· MANIFESTATIONS OF DEMOCRACY 


AMONG 
MEXICAN INDIANS DURING 
THE COLONIAL PERIOD


• 

By Prof. Luis Chavez Orozco 

PUBLISHED IN 1944 ·BY 
THE NATIONAL INDIAN INSTITUTE 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 


WASHINGTON · 


MANIFESTATIONS OF DEMOCRACY AMONG· 
MEXICAN INDIANS DUR.Im THE 
COLONIAL PERIOD 


By Prof. Luis Chavez Orozco 

Index 

Foreword 

1 

Chapter I -Sixteenth Century 

2 

Chapter II -Seventeenth and 
Eighteenth Genturies 8 

Chapter III -Community Assets 

18 

Chapter IV -Indian Self-Government and 
Mexico's Independence 

24 
Conclusions 

35 

Documents Consulted 


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FOREWORD 

This report deals -with the political ins.titutions of the Indians 
during the colonial period and has been completed with the cooperation 
and assistance of the United States National Indian Institute. The original. 
suggestion that this investigation be undertaken was made by the 
present Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Mr. John C~llier. 

I wish to express in these preliminary words my profound gratitude 
for the opportunity afforded to investigate this never before explored 
field of research, and for the economic assiEtance which made it possible. 
My appreciation is even greater because I was given the responsibility of 
undertaking an assignment that has so much political and social importance 
for the countries of America. 

In order to explain in some degree the deficiencies of the present 
report, I wish to point out the difficulties met during the course of the 
investigation. Of course the fact must be emphasized, well known to those 
versed in research of this type, that this phase of novo-hispanic history 
has never before been investigated. Actually, it is useless to consult 
past chronicles or recent reports, for both are lacking in this respect. 
We know more or less adequately something of the economic aspects of.the 
life of the Indians; we have a wealth of information on their cultural. 
and educational organizations; we have learned, in short, about many aspects 
of Indian life duririg the colonial period; but we know practically 
nothing of their political activities. 

Even the Laws of the Indies, the principal source of information on 
the social structur~of the colonial epoch, are of sma11 value for tte 

-ptirpose of this investigation. Only a very few laws on the subject of 
the investigation, certainly the least important, are included in this 
code which is so complete in its other aspects. And what is true of the 
Laws of the Indies can also be said of other national compilations, from 
the Cedulario de Puga to the work of Montemayor and Belefia. Thus, in accepting 
the responsibility, we faced a rather difficult problem of historic 
investigation. The only possibility of carrying out the assignment 
was by original research--by consultation of the documents and papers under 
the custody of the General Archives of the Nation in the City of Mex


ico. Yortunately, because of the cooperation of the personneL of that organization, 
it was not too difficult to locate among two very important 
sections entitled Section on Indians and Section on the Civil Branch, the 
documentation that resultea:-in the present report-.-The appendix contains 
reference to the meager .bibliographical sources and the numerous documents 
examined. 



CHAPTER I 

Sixteenth Century 

The institution of the "cacicazgo". 'What was the political status 
of the Indians immediately after the conquest? Theoreti~ally, at least, 
we can state that the Indian connnunities of New Spain continued to be governed 
according to their own ancient customs. Solorzano y Pereira corroborates 
this when he states in his Politica Indiana that "although the 
control, government and protection of all the extensive provinces of the 
New World belongs to our Catholic Kings of Spain••••(by the grant of Pope 
Alexander VI) ••••it was always their royal will that in the Indian communities 
having some form of political organization or policy, or that 
had such policy established by our own peoples to be complied with by 
them••••there should be retained for their government and direction, the 
same chiefs and captains that performed such offices during their infidelity, 
or those who proved to be their descendants". (l) Following the 
native Antillean nomenclature, the name of "casiques11 was bestowed upon 
such governors. (2) 

The institution of "gobernacion". This, as an official designation, 
was short-lived--the decree of February 26, 1538, addressed to the Viceroyalty 
of Mexico stated that "it is provided that they should not be 
addressed as lords of the towns and municipalities over which they pre


.side, but just governors or principals". (3) 

This concept of the institution of gobernacion among the Indians, 
instead of the cacicazgo, was implemented in 1549, by the decree of October 
9 of that year, where it '1.s ordered that "from among the Indians themselves 
there be selected some petty judges and aldermen, constables and 
scribes, and other law enforcement officers who, following their customs 

***** 

L 

Solorzano y .1;1ereira, Pol:ltica Indiana, Book II, Chapter XXVII. 

2. 11In Hispaniola, the first land discovered by Columbus, they called 
them in their native tongue by the title of cacigues, and our own men applied 
the same term to the Indians who occupied a similar rank, though as 
can be understood each group in their own language had different terms; 
we lrnow that in Peru they are called curacas and. in Mexico tecles •••••" 
Solorzano y Pereira, cited above, Book II, Chapter XXVII, par. 2. 
3. Solorzano y Pereira, op. cit. 

and ways, be charged with the administration 01· the an·a.u-s of. their communities 
and reservationstt. (4) 

Following this policy, the viceroys of New Spain faced the problem 
of deciding whether such municipal authorities were to be appointed by 
succession or through election. They decided on the latter. (5) 

The institution of municipal government ,2z election. The system of 
municipal government by election dates, as far as the Indian jurisdiction 
of the city of Mexico is concerned. from 1555. In fact, the four traditional 
pre-hispanic wards named Santa Maria, San Sebastian, San Pablo, 
and San J~ (located outside the original boundaries set aside for Spanish 
habitation) began from that date "to have charge of order and law enforcement 
in the election of governor, mayor, and aldermen, and in the 
provisions of the affairs of their republic, and it was so ordered at 
the wish of Our Lord and His Majesty, as recorded in the town register". 

(6) 
Roster of municipal authorities in the City of Mexico--16th century. 
We have the roster of the Indian municipal authorities of the City of Mexico 
who served for twenty consecutive years. from 1555 to 1575. The most 
ancient municipal staff was as follows: 

Mayors: Miguel Diaz and Alonso de San Miguel. 

Aldermen: Cristobal de Guzman, Juan Ra.m!rez, Diego Tlacapanecal, 
Juan Garcia Totococ, Martin Jacobo, Pedro de Gante, Antonio Mexicaytoa, 
Pedro de Santa Maria, Gabriel Xalacatl, Baltazar Atiacapanecatl, Francisco 
Concuis and Sebastian Ticoquiaguacatl. 

Procedure for the election of the Indian municipal authorities of 
the City of Mexico-16th Century. From the text of the charges preferred 
against the Indian authorities of the City of Mexico during the year 1564, 
we can reconstruct the procedure followed in the annual elections. These 

4. Solorzano y ~ereira, op. cit., par. 12. 
5. Solorzano y Pereira, op. cit., par. 15. 
6. All reference to ~he Indian munici,al government during the sixteenth 
century has been taken from an old file in the General Archives of 
the Nation, Section on the Civil Branch, Vol. 644. 

_accusations are made in the following terms: "The aforementioned mayors 
and aldermen have the custom each year, when it is time to elect the new 
mayors, aldermen and other officers for that period, of nominating them 
secretly without discussing it in a general assembly, and they naturally 
pick men of their own liking; men who know how to drink, and the Indian 

police or constables are brougn~ rrom out of.town, most of them so selected 
by the officials in order that they might better continue their knavery 
and roguery because out of town constables are prone to conceal them, 
which they would not do if these constables were from this town". Another 
witness swears to having seen "that before the election, the council.men 
go about the town convincing the people to vote for the Indians they have 
already agreed upon and have nominated to become mayors, constables and 
aldermen for that year••••and has also seen that they appoint constables 
from out of town in order that they might have entire freedom of action, 
arid thus they appointed Diego and Baltasar, who are from Tlaxcala." From 
the text of the rebuttal to these charges a further clear picture is obtained 
of the election procedures. In this is found the following: "The 
mayors elected for the good administration of the City of Mexico are extremely 
capable persons, honest and good Christians, well versed in business 
affairs, particularly those of this community, all of them elected 
in good faith and by agreement and after due deliberation, which was free 

from passion or friendship. Only the ablest and most capable were elec-· 
ted, as has always been the case ••••and though they cannot read or write, 
this matters naught, because their knowledge of Indian affairs in spite 
of not knowing how to read and write is such that they can manage them 
with good dispatch because of their experience in such affairs, and the 

same is true of many locatio~s, villages and cities of your kingdoms and 
provinces of Castille and all Spain, where there are many mayors who do 
not read or write and pursuant to the laws of your kingdom can be elected 
to such positions because they are persons versed in the customs and 
habits of their community, without any other knowledge •••• " 

The election of the Indian municipal author1ties of Mexico City was 
confirmed and approved by the Viceroy and Royal Assembly. 

Duties of the Indian municipal authorities of the City of Mexico-16th 
Century. Their functions were as follows: To administer justice in 
the community, to judge and to sentence "in a public place of assembly, 
at the site designated for the hearing of these matters", at the appointed 
hours they visited the jail to "listen to and understand" the procedure 
at the trials of Indians, with "solicitude and diligence", to provide the 
necessary understanding "in all cases of justice and government that ·they 
may and should administer, pursuant to the laws, ordinances and instructions 
issued by those who govern in the name. of His Majesty in this New 
Spain, in conformity with usage and custom, and with the approval of the 
decrees ana laws 01· His .Majesty, without receiving money, donations or 
promises or anything that might impair their rectitude and zealn; to at-: 
tend "engagements, bapt·isms, weddines and burials" for "it is the decent 
and virtuous thing to honor and to attend these, and to bury and to pray 
for the dead", to arrest those guilty of concubinage and vagrancy, ascer-= 
taining the source of ~heir livelihood and what trades they pursue, to 


"endeavor to close the pulque taverns and find where it is made, and arrest 
the culprits and those who seil and buy it and to prohibit drunkenness". 


