez in 1872, the first magistracy of the country was occupied by the vice-president Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, who called for new elections. Two candidates were registered: he himself, Lerdo de Tejada, and the General Porfirio Díaz, one of the heroes of the Battle of Puebla which had taken place on 5 May 1862, and who had occupied several public positions. Díaz had challenged Juárez with his Plan de la Noria, in which he stated his disagreement with presidential re-election and he call for a Constitutional Congress. The loss of prestige that Díaz suffered with his plan, made him lose the elections of 1872. Towards the end of his government, Lerdo, who had already incorporated the "Reform Laws" to the Constitution of Mexico, tried to get re-elected, causing him to lose popularity. On March 21, 1876, Don Porfirio Díaz rebelled against President Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada. The Plan of Tuxtepec defended the "No Re-election" principle and emerged as the flag of the General Porfirio Díaz. The victory of the Plan of Tuxtepec, gave the interim presidency to Jose Maria Iglesias and later, as the only candidate, the General Porfirio Díaz assumed the presidency on May 5, 1877.

Participants

Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada

Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada was a Mexican politician. In July 1872, when Benito Juárez died, Lerdo, who was the President of the Supreme Court, assumed the interim presidency. Afterwards, Congress elected Lerdo as president. During this period, the country became peaceful after many wars. He declared the Reforma Laws as part of the Constitution. In 1876, he tried to make modifications to the law in order to promote his re-election causing Porfirio Díaz to declare the Plan of Tuxtepec.

Porfirio Díaz

He was a Mexican military officer and president three times from November 29 of 1876 to December 6 of 1876, from February 1877 to November 30 of 1880 and finally from December 1, 1884 to May 25, 1911. Díaz played an important role in the Plan of Tuxtepec. When the elite troops of Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada were defeated in Tecoac he had no choice but to renounce off the presidency, which Díaz took on November 28, 1876, who had entered triumphantly to the capital on 21 of the same month.

General Donato Guerra

He was the leader of the Mexican army at the time. He participated in the Guerra de Reforma and in the French intervention. He joined the Plan de la Noria and Tuxtepec. He was assassinated in Avalos, Chihuahua by "lerdistas".

José María Iglesias

He was the Supreme Court President during Lerdo's presidency. He was named interim President until elections took place in Mexico City.

Supporters

There military chiefs who helped the movement in Jalisco on February 8, 1876. In the municipalities of Lagos, Teocaltiche, Jalostotitlán and San Miguel El Alto, the generals Donato Guerra and Rosendo Márquez attacked the garrison of San Juan de los Lagos, which gave up itself without major steps. Another important general Pedro A. Galván and Florentino Cuervo who took Ameca's city. The Colonel Félix Vélez Galván rose up in arms in Sayula 12 of the same month.

Articles

• Art. 1. - The supreme laws of the Republic are: the Constitution of 1857, the Reform Laws enacted on September 25 of 1873 and the Act of December 14 of 1874.
• Art. 2. - Prohibition of reelection of the President and state governors has the same validity as the supreme laws.
• Art. 3. – Don Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada is disavowed as president of the Republic, as well as all officials and employees of his government.
• Art. 4. - The governments of all states will be recognized if they adhere to this plan. If this does not happen, the head of the army of each state will be recognized as governor.
• Art. 5. - There will be elections for the Supreme Powers of the Union, the two months after the occupation of the capital of the republic, and without reconvening. The Congress elections shall be held in accordance with the laws of February 12, 1857 and October 23, 1872, with the first ones on the first Sunday following two months after the occupation of the capital.
• Art. 6.- The Executive Power will settle, while the elections are done, in the city who obtains the majority of votes of the States Governors, and will not have any more attributions that the merely administrative ones.
• Art. 7.- Assembled the will be the 8° constitutional Congress, its first works will be: the constitutional reform of the Article 2, which guarantees the independence of the municipalities, and the law that political organization gives to the Federal District and territory of California.
• Art. 8 – Are responsible, guilty and morality all that direct or indirectly cooperate to the maintenance of the Government of don Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, becoming effective from the moment in which the guilty are situated in power of anyone force belonging to the regenerator army.
• Art. 9 – The generals, chiefs and officials who with opportunity help the present plan, will be recognized in their assignments, rank and decorations.
• Art. 10 – Porfirio Díaz will be recognized as general in chief of the army.
• Art. 11 – Opportunely the general will be named, whose chief will enjoy extraordinary powers in administration and war.
• Art. 12 – For no motive it will be possible enter agreements with the enemy, under the threat of the life to the one that do it.

Consequences

Battle of Icamole, NL

On May 20, 1876 in Icamole, the General Carlos Fuero, loyal to the government of Lerdo de Tejada, inflicted a terrible defeat on the rebels led by Gral. Porfirio Díaz, who was forced to withdraw to the south of the Republic.

Battle of Tecoac, Puebla.

Despite his defeat in Icamole, the General Porfirio Díaz continued fighting the "lerdistas". On November 16, 1876, in the Battle of Tecoac, Diaz faced Gral. Ignacio R. Alatorre; during the fighting, both sides were close to the victory, but with the arrival of porfiristas reinforcements under the command of Gen. Manuel González, provocated the defeat of Alatorre.

Then follow a series of battles, the people who defended the plan Tuxtepec triumphed. Diaz enters victorious at Puebla in November.

On October 26, the Congress affirmed the re-election of Lerdo de Tejada, but the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, José María Iglesias, declared it illegal. In his role as vice-president, Iglesias pursued the interim presidency. The military forces of Lerdo, which tried to deal with the opponents, were defeated by General Manuel González's troops, in the Battle of Tecoac, Puebla. By this failure Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada was forced to leave power. General Porfirio Díaz reached the presidency in the elections of 12 February 1877. Then, supported by the Plan of Tuxtepec, he promoted in 1878 two important reforms to the Constitution. The first one: he removed the function of vice-president from the president of the Supreme Court of Justice. The second one: he forbade re-election with a little statement that said: "Except after a period of four years", with which he started his long-term period and dictatorship.

The Plan of Tuxtepec placed the General Porfirio Díaz as president of the republic. From the government of Diaz began the period called Porfiriato.

External links

• Red escolar. "Plan de Tuxtepec", Porfiriato, Accessed November 14, 2007.
• MSN Encarta. "Plan de Tuxtepec", Porfiriato, Accessed November 14, 2007.