authorities — its own creatures — in many states, and on the indifference of others.[1] Jalisco and Zacatecas, however, occupied a position between those willing to wait for a legal change of ruler, and those who wanted to effect it by force of arms.
Without leaning to either extreme, they organized their militia and kept fanning the flame of discord in the press. Wealthy Guanajuato, under General Luis Cortazar's advice, was also prepared for a turn of events. Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Coalhuila, Tamaulipas, and Tabasco, being at a distance, were to be called into action in the event of a conflict with the central force. Meantime the parties were carrying on intrigues to win the elections. Three parties were playing for the stake, namely, the friends of the existing order of things, the moderates, and the radicals.[2] Amidst the agitation the administration felt sure of victory, and would probably have gained it but for an unforeseen occurrence that dashed to the ground all its plans, and hurled it from power.
Bustamante on the 1st of January, 1832, congratulated the legislative body on the progress the republic had made under his rule, adding that the fury and animosity of political parties had almost disappeared.[3] Flattering manifestations of confidence greeted him from the ministerial majority and his other supporters, when tidings arrived which contradicted his as-
- ↑ Mexico, Puebla, Vera Cruz, San Luis Potosí, Durango, Querétaro, Michoacan, and Oajaca were allies. Sonora and Sinaloa had their local bickerings to occupy them, and being far away from the centre, did not much feel the hand of the general government. Suarez y Navarro, Hist. Méx., 201.
- ↑ The administration party wanted a man as president who would secure them what had been gained under Bustamante's rule; the moderates desired a combination of the old ideas with the new; the third party was large and affected exaggerated ideas, favoring radical measures, such as abolition of fueros, confiscation of ecclesiastical property, reformation of the religious orders, and disbandment of the army so as to crush out militarism from the country.
- ↑ The states were all represented as having considerable surplus funds. The minister of the treasury could dispose of large amounts at Vera Cruz and Tampico, and had provided for the payment of six months' interest on the foreign debts. Bustamante, Voz de la Patria, MS., vii. 1. It must be confessed that the administration had much improved the financial and industrial condition of the country.
