Don Miguel Ramos Arizpe (February 15, 1775 in Valle de San Nicolás, (near

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

)

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

– April 28, 1843 in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

) was a Mexican priest and politician, and known as "the father of Mexican federalism."

Life and career

Ramos Arizpe was born near Saltillo, Coahuila, in colonial Mexico's Eastern Provincias Internas in 1775. He studied in a seminary in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, with the usual curriculum of Latin, philosophy, and moral theology. He went on to study in Guadalajara, where he earned his bachelor's degree studying philosophy and law. He was ordained a priest in 1803, returning to Monterrey, and held a number of ecclesiastical positions in the area. He earned his doctorate in canon law in 1807. He served in the court at Cádiz, Coahuila, where "he demanded equality between Europeans and Americans." During the Bourbon reforms of the late eighteenth century, the Spanish crown had begun systematically privileging peninsular-born Spaniards over American-born ''criollos'', so the demand for equality of these elites was in opposition to crown policy. During the Napoleonic invasion of the Iberian peninsula when the Bourbon monarch was replaced by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

and the legitimacy of the ruler challenged in Spain and Spanish America, the

Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''Cortes Generales, cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous o ...

was convenedwhich served as a parliamentary Regency after

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

was deposed. Ramos Arizpe was elected as a representative to the Cortes of Cádiz, where he advocated for the rights of Americans. He established the structure for the provincial deputation, which sought

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

for provinces. The Cortes of Cádiz wrote and promulgated the

Spanish Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution ...

, which created a

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

, as a way to curb the power of the monarchy. When Napoleon was defeated and the Bourbon monarch Ferdinand VII returned to Spain in 1814 after having declared his allegiance to the new constitution, he abolished the constitution. He jailed a number of people involved in the constitutional process, including Ramos Arizpe, who was imprisoned until the 1820 coup against the monarch that restored the constitution. The Cortes reconvened and Ramos Arizpe was again a delegate from

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. He pressed for a better status for Spain's components of its overseas empire, proposing

commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

status for them. The insurgency for Mexican independence that began with Father

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...

's 1810 uprising and carried on by Father

José María Morelos José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón () (30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming it ...

, and

Vicente Guerrero Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña (; baptized 10 August 1782 – 14 February 1831) was a Mexican military officer from 1810–1821 and a statesman who became the nation's second president in 1829. He was one of the leading generals who fought ag ...

during the 1810s was at a military stalemate with royalist forces. With the 1820 Spanish Constitution, the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico was threatened. Royalist military officer

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...

made an alliance with Guerrero, and under the

Plan de Iguala The Plan of Iguala, also known as the Plan of the Three Guarantees ("Plan Trigarante") or Act of Independence of North America, was a revolutionary proclamation promulgated on 24 February 1821, in the final stage of the Mexican War of Independenc ...

declaring Mexico's independence, which was achieved in 1821. The formation of the new Mexican state initially involved a constituent congress. Ramos Arizpe returned to Mexico in 1822, when opposition to Iturbide was coalescing. He was "instrumental in mobilizing the provinces and drafting the

Plan of Casa Mata In the history of Mexico, the Plan of Casa Mata () was a plan formulated to elect a new constituent congress, which the monarchy of Agustín de Iturbide had dissolved in 1822. The Plan of Casa Mata sought to establish a republic. In December ...

," which called for the overthrow of Iturbide. With the ouster of Iturbide, Mexican elites created a second Constituent Congress to write a constitution. The former colony was not constituted as a sovereign state but the former colonial regional districts considered themselves the units to form a new constitution. Ramos Arizpe was chosen as the chair of the committee to write the new constitution. In less than two weeks in 1824, the committee drafted the ''Acta Constitutiva'', which was the founding legislation. An issue was the extent to which the Mexican states had sovereignty. When politics in Mexico post-Iturbide were coalesced around membership in different organizations, the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...

(''Escocés'') and the

York Rite In Anglo-American Freemasonry, York Rite, sometimes referred to as the American Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It is named after York, in Yorkshire, England, where the Rite was supposedly first practiced. A Rite is a series of ...

(''yorkino''), Ramos Arizpe became affiliated with the

Masons, who were less selective than the Escocés and had a populist following. The Yorkinos were encouraged by the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico,

Joel Roberts Poinsett Joel Roberts Poinsett (March 2, 1779December 12, 1851) was an American physician, botanist, politician, and diplomat. He was the first U.S. agent in South America, a member of the South Carolina Legislature, and later a United States Representat ...

and he has been blamed for much political strife in the early post-independence period with his meddling. Ramos Arizpe resigned from the Yorkinos in 1826 split with his fellow Masons in 1826, earning himself enemies for his defection.Green, ''The Mexican Republic'', pp. 89-91. He served as justice minister for

Presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *''Præsidenten ...

Guadalupe Victoria Guadalupe Victoria (; 29 September 178621 March 1843), born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican general and politician who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence and afte ...

Manuel Gómez Pedraza Manuel Gómez Pedraza y Rodríguez (22 April 1789 – 14 May 1851) was a Mexican general who also became president of Mexico during the First Mexican Republic. He had initially won the election of 1828, which was disputed and led to riot ...

Valentín Gómez Farías Valentín Gómez Farías (; 14 February 1781 – 5 July 1858) was a Mexican physician and liberal politician who became president of Mexico twice, first from 1833 to 1834, during the period of the First Mexican Republic, and again from 1846 ...

and for

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...

. The city of

Ramos Arizpe Ramos Arizpe () is a town that is part of the Saltillo metropolitan area located in the Mexican state of Coahuila. The city reported a population of 114,010 in the 2020 census; the municipality had a population of 122,243. Its area is 5,306. ...

is named after him. In 2004 Clio TV showed a documentary ''El país roto, Las guerras de Miguel Ramos Arizpe'' that was directed by Antonino Isordia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos Arizpe 1775 births 1843 deaths 19th-century Mexican Roman Catholic priests Politicians from Coahuila Burials at the Panteón de Dolores

Life and career

Further reading

References