The Plan of Tacubaya was a pronouncement by Mexican conservatives with the aim of repealing the liberal Constitution of 1857 . It was signed on December 17, 1857 by conservative politicians Juan José Baz, Mariano Navarro, Manuel Silíceo and José María Revilla. The Plan was drawn up by General Félix María Zuloaga at the Archbishop’s Palace in Tacubaya, in Mexico City .

The Plan gave the then President of the Republic, Ignacio Comonfort , absolute powers to govern and suppress the Constitution without the consent of the Congress of the Republic.

The pronouncement of the Plan of Tacubaya was one of the causes of the outbreak of the Reform war , which pitted liberals and conservatives between 1858 and 1861.

In 1911, in the context of the Mexican Revolution , a group of politicians dissatisfied with the electoral triumph of Francisco Madero drew up a proclamation that was also called Plan de Tacubaya.

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Historical context

The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States was promulgated on February 5, 1857 . It was impregnated with a liberal ideology , since it affirmed principles such as the separation of the State and the Catholic Church , the suppression of the military and ecclesiastical fueros, and the alienation of Church property.

The sanction of the Constitution was inspired by the ideas of the European Enlightenment and by the Constitution of the United States of 1787.

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church reacted, declaring the excommunication of everyone who swore in the Constitution, which caused a large part of the people to side with those who opposed the new Magna Carta.

On November 15, Liberal President Comonfort summoned several political leaders to a secret meeting. The intention of the first president was to consult them about whether it was feasible to continue governing with a constitution that was rejected by a large part of the population. This meeting marked the beginning of the conspiracy, the fruit of which was the signing of the Plan of Tacubaya .

Provisions of the Tacabuya Plan

The main provisions of the Tacabuya Plan were the following:

• The repeal of the Constitution of 1857 was established .
• Comonfort retained his position as president and was granted absolute powers to govern and legislate.
• The president was empowered to convene a congress that was to sanction a new Constitution . Before entering into force, the new Magna Carta had to be approved by popular vote.
• In the event that the new Constitution was not approved by the people, it had to be amended by Congress and submitted to a new vote.
• All authorities that did not expressly adhere to the Plan were dismissed from their positions.
• On January 11, 1858, the original Plan was modified by noting that:
  • President Comonfort was eliminated from the supreme command of the Nation.
  • General Zuloaga was proclaimed leader of a new government. Zuloaga promised to “save the country”, restore order and preserve the Catholic religion.

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Consequences of the Tacubaya Plan

Among the consequences of the Tacubaya Plan, the following stand out:

• The governments of the states of Chiapas, Mexico, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco and Tlaxcala supported the plan. The same did the military garrisons of Cuernavaca, Mazatlán and Tampico.
• Liberal ministers Manuel Ruiz and Antonio de la Fuente resigned from their positions.
• The president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Benito Juárez, and the president of Congress, Isidoro Oltivo, were arrested by the conspirators.
• The Catholic Church published a document announcing that those who remained faithful to the liberal Constitution would remain excommunicated, while those who changed their mind and supported the Plan of Tacubaya would be pardoned .
• President Comonfort joined the conspiracy, but his hesitations cost him his office. On January 11 he was removed from office and replaced by a conservative government headed by General Zuloaga . As soon as he learned of the conspiracy against him, Comonfort released Benito Juárez and asked him to take charge of the resistance.
• Juárez transferred the liberal government to the city of Guanajuato . The States of Coahuila, Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Tamaulipas and Veracruz supported their government and the Constitution of 1857. For their part, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Mexico, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Sonora , Sinaloa, Tabasco, Tlaxcala and Yucatán supported the conservative government of Zuloaga. Thus began the War of Reform , which after three years of struggle was won by the Liberals.
• The full validity of the 1857 Constitution was restored by Juárez in January 1861, when the Liberals managed to return to the federal district.