Liberals and Conservatives, 19th Century
One needs to remember that newly-independent Mexico had emerged from
a political system based on divine-right monarchy and a legal class system. Different
classes had different rights, enforceable by law. Much of this was based upon medieval
Christian theology, particularly Thomism. Groups had rights and an individual had rights
as a member of a group. The group could be the family, a craft guild, the nobility, the
army, the Church, los indios (the Indians), the community or municipio, and a number of
others.Whereas the institution of the monarchy disappeared with Independence, many of the
attitudes and practices of the colonial period did not. Certainly the upper class, the
army, and the Church had vested interests in preserving the status quo. They benefitted.
They also believe that this was the way things *ought* to be. The military privilege
(fuero militar) meant that civilians could not take an army officer to court for any
reason unless the army agreed. Similarly, clergy and others in religious orders were above
Most people in any society at any time tend to go along with the
status quo. It is convenient and it is what they know. As a general rule, people resist
change. And they may not understand the issues or that the existing system harms them in
the long run.
The Liberals argue in favor of Equality Before the Law; that is,
that there should be a set of uniform laws which *everyone* had to obey. There should be
no privilege. Liberals also tend to argue for equality of opportunity. If there
were equality before the law, they tended to believe that this would provide equality of
opportunity. Some Liberals went beyond that. As did Thomas Jefferson, they argued in favor
of free public education as a means of insuring equality of opportunity. The idea was to
create a system whereby industrious people could rise to the top. Put another way, rank in
society would not be based on who your father was but on who you were.
Mexican liberals disagreed on some issues such as religion. The
radical faction believed in complete separation of church and state. The moderate faction
was willing to declare Christianity as the religion of Mexico. Conservatives, on the other
hand, believed that organized religion was what kept chaos from occurring and, thus, that
Christianity had to be protected and promoted by the government (state).
Now, having written this, I hasten to point out that we are talking
about disagreements among elite groups. Most people were trying to figure how how to
survive from day to day and were involved in the ordinary affairs of human existence.
Unless they got dragooned into an army or had an army march across where they were living,
they tried to ignore politics. They couldn't effect change and knew it. Mexican geography
and the lack of very many roads meant that what happened in place X might not even been
known in place Y.