An unsuccessful attempt at an independent at an independent republican following Santa Anna's attempt to consolidate power in Mexico.
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On the 17 January 1840 a meeting was held at the Oreveña Ranch near Laredo.[7] A group of notables from the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas advocated for a rebellion seeking secession from Mexico and formation of their own federal republic with Laredo as the capital. However, those states' own congresses and governments never took any action to support the insurgents, and requested the help of the Central government in Mexico City to aid the local state armies.[8] Despite the lack of support from the state governments, the Republic of the Rio Grande was formed. The new Republic had an official newspaper: “Correo del Rio Bravo del Norte” and their state motto was Dios, Libertad y Convención (God, Liberty, and Convention).
In 1835, President Santa Anna revoked the Constitution of 1824 and began consolidating his power. In various parts of the country federalists revolted, and in May 1835 Santa Anna brutally crushed a revolt in Zacatecas.[31] The federalists, including Agustín Viesca, the governor of Coahuila y Tejas, were afraid that Santa Anna would march against Coahuila after subduing the rebels in Zacatecas, so they disbanded the state legislature on May 21, 1835, and authorized the governor to set up an office in a different part of the state. Viesca was arrested as he traveled to San Antonio. When Viesca escaped and reached Texas, no one recognized him as governor.[30] In October 1835, Santa Anna abolished all state governments, replacing them with administrative divisions from Mexico City.[32] Settlers in Texas revolted the same month, and, at the conclusion of the Texas Revolution in April 1836, Texas had become self-established as the independent Republic of Texas.
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The Rebellion in Zacatecas of 1835 was part of the Mexican Federalist War between Mexican centralists and federalists during the first half of the nineteenth century during the administration of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
Following the failure of the federal system, centralism gained ground and Congress amended the Constitution of 1824 to create a centralist republic, limiting the power of states and reducing the military.
These events led to a rebellion in Zacatecas. The governor himself, Francisco García Salinas, led an army of about four thousand men against the government. To end the rebels, President Santa Anna in person went to fight, leaving the presidency in charge of General Miguel Barragán.
García Salinas was defeated in the Battle of Zacatecas (1835). Santa Anna allowed his troops to loot the city, then, and as punishment for the rebellion, the state of Zacatecas lost part of its territory, which formed the state of Aguascalientes.[1][2]
This military action removed the final obstacles to centralism and led to the constitution of December 30, 1836, known as Siete Leyes, which limited the right to vote and removed the political and financial autonomy previously held by Mexican states.
- Armed opposition to the Central Republic.
The conservatives' attempt to impose a unitary state produced armed resistance in regions that had most favored federalism. Centralism generated severe political instability, armed uprisings and secessions: The rebellions in Zacatecas, Alta California, Sonora, New Mexico, the Texas Revolution, the separation of Tabasco, the independence of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas that formed the Republic of the Rio Grande, and finally the independence of the state of Yucatán.
The Mexican Federalist War (armed opposition to the central republic) involved series of armed conflicts and political machinations between the Centrists and the Federalists.[14] Superficially the war can be viewed as a conflict between rival generals,[15] however the Centrist position favored a presidency that reflected the viceregal tradition of Spanish colonial times.[16] and the Federalists supported republicanism and local self-government (which in some cases such as Texas led ultimately to secession from Mexico).[15] Centrists tended to draw support from the privileged classes including prominent members of the Roman Catholic Church and professional officers of the Mexican army. They were in favor of a strong, central government and Roman Catholicism as the established church.