. The Indian municipality charged with public works of the City of Mex~
· Before taxation was established among the Indians of the City of 
Mexico in 1575,· the municipal authorities of the different wards were 
charged with responsibility for the public works of the city (Coatequitl). 
For the better understanding of the importance of this function, there 
are cited below some of the works completed with material and human resources 
f\irn.ished by the Indian municipality during the year 1555. These 
were the following: 


l4'or the clock tower there were spent 210 loads of lime brought by the 
Indians of San Juan. 

There were spent on the quarters of nr·. Herrera, formerly of the Royal 
Assembly, and now the domicile of Dr. Ceinos, 300 loads of lime for repairs 
and general work; also for whitewashing and other works; furnished 
by the Indians of Ocelo Tzontecontitla.n, Moyotlan, Texocuclo, Antenponasco, 
Tuzaytlan, Apa.noyan, and Culhuacatongo. 

Six hundred forty loads of lime from Zupango, for His Majesty's hos


pital, were delivered at different intervals. These were brought by the 

Indians of the four wards and each one was paid one half a toniln (one half 

tom!n ·equals fifteen hundredths or a peseta). 

For the home of His Excellency the Viceroy, the wards of Atlaµpa, 
Tlacomulco and Tepetitlan furnished 150 loads of lime, for repairs and · 
general work. 

There were brought 400 loads of lime for the quarters of Dr. Monta


legra for such work as might be necessary; these were royal quarters and 

the lima was brought by the Indians of the 15 wards of Necaltitlan, Ne


caltitlan, Xolocoyacatlan, Tetepilco, Tlaxquititlan, Temascaltitla, To_
matlan, Coatlan, Zacatlan, .Aguatongo, Cuitlahuacatongo, Teocaltitlan, Zacualco, 
Cotulco, Populco, and Quepona. 

One hundred loads of lime were delivered to the house of Dr. Bravo 
by the Indians of Toscaminga and Ometoxtitlan. 


One hundred sixty-five loads of lime were used in repairs of the 
dwellings occupied by Licenciado Maldonado, Solicitor of the Royal Assembly, 
furnished by the Indians of the wards of Tlosal.pa, Texcatzongo, Analpa, 
Estacalucan and Teocaltitlan. 

Used 353 units of gravel to fill a swamp located near the place where 
the town ·buildings were started, which were contributed by common consent 
of all the Indians of the four llards of Mexico in order that there should 
be a municipal building, and it was thus ordered by his Excellency the 
Vicercy as a public work. 


Fifty units of gravel issued for certain parts of the market of nexico, 
as it was full of waterholes. 

Fifty-three units of gravel used on the road that winds about the 
houses of Rodrigo de Castaneda and ends at the market of San Hipolito. 

Thirty units of grGvel placed back of the chapel of San Jose. 

Twenty bars and 20 beams furnished by the Indians of the four wards 
to construct a small dam to stop the creek that runs from Excapotzalco to 
the city. 

Ordered by His Excellency the Viceroy, the Indians of the four wards 
brought a good number of bars for the fence built next to Atarazanas; no 
record was made of the paint used. 

Forty-nine' units of gravel were brought to His Majesty's hospital 
which had been ordered closed, in order to fill in waterholes. 


During the year there were brought 98 beams to dam the water in His 
Majesty's hospital in addition to the gravel brought, as a public works 
project. 

Also during the year the Indians brought 9 beams for the house of 
His Majesty's Solicitor, which was part of the royal quarters. 

The Indians furnished 11 large beams for the clock tovrer of the city. 

This year the Indians furnished 149 units of heavy rocks. 

Erected three huts for the use of the community. 

Seventy units of heavy rock were used in repairs of the church fence 
which, together with th~ items referred to above, were brought by the Indians 
of the four wards. 

Was there !! democratic conscience in the Indian co:nmunity? Natural


ly, it is unjust to state positively that there was a clearly defined dem-· 

ocratic conscience in the Indian community, for that ccmplex concept is 

a modern development. Nevertheless, the fact that there was in the com


munity a movement of opposition to those in power, is in itself a clear 

indication that the Indian communities, had they been stimulated along 

these lines, would have matured and in ti.me would have been qualifie~ to 

exercise democracy. Let us examine how the opposition to and criticism 

of the municipal authorities of the wards of the City of Mexico about the 

middle of the sixteenth century were manifested. The knowledge of these 

criticisms may serve, in addition, to help us discern how far the pre


hispanic customs were continued in the new society that emerged from the 

conquest. 


The accusers of the governors, mayors and councilmen of the Indian 
wards of the City of Mexico listed the following complaints: They, the 
officials, did not know how to read or write; they were "old timers of 
the type that in the past believed in idolatry; they had no knowledge of 
the laws; were rude and personally disliked in the assemblies; accepted 
monies from both sides in a controversy; though the money from fines was 

to be turned into His Majesty's treasury, they pilfered it; when somebody 
died they went to the deceased man's house to eat and drink and be 
merry as was the custom of the last century; on the occasion of dances 
and feasts they were in the habit of wearing costumes and dress typical 
of the old times when sacrificial and idolatrous practices were common; 
they had the custom and viee of going into the public thermal baths among 
the women, all naked and noisy; they did nothing against those who fled 
from other towns in the company of married women and on the pretext that 
they were married, lived in plain and open concubinage; protected the existence 
of places where thieves and rogues abounded; were in the habit of 
sending people to work in 'houses of Spaniards vmo earn their living by 
making native wines'; at certain times they ordered collections in cash 
in each ward from all officials to make feather headgear and other feather 
articles to be used in the dances and ceremonies. These cost as much 
as fifty or sixty pesos each, and are then rented at the time of the feast 
to the young men who thus makes themselves more attractive to the women!' 

The accusers were "Indians of the four wards of this City of Mexico, 
engaged in different trades; tailors, shoemakers, weavers, carpenters, 
painters, etc.", and in requesting removal of the authorities cited a long 
list of offenses, as can be seen in the appendix. , 

Legal jurisdiction of the Indian municipal authorities in the City 
of Mexico d()ng the 16th century. From the act approved the 3rd of August, 
1590 7 reported by Belefia, the legal jurisdiction of these municipal 
officials was of importance, to the extent that it was necessary to 
regulate the internment of prisoners in the jails established on Indian 
lands. In an effort to avoid the abuses commonly practiced by governors, 
mayors and aldermen, it was provided that said jails "shall not accept or 
admit as prisoners therein any· Indians, male or female, brought by any 
person, on their own authority, for debts due or for services to be performed, 
or for theft of which they are accused, nor for any other offenses; 
nor shall the jails admit and accept prisoners fran constables, Span


***** 

7. Belefia, Eusebio Bentura, Summary of the Decrees of the Viceroyalty 
and Courts of New Spain, ana Decisions of the High Government; of 
several royal writs and orders that were assembled here after publication 
of the Laws of the Indies, as well as others that, because of their importance, 
should not be ignored. Mexico, 1787. 

ish or Indian, who bring such prisoners, if' their confinement is not ordered 
by some of the officials and mayors of the Royal Assembly, or by a 
warrant of the warden of this ci-cy. If the warden must issue such a warrant 
against the Indians~ it shall be for confinement in their own jails 
on the reservations. and not for confinement in the City Jail, taking into 
account the inconvenience, costs and expenses that this entails and may 
follow". Thus, in this fashion, the decree provided that "in said jails 
they admit only those who by order.of the Indian governors and mayors are 
brought thereto, the cause of ~~ch imprisonment must arise out of contention 
among the Indians themselves, and only when they are the principals". 

***** 


CHAPTER II 

Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 

If the knowledge of the origin of political. institutions in the novohispanic 
Indian World is made difficult by the dearth of available materials, 
the study of their evolution during the following two centuries is 
a relatively easy task. We have sufficient documentary evidence for that 
purpose (1) and the problem confines itself to locating it. There is such 
a wealth of information that it is difficult to explain why up to this 
time it had.not attracted the attention of the numerous investigators who 
have examined the treasures of the General Archives of the NatioQ.. 

It can be stated that the political. institutions of the Indians, as 
is the case in most of the social aspects of colonial life, were already 
fully organized at the beginning of the seventeenth century. For this 
reason we shalJ. study at some length the different manifestations of the 
Indian's political. life during the two centuries referred to above. 

