Introduction
The Plan of Iguala with a revolutionary decree passed in the final stages of the war for Mexican Independence. It laid out the constitutional framework for an independent Mexican government. Declared in February of 1821 by Agustin de Iturbide, a creole landowner who had assumed leadership of the revolutionary army, the Plan of Iguala was ratified into law by the Treaty of Crdoba August 1821, thus establishing an independent Mexico with Iturbide as monarch. The document is notable for the three central principles it laid out (often referred to as “Three Guarantees”): the primacy of Roman Catholicism, the political independence of Mexico as a constitutional monarchy, and equal rights under the law for all citizens of Mexico. As a framework for governance it was short-lived: the ratification of 1821 established Iturbide as emperor of Mexico, but this was not recognized by Spain, and Iturbides monarchy was opposed by many other Mexican generals, governors, and high-ranking officials. In 1823, facing far-reaching rebellion, Iturbide abdicated throne and went into exile, reinstating the Congress. The first Mexican republic was established the following year. Yet the document remains critically important for understanding the political ideals and philosophies that shaped Mexican independence, as well as the ascendancy of a more conservative approach to political governance as contrasted with independence movements in South America.
Read the attached document and answer the following questions:
1) Which clauses of the plan reveal its origins as a compromise between liberal and conservative philosophies?