1833 Mexican presidential election

1833 Mexican presidential election
Election name	1833 Mexican presidential election
Country	Mexico
Flag year	1824
Type	presidential
Previous election	1828 Mexican general election
Previous year	1828
Next election	1834 Mexican general election
Next year	1834
Election date	1833
Nominee1	Antonio López de Santa Anna
Party1	Centralist/Federalist factions
Popular vote1	disputed
Percentage1	disputed
Nominee2	Melchor Múzquiz
Party2	Conservative affiliations
Title	President
Before election	Manuel Gómez Pedraza
After election	Valentín Gómez Farías

1833 Mexican presidential election

The 1833 Mexican presidential election produced contentious results amid factional rivalry during the early First Mexican Republic era. Political figures including Antonio López de Santa Anna, Valentín Gómez Farías, Melchor Múzquiz, and Manuel Gómez Pedraza contended for influence against a backdrop of constitutional disputes after the 1824 Constitution of Mexico. The election accelerated conflicts between Federalists and Centralists, involving provincial elites in Puebla, Veracruz, Guanajuato, Jalisco, and Mexico City.

Background

The election followed the upheaval of the 1828 Mexican general election, the resignation of Vicente Guerrero and the restoration of Manuel Gómez Pedraza, itself shaped by the Casa Mata Plan revolt led by Antonio López de Santa Anna and supported by figures such as Guadalupe Victoria and Matías de Irigoyen. Political alignments coalesced around constitutional interpretations of the 1824 Constitution of Mexico and reactions to the Spanish American wars of independence. Key institutions influencing the contest included the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico), the Senate of the Republic (Mexico), provincial legislatures in Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Sinaloa, and civic militias linked to caudillos like Nicolás Bravo and Miguel Barragán.

Electoral System

Under provisions derived from the 1824 Constitution of Mexico, the presidential selection combined popular influence and legislative confirmation through the Congress of the Union (Mexico). Electors chosen in states such as Chihuahua, Yucatán, Oaxaca, and San Luis Potosí convened in line with precedents from the United States presidential election system and Hispanic-American models used in Gran Colombia and Peru. The process involved the Departmental Deputation mechanisms and the electoral collegiate procedures then in effect, with contested procedures in Mexico City and provinces dominated by military chiefs. Legal disputes invoked articles of the Mexican Constitution of 1824 and debates referenced jurists tied to the Real y Supremo Tribunal de Justicia traditions.

Candidates and Campaign

Prominent contenders included Antonio López de Santa Anna, whose profile combined military commands from the Battle of Tampico era and regional power in Tabasco and Veracruz; Valentín Gómez Farías, a physician-turned-politician allied with liberal reforms and educational projects tied to Lucas Alamán's opponents; Melchor Múzquiz, a constitutionalist with ties to Puebla elites and veterans of independence linked to Agustín de Iturbide's era; and Manuel Gómez Pedraza, whose prior tenure and contested victory in 1828 Mexican general election kept him relevant in Querétaro and Hidalgo circles. Campaigning deployed provincial newspapers in La Ciudad de México, pamphleteers connected to El Sol de Anáhuac-style broadsheets, and endorsements from generals including José Joaquín de Herrera and Pedro Vélez. Factional debates revolved around fiscal policy influenced by Nicolás Bravo's cabinet concerns, military appointments shaped by Brigadier General patronage, and church-state relations implicating clergy networks in Puebla Cathedral and orders like the Augustinians.

Results

Official tallies were inconsistent and often reported by regional assemblies in Veracruz, Jalisco, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, and Colima. The absence of a single national registry meant vote aggregation passed through the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) and contested in the Senate of the Republic (Mexico). Contemporary accounts in newspapers from Mexico City and provincial capitals gave advantage to Antonio López de Santa Anna and Valentín Gómez Farías in varied combinations, with Melchor Múzquiz carrying support in conservative bastions like Puebla and Morelos. The presidency, as later constituted, saw an arrangement whereby Valentín Gómez Farías assumed executive functions with Antonio López de Santa Anna frequently alternating command roles, reflecting compromises akin to the Triumvirate models experimented in post-independence Latin American politics.

Aftermath and Political Impact

The election intensified debates that led to the 1834 promulgation of the Siete Leyes centralist reforms and the erosion of provisions from the 1824 Constitution of Mexico. Political dynamics contributed to uprisings in Yucatán and rebellions in Coahuila y Tejas influenced by figures like Anglo-Tejanos contexts and tensions culminating toward the Texas Revolution. Administrations during the period involved ministers such as Lucas Alamán and Lucas González, and intersected with foreign policy issues involving Spain and the United States of America over trade and territorial disputes. The electoral crisis further elevated caudillos including Santa Anna and precipitated cycles of coups and provisional juntas seen later with Nicolás Bravo and Pedro Valtierra interventions.

Regional Voting Patterns and Controversies

Regional patterns revealed Federalist strength in Jalisco, Colima, and Zacatecas, Centralist influence in Puebla and Oaxaca, and contested loyalties in frontier provinces like Nuevo Santander and Baja California. Controversies centered on militia interference by commanders such as José María Morelos (namesake groups)-style local leaders, ballot irregularities reported from Vera Cruz ports, and obstructions by municipal councils in towns like Guanajuato and Toluca. Legal protests brought petitions before assemblies modeled on practices from Buenos Aires and Caracas post-independence adjudications, while newspapers in San Luis Potosí and León recorded accusations of coercion, vote-buying, and clerical pressure tied to ecclesiastical authorities in Tlaxcala.

Category:Elections in Mexico Category:1833 in Mexico Category:Presidential elections