Time of' election. The elections were held annually, about the latter 
part of December. The Indians were so used to this date that they 
did not allow the alternate from Zacualpa to compel the residents of Aca-' 
petlahuaya to advance their election; and in this connection they filed 
a complaint in very energetic terms. Because of this the Viceroy Revillagigedo 
ordered a complete investigation, and although the accused en


***** 

1. See list of documents listed in the appendix. 

deavored to rationalize his action by pointing out the enormous distances 
between the principal town and parts of the rest of the province, in the 
end the Indians won their point, and it was decided that the established 
custom should be faithfully followed. (2) 

The electors. According to the 1675 election law of the Indian Zone 
of Villa de San Miguel el Grande,. the electors or voters were "the 'caciques' 
and principals, legitimate descendants of the first inhabitants and 
founders" of the village. (3) The petition signed in 1764 by the residents 
of the Pueblo de San Lucas, in the jurisdiction of Temascaltepec 

(4) stated that the voters were the "old men and others who have served 
in different capacities in the government" 
The young Indians of Ix.tlahuaca in 176S-initiated a struggle against 
this early tendency toward an aristocratic f9rm; they also opposed the 
tendency to favor the old men. This can be seen from the suit filed by 
the old men of Temascaltepec against Pedro Lopez, who "because of his restless 
character, and in order to cause trouble for the principals, endeavored 
together with two or three others like him, to arouse the young Indians 
to vote, in order that they might join his faction and thus form a 
strong party". From this, the old men alleged, "discords arise and in 
addition it is against custom". (4) In view of this contention the Royal 
Assembly issued a decree on the 26th of October, 1742 in the following 
terms: "Whereas on behalf of the officials of the republic and voters 

of the Pueblo de San Pedro Texupildo, Jurisdiction of. Temascaltepec, it 

has been brought to our attention that on the pretext of the forthcoming 

elections for governor, mayor and other officials of the government of· 

that pueblo, the young men of the community have been creating disturb-. 

ances and ill feeling for the purpose of controlling the elections, and . 

so that the old men and past officers would not participate ·in the elec


***** 

2. Don Baltazar Juan, pre~ent governor of the Pueblo de San Juan 
Bautista Acapetlahuaya, versus the subdelegate in the matter of imprisonment 
of several Indians because they opposed the celebration of elections. 
Section of Civil Matters, Vol. 16B6, General Archives of the Nation. 
3. Report of election held in the Villa de San Miguel el Grande. 
1675. Section of Civil Matters, VoL 1661, General Archives of· the Nation. 
4. Report maae on behalf of the people of San Lucas jurisdiction 
of Temascaltepec, ordering that the younger men refrain from voting or 
causing disturbances in the elections. 176S. Section of Civil Matters _ 
Vol. 1661, General Archives of the Nation. ' 

tion, which is against the established custom; and whereas these officials 
have requested that steps be taken to insure a peaceful and quiet election--
Therefore, and pursuant to His Majesty's Solicitor's request, it is 
hereby ordered that the Lieutenant of the said jurisdictio.n forbid that 
the young men who have no right to vote interfere with the election or 
create disturbances and confusion, and that he see to it that the old men 
and past officers, who are legitimate voters, exercise their electoral 
rights with due liberty and tranquility; that he notify the leaders and 
advise them of the penalty that may be incurred, that they would be confined 
to the Royal Penitentiary and sentenced to forced labor. If it i.s 
necessary, the Lieutenant shall endeavor to secure the presence of the 
priest at the election to insure tranquility and peace, but without exercising 
any coercion and influence on the voters' choice, and allowing 
them liberty and freedom of action. The sum of two hundred pesos shall 
be levied. against the Lieutenant as fine for violation of this writ11 • 

The above decree was confirmed twenty-four years later, the 19th of 
February, 1768 by the Marquis de Croix. 

The struggle between the Indian caciques and the landless Indians 
also was violent. This can be seen from the proceedings of the suit filed 
by the caciques of Xocotitlan in 1782. (6) These stated that 11 for the 
past thirteen years the landless Indians have succeeded each other in the 
government against the provtsions of the royal decrees and orders of His 
Majesty (God bless him) which state that in the selection of governors 
and other public positions in the .Indian governments, the caciques must 
give preference to the more substantial and that from among these, those 
best qualified, who know how to read, write and speak Castillian be se~ 
lected. Exactly the opposite is being done in the aforementioned pueblo 
because inasmuch as the elections are controlled by the poor, they invariably 
elect the worst drunkards, idiots, and persons of the worst habits, 
and none of them know how to read, write or speak Spanish. They succeed 
each other and do not permit the election of a cacique·, even though 
some have served as governors before". 

The Solicitor of the Viceroyalty felt that there was no explicit prohibition 
in the Laws of the Indies to prevent the landless poor from being 
elected) .and consequently there was no other choice but to confirm 

***** 

5. Report of the election of Ambrosio Sanchez as governor of the 
Villa de Ixtlahuaca, and opinion req_uested in the matter by the head official. 
1768. Section on Civil Matters, Vol. 1661, General .Archives of 
the Nation. 
6. The caciques of Xocotitlan against the young men of the same comcunity, 
requesting their removal from office in the comm.unity government. 
Section on Civil Matters, Vol. 1639, General Archives of the Nation. 

elections held wi~hin the regulations and in pursuance of the estabLished 
custom. However, what was then the position of the different castes in 
this regard? 

All through the centuries under study the tendency of the Indians 

was to believe that only full blooded Indians had a right to serve in the 
local government, but this tendency was completely disregarded with respect 
to the half-breeds, who were declared to have the same rights as the 
Indians. A different story, however, was that of the mulattoes. They 
had neither an active nor a passive voice in the elections, to say nothing 
of a right to be elected. (7) 

Place of election. The elections were held in the community houses, 
to avoid a.nY"""foreign influence that might sway the electors' will. (8) 

Method of election•. To conduct the election, the principal voters 
met in assembly. The election was on the basis of majority "and on behalf 
and in the name of all the principals and residents of the town".' 

(9) All Indians with a right to vote were swmnoned. (7) To prevent friction, 
Viceroy Bucareli, on June 9, 1773, decreed that in all the Indian 
communities there should be "prepared a roster of the population, listing 
the Indian fam.ilies--freemen (llanos), landless (macehuales) and leaders 
(cacigues)-so that in this fashion might be determined those who could 
have an active or a passive voice in the elections. (10) 1he full text 
of the Bucareli resolution follows: 
***** 


7. Royal Decree directing the legal authorities of Zacualpan not to 
allow reelections nor to consent or admit mulattoes thereto; that in such 
elections the Indians of all the communities be summoned, and to take such 
steps as may be called for by the decree; as requested by the people of 
Ixcatepec. 1773. Section on Civil Matters, Vol. 1643, General Archives 
of the Nation. 
8. Report made by the people of Santa Cruz, adjunct to the capital 
town of Ixm.iquilpan, on the matter of the election of Agust!n Bautista as 
mayor. 1768. Section on Civil Matters, Vol. 1601, General Archives of 
the Nation. 
9. Report of election in the Villa de San Miguel el Grande. 1675. 
Section on Civil Matters, Vol. 1661, General Archives of the Nation. 
10. Don Mariano Herrera, priest of Zilacayoapam, jurisdiction of 
Huajuapam, requesting that the election of governor and other positions 
in the government be held under his supervision. 1804. Section on Civil 
Matters, Vol. 1661, General Archives of the Nation. 

"I have decided to issue this writ, whereby it is requested that in 
the Indian communities there be established lists of the population of 
each.community, listing the Indian families--freemen, landless ·and leaders-
so that in this fashion we may know who is to have active or passive 
participation in the elections, in which none can have the right to be 
elected unless he has three years' residence in the community. Anyone 

. who wants to declare his residence in the community shall report his status 
as an Indian by his baptismal certificate and marriage record of his 
parents. A roster shall also be made of the families living in the above 
mentioned communities and a copy shall be filed in the archives of the 
municipality (the originals shall be kept· in the communities). Copy of 
the Indian roster shall also be filed so that both records may be available 
and thereby prevent illegal voting by others than Indians, because 
in that manner the tranquilfty and peace of the community shall be preserved, 
and the local government will at all ti.mes know who are its legal 
citizens. The rosters of the non-Indian population shall contain a 
description of the castes and breeds, and those wishing to be listed as 
residents of the connnunity shall also produce their baptismal certificates 
and marriage records, as well as those of their parents. I request and 
order the priests and church officials that in preparing these rosters 
they certify that there are no errors or defects in the baptismal certificates 
and marriage records, and these shall be endorsed only when they 
are true copies. They shall also sign the certificates of the elections 
which are to be held in their presence, and they shall witness them and 
certify that all qualified voters were notified so that no claim of_ ignorance 
thereof or of the dates of their celebration can be made. No fees 
shall be char~ed for their Participation in the Preparation of these rosters, 
or for any services connected therewith. Receipt shall be acknowledged 
of this writ and of its transmittal to the priest.s and church officials 
for appropriate compliance~ which shall be effected with the least 
possible delay." 

Non-intervention~ outsiders in the elections. The elections were 
to be held without al\Y intervention of the civil authorities, and requests 
for nullification were frequent because the civil officials frequently intervened 
in them. (11) Not even the presence of such civil officials was 
permitted. 

***** 

11. Report that the head officer of Coatepec submitted to His Excellency 
on the election of governor and other officers of the municipal 
government of that town for the year 1700. · 
Report made by the people of Santa Cruz, adjunct to the capital town 
of Ixmiquilpan, on the matter of the election of Agustfu Bautista as mayor. 
1768. Section on Civil Matters, Vol. 1661, General Archives of the 
Nation. 


librMy 
lfnfv~ of T&YlS3 
Austin, T9':as 


Upon the death of the governor of San Luis de la Paz, whose name was 
Pedro Atanasio Cano, the ranking civil official, don Pedro Antonio de Iturbide, 
felt that he had sufficient authority to recommend to the Viceroy 
who should be his successor. (12) Thereupon Iturbide indicated his wish 
to be allowed, as ranking civil official, to name the governor. He based 
his contention on the fact that the Indians were bankrupt and could not 
be held responsible for the assessments they collected as tax.es. The arguments. 
of this official were not valid, since by law "as soon as he receives 
them, the Indian governor shall turn in the sums collected from 
the taxpayers, and if there is aey delay, he shall be forced to do so". 
It was also pointed out that "if in the election of governors it were intended 
to select only those financially capable, then the local b·oards 
were without function, inasmuch as then only Indians with property could 
be elected. These are rarely found in the communities· and, as a rule, 
there would be no such Indian to elect and tte established customs and 
uses would have to be disregarded". 

