Plan of Agua Prieta

Plan of Agua Prieta was the proclamation issued in Agua Prieta, Sonora on April 23, 1920, that repudiated the administration of Venustiano Carranza and initiated the rebellion which brought Álvaro Obregón and his allies to power. The Plan synthesized regional grievances stemming from the Mexican Revolution, personal rivalries among revolutionary leaders, and reactions to policies from the Constitution of 1917 era, catalyzing a rapid political realignment in Mexico City and across northern Mexico.

Background and Causes

The proclamation grew out of rivalries among leaders of the Mexican Revolution such as Venustiano Carranza, Álvaro Obregón, Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Plutarco Elías Calles, and Adolfo de la Huerta, intersecting with conflicts among factions tied to the Constitution of 1917, the Conventionalists, and the Constitutionalist Army. Tensions included disputes over the succession after Carranza’s failed endorsement of Ignacio Bonillas and clashes between civil authorities in Oaxaca, Jalisco, Chihuahua, Baja California, and Sonora. Economic and regional pressures involved interests represented by Mexican hacendados, foreign oil companies, United States diplomatic actors such as Henry Lane Wilson, and commercial elites in Tampico, Matamoros, and Nogales. Military mobilizations linked to units from Culiacán, Torreón, Mexicali, Hermosillo, and Puebla signaled broader discontent with Carranza’s administration and with policies enforced by secretariats like the Secretariat of War and Navy under various commanders.

Text and Provisions

The Plan repudiated Carranza’s authority without invoking a programmatic social agenda comparable to the Plan of Ayala or the Plan of San Luis Potosí, focusing instead on the removal of specific officials and the establishment of a provisional executive. Its clauses called for the deposition of Carranza, the appointment of an interim executive from among figures such as Adolfo de la Huerta and Plutarco Elías Calles, and the convening of elections to validate a successor like Álvaro Obregón. The language cited legal pretexts familiar from documents like the Plan of Guadalupe and the Plan of Iguala in its appeal to revolutionary legitimacy while avoiding direct commitments to land reform associated with Emiliano Zapata or the labor provisions in the Constitution of 1917 that had been advanced by deputies from Morelos, Puebla, and Veracruz.

Political and Military Actions

Following the proclamation, Sonoran units and allied forces launched coordinated operations across northern Mexico, including mobilizations in Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, and Nuevo León. Key confrontations and maneuvers occurred near strategic rail junctions at Torreón, Río Nazas, and Tepic, as forces loyal to Carranza attempted to hold positions in Mexico City, Orizaba, and Veracruz. Diplomacy involved envoys and figures such as Henry Lane Wilson and delegations from United States Embassy (Mexico City), while political negotiations engaged actors from the Constitutional Congress, state legislatures in Sonora and Sinaloa, and municipal councils in Ciudad Juárez and Pachuca. The collapse of Carranza’s authority culminated in his flight toward Veracruz and subsequent death near Tlaxcalantongo, facilitating the interim presidency of Adolfo de la Huerta and the later election of Álvaro Obregón.

Key Figures and Supporters

Principal signatories and leaders included Sonoran politicians and soldiers such as Plutarco Elías Calles, Adolfo de la Huerta, and Álvaro Obregón, along with military figures from Pancho Villa’s former contingents, regional caudillos from Chihuahua and Durango, and civic elites in Hermosillo, Nogales, and Ciudad Obregón. Allies ranged from former Carrancistas disaffected with the succession—like Gustavo A. Madero’s associates and civilian politicians from Puebla and Querétaro—to business leaders tied to railways such as the Ferrocarril Central Mexicano and to commercial interests in Culiacán and Monterrey. Opposition within Carranza’s circle involved ministers and generals stationed in Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Zacatecas, while international observers included diplomats from the United States, businessmen from Liverpool and New Orleans, and representative journalists from outlets reporting in Mexico City and El Paso.

Consequences and Legacy

The rebellion initiated by the proclamation produced immediate political turnover: the fall of Venustiano Carranza, the brief stewardship of Adolfo de la Huerta, and the election of Álvaro Obregón, which shaped the era known as the Sonoran Dynasty and the later formation of the National Revolutionary Party (Partido Nacional Revolucionario). Institutional consequences influenced the organization of state power in Mexico City and the consolidation of presidencies under figures such as Plutarco Elías Calles and later Lázaro Cárdenas. The episode affected land policy debates tied to the Constitution of 1917’s article provisions, labor disputes involving unions in Monterrey and Guadalajara, and foreign relations with the United States and British commercial interests. In cultural memory, the proclamation is referenced in histories of the Mexican Revolution, biographies of Álvaro Obregón, Plutarco Elías Calles, and Venustiano Carranza, and in scholarly treatments by historians focusing on the transition from revolutionary conflict to institutional politics in 20th-century Mexico.

Category:Mexican Revolution Category:1920 in Mexico