Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857

The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857 (), often called simply the Constitution of 1857, was the liberal constitution drafted by 1857 Constituent Congress of Mexico during the presidency of Ignacio Comonfort. Ratified on February 5, 1857, the constitution established 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, debtor prison, and all forms of cruel and unusual punishment such as the death penalty. The constitution was designed to guarantee a weak central government by federalism and created a strong legislature, an independent judiciary, and a weak executive to prevent a dictatorship. Liberal ideology caused the constitution to emphasize private property and the suspicion of ownership of property by indigenous communities and the Catholic Church, which caused the Ley Lerdo to be incorporated into the constitution.
A number of articles were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church, such as education that was 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, which polarized Mexican society. The Reform War began as a result, with the liberals winning on the battlefield over the conservatives. The losing conservatives sought another way back into power, and their politicians invited Maximilian of Mexico, a Habsburg, to establish a Mexican monarchy with the Church's support. The republican government-in-exile was led by Benito Juárez in the United States as the legitimate Mexican government. With the ouster of the French and the defeat of the conservatives in 1867, the Restored Republic was again governed under the 1857 Constitution. It remained as Mexico's constitution until 1917 although many of its provisions ceased to be enforced.
Background.
Having overthrown the dictatorship of Antonio López de Santa Anna in 1855, liberals sought to implement their ideology in new laws and briefly had Juan Álvarez in the presidency. As established in Plan of Ayutla, he convened the Constituent Congress on October 16 to establish headquarters in Dolores Hidalgo and to draft a new constitution embodying liberalism. The following year, the incumbent president, Ignacio Comonfort, endorsed the call to move the headquarters to Mexico City.
The Congress was divided between two main factions. Most members were moderate liberals and planned to restore the Constitution of 1824 with some changes. Some of the prominent figures were Mariano Arizcorreta, Marcelino Castañeda, Joaquín Cardoso, and Pedro Escudero y Echánove. Their opponents the "pure liberals", who wanted to make a completely-new 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.
President Comonfort interfered through its ministers for the moderate faction, which he preferred. Despite opposition from the executive branch and the minority, "pure" liberals ensured that their proposals successfully 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" (Juárez Law), and freedom of religion.
Those reforms were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church. During the sessions of Congress, an insurrection for the clergy supported by the "conservative", the staunchest opponents of the liberals, gathered force in Zacapoaxtla and Puebla. Comonfort sent federal troops and defeated the rebels.
Finally, the Constitution was promulgated on February 5, 1857, but the clergy threatened that whoever swore the Constitution would be excommunicated.
Content.
The Constitution of 1857, with 8 titles and 128 articles, was similar to the 1824 Constitution. Both federalism and representative republicanism were again implemented, and there were 23 states, a territory, and the federal district. It supported the autonomy of municipalities in which each state was divided politically. These were most relevant articles:
A chapter on individual guarantees and judicial proceedings to protect those rights known as amparo was included. It was created, used, and endorsed by the Republic of Yucatán, which is now the State of Yucatán)
Despite problems in Texas, some deputies unsuccessfully proposed a law granting certain rights to foreign colonization by arguing that the country needed to be settled.
Federation.
During the promulgation of the constitution, the nation was composed of 23 states and one federal territory. Nuevo León merged with Coahuila with the latter name being adopted. The creation of a new state and the admission of three of the four territories as free states of the federation also occurred.
The only federal territory was Baja California. Also, Mexico City was called the State of Valley of Mexico but only if the powers of the Federation moved to another site. On February 26, 1864, Nuevo León was separated from Coahuila and regained its status as a free state.
Opposition.
On December 1856, Pope Pius IX denounced the new Constitution and criticized 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.
Justice Minister Ezequiel Montes met in the Holy See with the 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.
Conservatives began planning a coup. A conservative general, Félix María Zuloaga , epudiated 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. During the coup against the Congress and the Constitution, several ministers of Presidential Cabinet resigned. The 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, Mexican President Ignacio Comonfort adhered to the plan: "I just change my legal title of president, by those of revolutionary miserable." The states of México, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tlaxcala and Veracruz agreed the plan. Veracruz changed from supporting the conservatives to the liberals in a major blow against Comonfort. Without any alternative, Comonfort resorted 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.
Immediate impact.
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 repealed 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.
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.
Repeal and Constitution of 1917.
On February 5, 1903, a liberal group protesting the regime of Porfirio Díaz placed on the balcony of the offices of the newspaper "El hijo de El Ahuizote" a great black curly for mourning with the legend "The Constitution is dead," one of many precursors that eventually trigger the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which overthrew Diaz and ended by the enactment of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1917 during the government of Venustiano Carranza.