How can we explain the interes~ of Pedro Antonio de Iturbide, the 
ranking official of the area, in the political affairs of the Indians of• 
San Luis de la Paz? The reason is clear: Iturbide was godfather to the 
children of two of the larger land owners in the area, don Diego Zubieta 
and don Felipe Jimenez. The lands of both were bound by the holdings of 
San Felipe. The circumstance made it feasible for them to prohibit to the 
Indians "entrance to the mountains which from time immemorial they had used 
as a source of fire wood", with the idea that this would facilitate the 
expropriation. 

The civil official, in order to facilitate the schane of these men, 
lost no opportunity to coerce the Indians, and his best weapon was to fill 
the governor's vacancy with someone who would ignore the best interests 
of the community. 

In their complaint addressed to the Viceroy the Indians pathetically 
stated: "Therefore, Sir, if this (the forcing upon them of the mayor's 
favorite) were to prevail, it would have deplorable effect upon our unfortunate 
Indian community, resulting in great suffering and maltreatment. 
We know that to prevent that Your Excellency will reject the request of 
the head civil official and order that the election be held in accordance 
with established custom, allowing the voters to exerciae their right to 
vote freely for mayor and clerks, as they were duly confirmed by.Your Excellency 
in this .Year's election. Otherwise it would infer dissatisfaction 
with the manner in which they have discharged their duties." 

***** 

12. The people of San Luis de la Paz, expressing their opposition 
to the reelection of the governor. 1783. Section on Civil Matters, Vol. 
1661, General Archives of the Nation. 
~~., -:-.n. 

l.~ ,•• " " . J~ r~_,

UU..a.t;t..1~~ 


In spite of the Viceroy's decision, Iturbide persisted in his policy 
of forcing candidates upon the electors. In effecting this policy, shortly
· before the elections of 1786, he made the community believe that the 
election of a certain person (Jose Marfa Perez) to the post of governor 
would be looked upon with pleasure by the authorities. The Indians reacted 
against this action iri the most violent terms: "If our ignorant 
people were to be told by the principal civil o"'ficial that he has been 
told by Your Excellency to propose certain candidates for the governing 
of our comm.unities, they would construe it as a command that they be elected, 
the more so when that official shows his distrust and disapproval of 
those who do not think as he does." 

Failure in his attempt did not stop Itu!bide, for when he saw that 
he could not influence the election of the governors, he then attempted 
to control the election of mayors. But against this attempt, as against 
the prior ones, the Viceroy showed himself to be opposed. (13) 

The intervention of priests in the elections also was the reason for 
the long continuing struggle on the part of the Indians. The Indians of 
Actopan claimed in 1774 that "there were decrees and ordinances from His 
Majesty and orders from the Viceroyalties to the effect that no ecclesiastic 
or secular official nor any other person may enter, disturb or prejudice 
the Indian caciques and principals in their comm.unity during their 
election of governors, mayors and other public officials of their government". 
(14) . 

One of the ordinances referred to above is the one issued by the Vicero1 
on January 13, 1622, which provided that "with reference to the election 
of officials for the government of the Indian communities, this shall 
be exercised by them freely and without any intervention or coercion by 
priests and other religious officers nor any other persons, not even the 

***** 

. 13. The aims of Iturbide are further explained by the fact that by 
having control of the Indian municipal authorities he could "cover his 
activities as smuggler of alcoholic beverages". 

The people of San Luis de la Paz, expressing their opposition to the 
reelection of the governor. 1783. Section on Civil Matters, Vol._1661, 
General Archives of the Nation. 

14. Report made on behalf of the municipal government of San Salv~
dor, in the juripdiction of Octupa, regarding the election of Antonio 
Perez as governor, and the participation therein of don Juan Miguel Perez. 
1774. Section on Civil Matters, Vol. 1661, General Archives of the 
Nation. 


government officials, so that entire freedom may exist in their conduct 

as is their custom and also as has been ordered". 

The illegal intervention of priests in the politi~al life of the Indians 
aroused in them so much irritation and such violent objections that 
in 1791, those of San Juan Bautista Acapetlahuaya rebelled openly, with 
serious consequences. (2) 

Qualifications of the candidates. The candidate for governor had to 
have the following qualifications: Be a "principal" and native of the 
community, and versed in the Spanish language, as well as in his native 
tongue. These requirements were deemed necessary "to teach and bring to 
the Indians the knowledge of our holy faith, compel them to attend church 
services, combat drunkenness and concubinage, as well as other public 
sins" and "to assure the proper collection and safeguarding of all royal 
levies". (11) 

In addition, the prospective governor should be of good habits and 
reputation. When the elections were held in the community of Atlacomulco 
11 the candidacies of Francisco de la Cruz, Jose Hernandez and Pedro de 
Mendoza having been offered by the community, the caciques and other leading 
Indians rejected that of Jose Hernandez and Pedro de Mendoza on the 
grounds that the former was an illegitimate son and the latter was accused 
of incest by church authorities, a fact which is known and public". A 
great deal of controversy resulted from this and from the fact that Francisco 
de Mendoza was rejected by the community government and the Indians · 
of the principal town because he "had discharged the post of town crier 
in said town". "Finally"--according to the document quoted--"it was agreed 
by all that the other communities offer the candidacy of two other 
persons, and the final selection of the principal town went to don Matias 
de Sosa, and the other communities named Francisco de la Cruz and Santiago 
Martin. No further objections being made, the election was then 
held". (5) 

Was it mandatory that the governors themselves be Indians? The consensus 
of the Indians was to that effect. In fact, the Indian Solicitor 
of the Viceroyalty (don Joaquin Guerrer-r) supported the view in 1758 that 
"in the elections for governor, mayor and other positions of the government 
there has been experienced in previous years grave discord and unrest 
because of the action on the part of the head officials as well as 


by other parties, to propose mestizos, mixed bloods, and other persons 
who are not full blooded Indians" and therefore he requested that, in order 
to avoid situations of this nature in the future, there be admitted 
as candidates "only those who are full blooded Indians, and under no circumstances 
admit those who are not". 

The prosecutor of the Royal Court rendered as his opinion that "in 

confo~mity with ~everal decisions" of the government, the mestizos "could 

exercise the duties of governors, mayors and other positions in the gov


ernment in the Indian communities" but no so the mulattoes (16) or "those 

of other castes". 

The Indians were also opposed to having positions in the government 
go to individuals "living in a different community, even though it might 
be.within the same jurisdictiontt because this caused great difficulties 
and damage, and therefore asked that in future elections the governors and 
other public officials be residents of "their respective communities a n d 
not of others", not even those of the principal to-wn of the area. (17) 

The Viceroy, Marques de las Amarillas, was in agreement with this 
point of view and in his decree of December 13, 1758 (17) established that 
policy. This decision was later confirmed by the Royal Decree of April 
16, 1770. (14) 

Approval of the election. Although the head civil officials did not 
intervene in the election, they nevertheless had the power of approval. 
This was done at a ceremony in which he presented a staff to the governor, 
the mayors and other officials of the local government, and where he 
pointed out to the elected officials their duty with respect to the well 
being of the people and to the administration of justice. (9) 

Confirmation of the election. The final decision remained with the 
Viceroy, inasmuch as he wielded the supreme authority of the Colony, from 
which stemmed the authority of the governor and mayors in the legitimate 
discharge of their duties. (9 and 17) 

16. See "Leon, Las Castas de la Nueva Espafian. 
17. Report by the community and people of Actopan, requesting that 
in the election of municipal. officers the head officer refrain from submitting 
the names of those who are not full blooded Ind.ia..11s. l 759. Section 
on Civil Hatters, Vol. 1689, General Archives of the Nation. 

The Solicitor of the Royal Court opined on April 20, 1761, that all 
elections should be confirmed as early as possible, even though there might 
be differences of opinion among the Indians, unless the opposition to such 
confirmation was based upon a legal question. 

Roster of authorities. In the City of Mexico the Indian authorit.tes 
for the year-r..675 were the following (18): Mateo Salvador, governor; don 
Juan de la Cruz, head officer; don Jose de Santiago, don Blas Nicholas, 

aldermen; don Tomas de San Miguel, mayor; don Juan Gaspar, mayor, don Ju~,_ 
Mateo, mayor; don Juan Loreto, head alderman; don Marcos de la Cruz, principal 
constable; don Jasilo Roque, head alderman; don Juan Lazaro, mayor; 
don Jose de la Cruz, mayor; don Agustin de Sandoval, mayor; don Gaspar 
Juarez, head alderman; and don Juan Bautista and Geronimo Gomez, scribes. 

That same year (1675) the roster for San Miguel el Grande shows the 
following entries: (9) Don Miguel Hernandez, governor; don Rafael Hernandez, 
mayor; don Jose de Castro, mayor; don Simon de Soria, head constable; 
don Juan Bautista, head constable in charge of religious discipline; 
and don Miguel de Soria, head constable in charge of the "R" Party 
of the community. 

As the population of the Indian communities increased, so did the 
roster of their officers, as for example, in the community of Santa Maria 
Magdalena, in the parish of Huehuetlan, jurisdiction of Tepeji de la Seda, 
according to a document dated May 10, 1781 and signed by the Viceroy, Martin 
de Mayorga. (19) 

**** 


18. Data submitted by the mayors, aldermen and the municipality of 
the four reservations of San Juan, on the elections. 1675. Section on 
Civil Matters, Vol. 1688, General Archives ·of the Nation. 
19. Action taken pursuant to a conmunication from His Excellency regarding 
the summons to the communities listed therein. 1781. Section on 
Civil Matters, Vol. 1661. General Archives of the Nation. 

