Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico

In the decades following independence, Mexico was transformed from a strong, stable colony into a republic suffering from economic decline and political strife. Marked by political instabilitycharacterized by Antonio Lpez de Santa Annas rise to the presidency on eleven distinct occasionsthis period of Mexicos history is often neglected and frequently misunderstood. Donald F. Stevens revisionist account challenges traditional historiography to examine the nature and origins of Mexicos political instability. Turning to quantitative methods as a way of providing a framework for examining existing hypotheses concerning Mexicos instability, the author dissects the relationship between instability and economic cycles; contradicts the notion that Mexicos social elite could have increased political stability by becoming more active; and argues that the principal political fissures were not liberal vs. conservative but were among radical, moderate, and conservative. Ultimately, Stevens maintains, the origins of that countrys instability are to be found in the contradictions between liberalism and Mexicos traditional class structure, and the problems of creating an independent republic from colonial, monarchical, and authoritarian traditions.