On this date, the Plan of Cuernavaca was proclaimed against the liberal reform program linked to Vice President Valentín Gómez Farías. The plan helped bring a conservative turn in national politics and strengthened Antonio López de Santa Anna’s role in government. This shift set the stage for replacing Mexico’s federal system with a more centralized one.
Fighting in Zacatecas showed how strongly some regions resisted centralization. Santa Anna’s victory helped the central government enforce the new direction and weaken state-level armed forces. The conflict also became a warning to other states about the costs of resisting Mexico City’s authority.
Congress approved the “Basis of Reorganization of the Mexican Nation,” a key step that ended the federal system created under the 1824 constitution. Mexico began moving toward a unitary structure, replacing strong state governments with departments directed from the capital. This transition was the immediate political backdrop for the later Seven Laws.
The first of the “Seven Laws” (Siete Leyes) was issued as Mexico’s constitutional framework moved toward a centralized republic. The laws reduced state autonomy and narrowed political participation through property and income requirements. This step marked the formal constitutional push that would be completed the next year.
Delegates in Texas declared independence as conflict intensified between local leaders and Mexico’s centralist government. Many settlers and Tejano federalists opposed the loss of state powers under the new centralist direction. The Texas crisis quickly became one of the most serious challenges to the Centralist Republic.
Texan forces defeated Santa Anna’s army in a short, decisive battle and captured Santa Anna. The defeat made it difficult for Mexico to reassert control in Texas, even though Mexico did not recognize Texas independence at the time. The loss also weakened confidence in the centralist project’s ability to hold the republic together.
Texas and Santa Anna (as a prisoner) signed public and secret agreements meant to end hostilities and secure recognition of Texas independence. The treaties required Mexican troops to withdraw, but the Mexican government later rejected the agreements. Even so, the treaties reflected how the Texas revolt forced constitutional Mexico into crisis management.
The remaining Seven Laws were published together, completing the constitutional structure of the Centralist Republic. The new system replaced states with departments and created the Supreme Conservatory Power (Supremo Poder Conservador), a fourth branch meant to oversee the other branches. The framework aimed to stabilize politics, but it also fueled regional revolts and separatist movements.
France began a naval blockade and attacked defenses at Veracruz as part of a dispute over claims by French citizens in Mexico. The short conflict exposed Mexico’s financial weakness and vulnerability to foreign pressure during the centralist period. Santa Anna’s role in the fighting helped him regain political influence despite earlier setbacks.
Federalist rebels in the northeast declared the Republic of the Rio Grande, opposing the central government and the Seven Laws system. The breakaway movement aimed to separate from Mexico’s departments in Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Its short lifespan showed how centralism continued to trigger regional resistance.
Senior generals signed the Bases of Tacubaya to remove President Anastasio Bustamante and to reject the existing centralist authorities. The pronunciamiento (military political uprising) reflected deep instability under the Seven Laws system. It also opened the way for another attempt at a new centralist constitution.
The Bases Orgánicas were published as a revised constitutional charter, replacing the Seven Laws as Mexico’s main legal framework. The document continued centralism and sought to reorganize national institutions under a stronger executive-centered system. Instead of ending conflict, the change highlighted how quickly constitutional rules were being rewritten in response to coups and revolts.
Mexican and U.S. forces fought major early battles near the Rio Grande, and Mexico retreated south after defeat. These clashes helped turn a border dispute into a full-scale war with the United States. The new external emergency increased pressure on Mexico’s already unstable centralist system.
Amid wartime crisis and internal revolt, Mexico repealed the centralist framework and restored the federal Constitution of 1824. This ended the Centralist Republic and closed the constitutional era that began with the Seven Laws. The change marked a clear outcome: centralism failed to stabilize Mexico and was abandoned under the pressure of war and political fragmentation.
Centralist Republic and the Seven Laws (1835–1846)