CHAPTER III 

Community Assets 

Origin. In addition to collecting taxes, it was the duty of the municipal 
Indian officials to administer the community property. 

All of Chapter IV, Book VI, of the Laws of the Indies (Recopilacion 
de Leyes ~los Reines ~las Indias) deals with the administration of 
community property of th~ Indian settlements of America. Act No. IX defined 
the purposes to which the income from these properties could be devoted 
for the camnon good, and the rest deals with the protection against 
.maladministration of Indian property by the mayors and other civil and ecclesiastic 
authorities. The Recopilacion fails to state the origin of 
these properties and the only indication that might shed some light on the 
subject is the decreA issued by Philip II, on June 4, 1582, in which it 
is ordered that "each Indian shall plant to corn 'ten brazas' of land a 
year in lieu of the money (real y media) they pay to the communities."

(1) .. 
Maladministration. Regardless of their. origin, it would appear that 
by 1619 the administration of Indian property was aiready extremely· corrupt. 
(2) The disorderly state.of the affairs of the Indian community 
funds and of their property is corroborated by the audit ordered by the 
King (3) and made in 1704 in New Spain• 

.rn effect, Cristobal de Castillo y Tejeda, Recorder of the General 
Court for tpe peoples of New Spain, stated that "there .is no evidence.from 
the books and records of the court that that office was charged with the 
collection of levies from the Indian communities, pueblos and provinces 
of the kingdom, nor has that been the case during the time that he (Castillo 
y Tejeda) h~s discharged his duties. The only knowledge he has is 
that at times there have appeared groups of Indians from the various com


***** 


l. Act XXXI, Title IV, Book VI of the Recopilacion de Leyes de las 
Reines de las Indias (Laws of the Indies). 
2. Act I, Title IV, Book VI, of the Recopilacion de Leyes de las 
Reines de las InClias (Laws of the Indies). 
3. His Majesty's Government, year of 1704. Report made pursuant to 
the Royal Decree of February 21, 1697, on the administra;ion of t?e Royal 
Statistics Office,etc. General Archives of the Nation, Section on 
Indians, Vol. 97. 


19 

· 
munities to request authority to lease or sell scme tracts of land belonging 
to there individually or to the community in order to use the proceeds 
to meet the delinquent taxes and other obligations, stating that they have 
sufficient lands remaining to cultivate. Others have initiated legal action 
against the governors of their communities to compel them to submit 
to an accounting for the funds thereof, and in such instances and on the 
basis of such complaints there have been issued the necessary orders, as 
these cases normally are of little account because it is well Yriown that 
the Indians of this kingdom are extremely poor and unable to acquire property. 
The fact that there are no Indian community funds as provided for 
in the royal decrees referred to reaffirms his (Castillo y Te~~da1 s) belief 
that such decrees were never put into effect. The only L _.Jme that 
the Indians obtain from the private tracts of land rented or of the community 
lands thus disposed of is used in paying the taxes and other levies 
in addition to the cost of the religious holidays of the Church; actually, 
their poverty does not permit them to do anything else." 

Castillo y Tejeda's statements coincided with the testimony of all 
the officials of the Viceroyalty who were questioned regarding the matter; 
all of them were in agreement that "Indian comm.unity property was 
generally slight or nonexistent. wbere some property remained, they hardly 
could pay the tax.es because of their extreme poverty, lack of wage work, 
and other factors such as the expenses of the religious fiestas that were 
borne by the communities, and other expenses incident to their religion. 
Proof of the above is the practice of collecting a yearly levy of half 
a "real" from each Indian, the so-called secretarial tax, from which the 
salaries of officials of the government and Viceroyalty were paid as a 
special payment for giving attention to the affairs of the Indians and 
for thus giving them the necessary protection." 

From time immemorial the Viceroyal.ty had established that "all Indians 
shall plant some of their corn fields for the community, without 
excepting the principals, mayors and judicial officers, but excluding the 
sick, old and absent". The income from these labors was to be deposited 
in a locked case, and three keys issued: "one to the governor, another to 

the mayor, and the third to the scribe". There w~s to be an "accounting 
record so that statements could be made when ordered and no sum sha.£1 be 
expended over twenty 'pesos' a year, and this with the approval. of the 
head official or mayor, and the latter cannot increase that amount ••••Because 
widows and single women who only pay half the tax do not have to 
work in the fields, nor do they render any other services, there shal.l be 
collected from them the sum of one 'real' 'Which shall be added to the fund'. 

Such was the legal formula, but its provisions were not observed nor 
practiced, and that explains why the official.s claimed that there was no 
income from taxes. It was convenient for them to point to "the state of 
poverty of the Indian community properties in New Spain". (4) 

***** 

4. Statement of Francisco de Rada on the report cited before. 
/ 


That was the ever present alibi and cloak of the royal bureaucracy 
but actually, the facts were quite different. In fact, it is kncwn that 
the state of poverty of the Indians was not so acute, and although there 
were some communities that lacked means, there were many others with sufficient 
income to meet their tax obligations and those connected with re


. ligion, which were the heaviest. (5) 

There is quoted below a list of the community property of sume of 
the Indian communities, and the manner in which it was used. 

1. Pueblo de San Miguel de Sola 
Income 

Three hundred five pesos and six reales as principal which we have 
in the community, all in cash. 

Livestock. One hundred thirty-two milk cows valued at seven pesos 
per head, or a total of nine hundred twenty-five pesos. 

Also twelve steers, at eight pesos per head, or a total of ninetysix 
pesos. 

Also twenty-five bulls, one and one-half years old, at five pesos 
per head, or a total of one hundred twenty-five pesos. 

Six calves were sold as the money was needed for yearly expenses. 
They were sold as follows: five a~ eleven pesos, and the other at ten pesos 
and two reales, which totals seventy-five pesos and two reales for 
the six calves. 

Expenses 

Payment of twenty-four pesos to purchase one-half "arroba" (The arroba 
is equal to 25 pounds) of wax at two pesos a pound, used in the fiest~ 
de San Miguel of this town. 

Ten pesos turned over to the priest to help defray the expense of 
buying a white robe. 

Two pesos paid to the inspector when the Most Reverend came to audit 
the books of the church in this town. 

***** 

5. The report cited contains this important fact. This document is 
perhaps one of the most complete in data dealing with the economic status 
of the Indian communities of New Spain at .the beginning of the eighteenth 
century. 


F.our real.es paid for a "hula" (bull). creating the holiday -of the 
Santa Cruzada de las Animas Benditas • 

Four pesos and six reales paid at the time the election was held in 
this town. 

Four pesos and two real.es for the purchase of a mare for the community. 


Nine pesos paid to Nicolas Ruiz and Rodrigo de Santiago for two months 
work, the first at the rate of twenty reales and the other at two pesos, 
for herding the cattle. 

Payment to Jeronimo, of the community of Santa Ines, for damages done 
by the cattle to his cactus grove. 

Three pesos and four real.es spent during the visit of the provincial 

official to this tol'iil. 

Four pesos spent as our share in the expenses of Lent. 

Seventeen real.es for rent of a tract of land for seed beds to be used 
in connection with the corn fields of the community. 

Twelve real.es contributed during the General Visit to the community. 

A steer and a heifer for the fiesta of the patron saint of "this town. 

A cow sold to pay the levies for the council.men. of the community in 
this town. 

A cow used for needs of the community and expenses connected therewith. 


1. Villa de Nexapa 
This town has jurisdiction over twenty-two separate communities, 
those of Ocotepec, Juquilla, Ixcuintepec, San Jose Chiltepec, Coatlcin,. 
Acatlan, Acatlan de Chimaltepec, Mazatlan, Lachizila, San Pedro, Santiago, 
Cacalotepec, Totolapilla, San Francisco Jilotepec, Santiago Jilotepec, 
Santa Cruz, ta Chixomaxi., Mazaltepec, San Sebastian, Nisa Viguiti, 
San Miguel and Santa Ana. 

Income for all the c ommuni ties 

Six hundred thirty-seven co1'1s, one hundred twenty-nine bulls, tY10 
hundred seven calves, fifty-five horses, and two hundred thirty-four pesos 
in cash. 


All of the above property has been kept and maintained by the communities 
with little change from year to year. Each of the communities 
has planted every year a field to corn and another to beans, the proceeds 
of which average in the largest towns the sum of one hundred pesos, and 
in the smallest tte sum of twelve pesos, according tc the size of the community, 
and out of which they defray the expenses of their respective fiestas. 


3~ San Andres Calpa 

Income 

The town of San Andres Calpa has a· yearly income of seven hundred 
eighty-five pesos from the following sources: 


Three nundred sixty-five pesos from the corti of the communal fields, 
which are no longer cultivated, and in lieu thereof the heads of the families 
there have agreed to contribute four reales each. 

One hundred fifty pesos from the interest on three thousand pesos, 
principal, payable to the order of the community for the community taxes 
assessed against the hacienda named Achatlayuela belonging to Petronila 
Marquez, and lying within the jurisdiction of that community. 

One hundred pesos payable to the comm.unities every year by Licenciado 
don Juan de Cuellar Villa Rubia, Priest, as the annual interest on 
two thousand pesos of principal, payable as taxes to the community for 
the hacienda named Santa Cruz Tetimpan, within the community's jurisdiction. 


One hundred twenty pesos payable to the community as t-axes by Jose 
Sanchez Gordillo on the farm lands named Santa Elena. 

Thirty pesos annual payment by Captain don Juan Davila Galindo, of 
the city of La Puebla de los Angeles, as tax on a tract of land that the 
community sold him. 

Twenty pesos from the yearly rental on two houses belonging to the 
community in the said town, one having an attic, and the other having a 
beam ceiling. 

Expenses 

Expenses during the fiesta of the patron saint of this town and of 
the Holy Week, the fiesta of Corpus Christi; wax and gunpowder used on 

those occasions, repairs made on the royal quarters and those of the priests 
of the town and on the church, water piping and found in the plaza; twenty 
pesos annual contribution to the Royal Hospital arid the fees to the 
Viceroyalty; oil for the votive lamps of the Holy Ghost in the Church and 


for different annual dinners, ~he expenses of which are defrayed from the 
income of the comm.unity during the fiestas referred to above. 

There are in addition to the above, numerous documents showing that 
many of the Indian communities owned considerable property. 

The Royal Decrees .2!1 Administration. Article 28 of the Royal Decrees 
on Administration (Real Ordenanza de Intendentes), issued in the year 1786, 
took away from the Viceroy 11the management and distribution of finances 
and taxes of the Spanish cities and villages as well as of the property 
of the Indian communities of the Empire" and placed them l:lllder the control 
of the Superior Board of the Royal Treasury. (6) 

The Royal Decree of September 14, 1778 restored the Viceroy's power 
in the General Superintendency of the Royal Treasury; however, the properties 
and assets of the Indian communities remained outside his jurisdiction 
and these remained under the management of the Royal Courts. This 
gave rise to "confusion, mistakes and slowness in the .management and government 
thereof". (7) 

Total amount of~ proceeds of the ccmnunity funds. 'We do not know, 
except in a very approximate manner, the total income of the Indian community 
funds in New Spain. This is explained by inaccuracies in the keeping 
of accounts. (8) At any rate, Revillagigedo estimates an annual income 
of half a million pesos. (9) 

This estimate does not seem exaggerated if we consider that during 
the year 1784 the Indian communities were able to invest, by using their 
surpluses, the enormous sum of one hundred thirty-four thousand, three 
hundred pesos in stock of Banco de San Carlos, of Madrid. (10) 

***** 

6. Page 35 of the Real Ordenanza de Intendentes (Royal Decrees on 
Administration) provided for the appointment and training of "intendentes11. 
Madrid, 1786. 
7. Documentos para la Historia Economica de Mexico:J by Luis Chavez 
Orozco, Vol. IV, page 42. 
8. Revillagigedo, Confidential Instructions furnished••••his sucx:essor, 
Mexico, 1831, page 38. 
9. Revillagigedo, op. et. loc. cit. 
10. General state of the pueblos within the extension of the Viceroyalty 
of Mexico which invested their assets in the Banco Nacional de 
San Carlos, and of the profits earned during the years 1784, 1785 an d 
1786, with indication of those which invested their assets in the Real 
Compafiia de Filipinas, Mexico, 1788, page 24. 

Expenses paid from the Indian commun~ty funds. From. the large number 
of documents now in the General Archives of the Nation (11) we are 
able to get a more or less accurate picture of the state of the treasury 
in most of the Viceroyalty after the enactment and enforcement of the Royal 
Decrees on Administration. Copies of several accounts have been published 
by the author (12), and from these it is clear that by the end of 
the eighteenth century and the beginning.of the nineteenth, most of the 
income went for expenses in connection with religious observances. The 
accounts, however, generally included an important item for the payment 

of the school teachers' wages. (13) 

***** 


ll. Section on Indians, Vol. 72 and subsequent of the General Archives 
of the Nation. 

12. See Vol. V of Documentos para la Historia Economica de Mexico. 
13. The rural school is a very old institution in Mexico. See pages 
495 to 498 of the History Section of the General Archives of the Nation, 
which indicates their existence wherever the Indian communities had 
available the necessary resources to maintain them. 
CHAPTER IV 

Indian Self-government and Mexico's Independence 

When the Viceroy, don Jose de Iturrigaray, with the support of the 
creoles of the municipal government of the City of Me.xi.co, called a meeting 
of the corporate units of the kingdom to discuss the measures that 
New Spain should adopt to cope with the emergency created by the imprisonment 
of the Spanisb monarchs, he also invited the Indian officials of 

, 
the municipality of Santiago. The important position of these self-governed 
Indian groups, even at that late period, is also apparent from the 
fact that when the city heard of the uprising headed by Hidalgo, these 
Indian officials were invited to sign a manifesto against the revolutionaries. 
However, Hidalgo himself had found strong support among the Indian 
masses and in order to organize them, he used the strategem of military 
organization, placing them under the command of their own leaders. 


Nevertheless, Hidalgo recognized the advisability of abolishing the 
Indian community funds. Morelos even went further. In his social philosophy 
it was essential to destroy the caste system: no more mestizos, 
no more mulattoes, no more creoles, no more Indians. To Morelos all these 
terms were degrading, offensive, and represented the expression of the 
racial criteria of the colonial era -which it was necessary to destroy. 
He felt that there should no longer be a caste system, and consequently 
nobody thenceforth should pay tribute. All the people were to be equal 
under the law, they had rights and duties. The natives of the country 
were from now on to be called Americans. 

However, what did the Indian push-cart vender of Xochimilco think, 
on coming into Mexico City burdened by his heavy load, when he heard the 
exalted phrases ·with which were described, in the plazas and in the streets, 
the exciting news of the political events of the times? One day he would 
hear about the Plan de Iguala; shortly afterward the talk was about His 
Majesty, Emperor Agustin I; then the Plan de Casa Mata and about Santa 
Anna, and finally about the Constitution of 1824. Many questions bothered 
him: what is a constitution? What is democracy? These terms, constitution 
and democracy, were repeated a thousand times, but no one attempted 
to make clear to him their implications and true meaning. The In


dian did understand a few simple phrases that went straight to his heart: 
"Today we are all equal. There are no Indians, there are no castes, there 
are no creoles. Today we are all Mexican citizens." But what does it 
mean in the final analysis to be a Mexican citizen? To be a Mexican citizen 
meant to cease being Indian, and to become a being from then on that 
would assume equality with other segments of the population, with a 11 
rights and obligations inherent in citizenship. 

Please take careful note: The Indian was to enjoy all the rights of 
any other citizen; he could fill public positions, reach the highest ecclesiastical 
rank; ho~ to attain wealth, to own land, to be a reputable 
merchant; he might even become a wealthy ·mine owner. Independence meant 
~l that ~o th~ Indian, and for that reason he fought enthusiastically

side by side with Hidalgo and Morelos. 

At long last the abject status of the Indian was at an end and his 
literary exaltation was about to begin. Don Carlos Mar.:la de B~stamente 
undertook this task. 

All rights as a human be~ng were bestowed on the Indian in his capacity 
as a Mexican citizen• 

. . The.Indian was giv~n all hi~ rights as a human being and a Mexican 
citizen in ~ccordance with the liberal ide~s of the day. According to 
thos7 s~e.ideas~ he was to assume all the duties and obligations inherent 
in citizenship; only thus could he become a good citizen a complete 

• citizen. ' 

A few days after the arrival of the Trigarante army in Mexico City, 
the land owners of Puebla expressed themselves in the following terms: 
"The best thing that the Government can do for agriculture" they stated 
in a document dated December 18, 1821, "is to study and remedy the disorder 
in the affairs of the Indians. Assistance is being furnished them 
on the pretext of their poverty which results in detriment to themselves 
and to the farmers and agriculture in general." 

And then the struggle began-an all out effort to abolish all these 
sections of the Laws of the Indies that furnished protection for the Indian, 
as well as all subsequent legislation enacted for that purpose. The 
principal aim of the attack was the abolition of the prohibition against 
cash advances to the Indians, which were used as the means of enslaving 

. them on the estates and in the "obrajes", the primitive sweatshops that 
·thrived on the blood and toil of the worker. 

The arguments that don Juan Antonio Yenno offered in 1788 against the 
policy of Indian Protection were again revived on the landed classes and 
industrialists. 'While the Yermo petition did not succeed in the colonial 
period--inas.much as Indian protective legislation remained in effect even 
though it was not adhered to strictly--the noisy clamor of the privileged 
classes in independent Mexico did attain its goal, and by that simple 
means the liberalism of that period smote down the great bulwark of human 
rights embodied in the Laws of the Indies. 

The Laws of the Indies were regarded as a sign of servitude to Spain, 
and in accordance with the romantic thinking of the times, it had to disappear. 
Independence, after all, had been achieved in large part by the 
landed and privileged.classes, and they were determined to use it for their 
own benefit; there was no one to raise his voice on behalf of the Indians. 
Morelos was acclaimed a great military genius; his campaigns were 
studied and eulogized; but his social program, his agrarian policy in"fa


vor of the landless Indians, was forgotten, ignored by those whose clear 
intent was to exploit the Indians more than ever. The study of" Las Casas, 
dealing with the 11Destruccion de las Indias" was printed and commented 
upon as a political weapon against the dream of reconquest by Spain, but 
never as an instrument to make valid the rights of the Indians in their 
role as Mexican citizens. 

Someone in the Soverign Board of the Provisional Government, shortly 
after the independence, endeavored to discuss the social condition of the 
~nslaved Indians of the "obrajes", but-his interest was submerged and lost 
in an abyss of indifference. "It is indeed very curious" an anonymous 
-writer commented in a pamphlet which was fiercely attacked by the newspapers 
"that the revolution has meant a: loss rather than a gain to the Indian 
population of New Spain. n In effect, independence took away from 
the Indian the privilege of exemption from paying certain parochial taxes 
and other levi~s. Because of this it was possible to feudalize the 
Indian and the peasants by means of their indebtedness to the landowners" 


stores. Morever, with the establishment of a democratic government in 
Mexico, there developed a public opinion that permitted the abolition of 
Indi~ democratic concepts and institutions which up to that time had been 
basic to their way of life. 

"No more Indian self-governed municipalities" was the battlecry of 
liberal demagoguery, and under this slogan they slowly but surely undermined 
the Indian self-government rights, with the sole ambition of selling 
their influence to the landowners and to embezzle the monies of the 
Indian community funds. 

On November 26, 1824, the Constitutional Congress discussed a report 
of its Commission on Government, which was more or less expressed in the 
following terms: · 

111. The assets remairu.ng in what were called Indian reservations of 
San Juan and Santiago will be turned over to the individuals of such reservations 
as their own property. 
"2. The Government shall appoint a board made up of the same individuals 
of the reservations so that they may submit for approval; and with 
the least possible delay, regulations covering the manner in which these 
assets are to be invested or distributed." 

Both articles were approved. 

On December 13 of the same year, there was submitted to the consideration 
of the Mexican Congress a proposition which purported to place 
title to the connnon lands owned by the communities, and which were previously 
adntlnistered by them, in the hands of "Ayu..'1tamientos11 or Indian 
self-government councils. The newspaper "Aguila Mexicana" .in its issue 
of December 20 commented on this as follows: "Let us adopt measures more 
in line with reality. We should allot productive lands that will not yield 
anything unless they are administered by those who have an active interest 
in them. We should allot these lands to the needy Indians--as was 
done by the Veracruz Congress--and we shall have penefited those who have 
a valid claim thereto, and at the same time contributed to the well being 
of a number of indigent families, increased the number of land owners 
and with it the numbers of the popfil.ation that are supporters of peace, 
order and liberty in the State." · 

This was the beginning of a policy of encumbering the communal assets 
of the pueblos, the only basis on which the Indian democratic institutions 
could perpetuate themselves. There was a notion in that liberalism 
vwhich nurtured the idea that with independence the Indians were no 
longer Indians but became citizens like the rest of the population, and 
this notion spread with the speed of an epidemic. 


This thesis was used by the deputies of the Constitutional Congress 
in their arguments in favor of having the income of the old Royal Hospital, 
whose capital had been increasing with the accumulation of contributions 
from the Indian communities during the colonial period, shollld be 
used to improve the College of San Ildefonso, which was the center of 
education and culture for the youth of the aristocracy, the sons of the 
landed gentry of the republic. Deputy Gordoa, spokesman at the time for 
that aristocracy, was of the belief that it was inconvenient to foster 

class distinction between Indians and non-In.dians and that, moreover, the 
institutions devoted exclusively to the education of the Indians were not 
very useful and that by placing the Indian youths in the regµlar colleges 
they would progress more rapi~y, through example and imitation. 

The opposition to Gordoa' s viewpoints was led by don Carlos Haria de 
Bustamante, one of the most sincere Indianists; who was later to be the 
editor of Sahagiln, and he was assisted by don Juan Rodr{guez Puebla, professor 
of that later generation of mestizos and creoles who, led by Benito 
Juarez, were to accomplish the reform1 thirty-five years later. 

Don Carlos, with fine irony, stated: "I listen in amusement to the 
joyful argument that now we have no Indians, that we are all Mexicans •••• 
a glamorous illusion, it seems to me, that will not remedy gree..t and serious 
social ills••••We have no Indians ••••but we still have the same needs 
and problems that afflicted the Indians. What foolishness to feed on 
dreams and through them endeavor to deceive the people 1" 

For his part, Rodriguez Puebla showed a fine indignation in his defense 
of Indian interests. It was imperative to point out that to make 
a distinction.as between Indians and non-Indians was not in opposition to 
the ideals of democratic equality. On the contrary, true equality meB...~t 
equal justice for all under the law according to their needs. "It is not 
well, they say, to educate the Indian; great ills I'Ja.Y result ••••This argument11 
Rodriguez Puebla continues, "is insulting end short sighted." 

It is indeed very noteworthy that all the projects to refonn the colonial 
schools were predicated on the seizure of the funds accumulated by 
the Indian co!!l!Ilunities during the colonial period, and originally set aside 
for the cultural advancement of the Indians. In fact, the general 
pla~ of public instruction forraulated in 1826 and ~onceived with tne idea 
of giving economic independence to the three colleges of San Ildefonso, 
San Juan de Letran, and San Gregorio, was not even discussed in spite of 

.its having been presented to the Congress and recom:nended by the Encyclopedic 
Review of Paris (Revista Enciclopedica de Paris). This was not true 
in the case of the proposal by Deputy Irigoyen that the three i.Dstitutions 

be merged into one for the benefit of Mexican youth, without any racial 
distinction. Irigoyen's project was fervently received by those who had 
not been able to find the economic resources to defray the cost of higher 
learning ,butwho were eager to grab t h e funds of the San Gregorio 
school, laboriously acc'..llilulated through the efforts of the Indians. However, 
the same aggressive spirit of the old Indian self-governed units, 


which so zealc..lSly defended their rights during the colonial era, was still 
present, and it was therefore easy to foster a vigorous and at times bold 
opposition to this action. "It is imperative" the Indians stated in their 
plea to Congress "and indeed essential that we should not maintain a criminal 
silence. With extreme patience we see that there is always a tendency 
to dispose of our property without obtaining our approval, as if we 
didn't count. This, in spite of the fact that we are the majority in the 
Republic and because of the apparent belief that we do not know our rights. 
Therefore, if at this time we remained silent, we would then be liable to 
the just condemnation of posterity." 

Because of the difficulties of enforcing the act of November 27, 1824, 
on July 5, 1830, the S~nate ordered the committee on government to study 
the matter. The committee members readily found·that the cause of the 
difficulties was the nature of Article II, which limited governmental action 
to the decisions of a·private board, which in turn always construed 
the law as providing for the uniform administration of all the Indian communities 
and their properties. There existed great confllsion in this matter. 
Some of the communities wanted the funds distributed; others insisted 
that they be kept in a common fund; while still others wanted separate 
incorporation and the appointment of a governing board from among 
themselves. The Com.mission's conclusions are embodied in a bill of law 
and read as follows: 

"Article 1. The remaim.ng as5ets and funds of what were the communities 
of San Juan and Santiago, corresponding-...to the same townships and 
villages within the Federal district shall be turned over to them as their 
own property. 

nArticle 2. The funds of the townships located in the State of Mexico 
shall be turned over to the government of that State, to be held as 
property of such townships. 

"Article 3. When the properties of any township 01' the district are 
located in the State of Mexico, they shall be delivered to the township 
to which they belong. 

"Article 4. Such community lands as might be·'subject to partition, 
located ~ the district, shall be divided in equal plots among the inhab


itants of the town, provided the majori~y ~f the inhabitants so decide; 
otherwise they shall be retained undivided, to be leased to the highest 
bidder. If lands which are to be divided are now leased, such division 
shall be made ,when the leases expire in accordance with the terms of the 
deed. 

"Article 5. The following should be benefitted by these pr0Vl.s10ns: 

(1) Those born and residing in the towns; (2) those born in the town but 
away from it for a period of not more than tv.o years and who desire to re

turn to their place of birth; and (3) those who have had residence in the 
town for not less than one year and have an established occupation or business. 
All beneficiaries should be married or widowed, with their own 
family or living with a son, or a widow needing assistance according to 
th~ judgment of the district government. 

"Article 6. To detennine these conditions the district governor shall 
call a meeting of the inhabitants of the towns on a predetennined day, and 
the beneficiaries shall bring a certificate from the priest or the municipal 
authority. No certificate or petition shall be accepted after the 
day set for the meeting. 

11 Article 7. 'When the lands to· be divided are not of a size sufficient 
to provide a tract large enough for the maip.tenance of a family, 
they shall be retained undivided. 

"Article 8.' Ylhen, on the other hand, the lands are so extensive that 
they are more than sufficient for the maintenance of all the families in 
that community, only such part as mey be necessar.y to provide each family 
with a sufficient tract of land will be allotted.. The remaining land shall 
be leased until the number of inhabitants has increased so that the land 
may then be allotted in a way to provide each new family coming to the 
town with sufficient land. 

. "Article 9. The control of the lands thus divided shall remain in 
the town or ward to which they belong, and an annual levy of four per cent 
on their appraised value shall be paid•. 

"Article 10. The allottee shall not sell his share of land without 
previous permission of the municipal authorities where he resides if these 
have control of the lands. Where no such authorities exist, permission 
must be obtained from a board to be established urider the provisions of 
the following article's. Violation of this stipulation or nonpayment of 
the taxes for a period of over one year is sufficient cause to h~ve the 
lands taken away from the allottee, and assigned to another person under 
similar conditions. 

"Article 11. Such lands as are not appropriate for allotment because 
they are marshy or for some other local conditions, shall remain 
undivided·and shall be leased at a public auction under the same conditions 
provided in Article 4, applying to lands that are not allotted. 

"Article 12. When a town owns lands located too far ·away for proper 
use, and it therefore appears convenient to sell or exchange them, it 
shall be permissible to do so only with the approval of the board established 
by subsequent articles of this act. The proceeds of the sale shall 
be invested in such a manner as to protect adequately the interests of 
the community." 

"Article 13. In the towns 'Where the lands have already been allol;ted, 
the provisions of Articles a; 9 and 10 shall be observed, and the 


lands so allotted shall be duly appraised as a basis for determining the 
appropriate tax levy, which shall be paid from the date of the allotment. 

"Article 14. The proceeds of the tax on the allotted lands, as well 
as the income accruing from the rental of the undivided tracts, shall be 
used for the following purposes: (1) In payment of legal debts or encumbrances 
on the lands; (2) for religious and other expenses which in the 
past it has been customary to defray from the community funds; (3) to set 
up a social security fund from which it will be possible to grant assistance 
to the settlers of the town or community during years of scarcity, 
famine or epidemics, and give relief to the needy ones; (4) to pay the 
costs of the schools; and (5) to pay other costs of municipal administration. 
The remainder shall be used for the construction of roads and water 
works, and the clear.ing of irrigation ditches, and for other activities 
of general benefit to the comrp.unity. 

"Article 15. The interest on the tax levies and the levies also when 
redeemed, shall be turned over to the communities according to their right 
to such levies, to be invested as stated in the foregoing article. 

"Article 16. For the enforcement of this act, the district governor 
shall appoint a board of five members, of which he shall be chairman, 
with the oldest member as his alternate. This board shall be selected 
from among candidates proposed by the towns and communities participating, 
each community present~ three candidates to the governor. The powers 
of this board shall be: (1) To see to it that the allotment of lands, 
when effected, is performed in accordance with the provisions of Articles 
4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 13 of this act; (2) to determine when the lands 
are to remain unallotted; (3) to deter.mine the advisability of the sale 
or barter of lands as provided in Article 12; and (4) to supervise the 
collection and investment of the proceeds of the levies and leases as provided 
in Article 14. Half of the membership of the board shall be renewed 
every two years; provided that the two younger ones shall be the 
first cries to leave office, and the other three to follow in turn, and 
so on successively. The secretary of the district government shall also 
serve as secretary of the board and shall receive remuneration as approved 
by the board. All the resolutions of the board sha.lJ. be enforced by the 
governor and in the event of his disapproval thereof. he shall report the 
matter to the president of the republic for his decision. 

"Article 17. In communities that ha3re a re;ddent municipal administration, 
that government shall be in•charge of the collection of t.?-Xes 
and the income from its leases. Both of these duties shall be discharged 
by a trustee appointed for that purpose by the municipality, with the approval. 
of the board, and he shall provide the necessary sureties and bonds, 
with a three per cent premium on collections. The. trustee cannot be removed 
except for sui"ficient cause, to be determined by the board. 


"Article 18. In communities where there is no resident municipal administration 
the members of the community shall appoint the administrator 
of its funds and assets. This administrator must be approved by the board 
and must act under the same provisions and conditions as are provided in 
the foregoing article. 

"Article 19. The persons appointed as turstees or administrators 
in accordance with the two previous articles, shall also be trustees of 
the assets of the respective communities pending division of the la~ds. 
Where two or more communities claim title to the same lands, the board 
shall name a trustee or administrator of the properties under litigation. 
!le shall serve under the same conditions and for the same purposes indicated 
in the foregoing article, pending a decision of a court of competent 
jurisdiction or an agreement among the contestants. 

"Article 20. The board shall determine the regular budget of the 

. comm.unity or town referred to in Article 14 and the trustee shall be empowered 
to meet this by an order of the governor, copy of which shall be 
forwarded to the auditor's office for entry in his records. These expenses 
shall be debited against the appropriate accounts. The boards shall 
also determine how each community's income shall be distributed as provided 
i.'1 Article 14, and· the trustee or administrator shall not make any 
payment of an-unusual nature without the consent of the board, which shall 
decide upon the most desirable use or investment of the surplus fl.lllds, 
place of deposit, sureties required, etc. The board shall also determine 
the amount of the communities' contributions towards the expenses of the 
board and the salary of the secretary and clerks. 

"Article 21. The trustees or administrators shall submit annual reports.
of the.accounts and of collection and investment of funds, which 
shall be recorded and entered in the books of the auditor under the same 
conditions as are provided for in the case of the tax incomes of the municipalities. 


"Article 22. The expenses of surveys, titJ.es, and other incidentals 
that are furnished each allottee when the lands are divided shall be paid 
from.the funds of each individual town, and when these payments are defrayed 
from the funds of towns whose lands have n0t yet been allotted, 
payment shall be made from the common funds. Such payments shall be reimbursed 
to the town irom whose funds the advance is made. 

11 Article 23. Matters arising from the allotment of lands among the 
iri..habitants of the comm.unity shall be settled through governmental channels, 
and for tha:t purpose the surveyor charged with the allotting shall 
prepare. a_plan for submission to the board. lfuen approved, the governor 
shaJl. divide the lands and shall vest the people with title to them. 

"~icle 24. No recognition shall be granted to mass elected representations 
from the reservations beca~se these have ceased to exi&t &s 


such; the board, and in certain cases the trustees and administrators, 
shall follow the provisions of this law in administering the funds and 
assets belonging to the several towns. 

"Article 25. The individuals who in different capacities and with 
varying authority have managed the assets of the reservations, shall submit 
accounts and reports of such management, which shall be recorded in 
the auditor's books on the same basis as the tax incomes of the municipalitiEis. 


"Article 26. The government shall prepare an accurate statement of 
the finances of the reservations, including a li~t of the capital and assets 
belonging thereto, and indicating which lands have been allotted and 
vmich remain undivided. This statement shall be forwarded to the next 
regular session of Congress. In addition, a report shall be made regarding 
the enforcement of this law. 

"Article 27. The government shall also issue the necessary regulations 
for the appropriate execution of the provisions of this law. 

"Article 28. The Act of November 27, 1824 is hereby revoked." 

The provisions of the above act, discussed and appr~ved during the 

second week of August 1830, were reported upon in the following terms by 
the Official Register, the periodical through which the administration of 
don Anastasio Bustamante explained his policies: "Having ·reestablished 
the Indians to the status due them as free men, the equals of the rest of 
the population, in conformity with the liberal national policy of independence, 
they have attained their majority and emerged from the tutelage 
that under the guise of protection was pursued by the Spanish government. 
Ignorance and.lack of education of most of them, th~ result of that tutelage 
which denied them the necessary schooling, has retarded their enjoy


ment of most of the advantagee that belong to them from the liberty and 
equality restored to them. Since 1822 our legislators have been occupied 
in matters affecting the nation, and the press of events preceding and 
following independence pas been such that they have been unable to give 

due consideration to this matter, and have not enacted the necessary legislation 
or developed any ideas so that this vast portion of our citizenry 
which heretofore has been. termed '~n~an' ~y enjoy _all their rights 
and privileges. Therefor;, in th_e administration ~f _their. communal funds 
and assets· in the internal affairs of the communities; in the personal 
services whlch they gave to the churcn, to .the ~ove:r:nors. an d to the ~yors 
in the establishment of schools and other institutions of learning; 
they remain more pr less in the same ~ortunate condition as when they 
were subjects of the Spanish Crovtn. It is necessa.rr, the~efore,. that C?ngress 
ahd the different stat: gove::ziments in.th7ir de~i?erations, give 
preferential attention to this subJect, abolishing privileges that encroach 
upon these peoples and which are detri.men~al. to them or tend.to 
keep them in virtual ignorance; enacting and amplifying necessary legis



lation and tal<:ing such measures as will benefit them, and, above aLL, by 
furnishing the means for developing their intellectual faculties and jmproving 
their conditions so that future generations might truthfully say 
that there are no longer any Indians,"inasm.uch as all are Mexicans, equal 
under the law without any preferences or distinctions except those attainec 
through virtue and knowledge, in which, as we have seen, many Indians 
have surpassed. n 

The progressive administration of don Valentin GOmez Far1as differec. 
in everything from that of don Anastasio B:ustamante, wt.ich was very reactionary; 
but they did coincide in their outlo~k of the Indian problem. 
Dr. Jose Maria Luis Mora, in Volume I of his Miscellaneous Works (Obras 
Sueltas) describes his debates with don Juan Rodriguez Puebla, the India.
nist previously mentioned: "The true reason for Rodr:lguez' opposition 
was that the new procedures in public education were in direct confljct 
with his wi.~hes, purposes and objectives, and with his ideas regarding 
the f14ture developnent of the Aztec race· still remaining in J-fexico; this 
gentleman, who claims to belong to that race, is one of the prominent men 
of tnis country and enjoys excellent pol5tical and personal qualities; in 
theory his p&rty's platform is progress. He differs from the usual friends 
of the Indian race in that he does not limit his efforts to getting them 
true liberty, but goes on to attempt to exalt the Aztec race, and his main 
goal is to 'naintair it as a group distinct from the rest. To that effect 
he has supported and still supports the right of the Indians to old established 
civil and religious privileges, the retention of their communal 
wealth and assets, the provision of public assistance for their benefit, 
and the support of the school in which they received their education; · 
in short, without admitting it, his purpose and objectives clearly indicate 
the desire to establish a strictly Indian system. 

"The Farias administration and those that preceded it had a different 
policy:. in the firnl conviction that a difference of race.s within the 
society could and undoubtedly vJOuld. be an eternal source of conflict, it 
ignored all the constitutional distinctions of long standir.g, and exerted 
all its effort to speed the assimilation of the Aztec race into the national 
society. Moreover, its_policy was to reduce governmental action 
tending to differentiate between Indians and non-Indians and substituted 
instead a differentiation as between rich and poor, making available to 
all the benefits of goverr.!Ilent. In the new provisions for public education 
it adhered--properly so--to these pri~ciples, establishing schools, 
institutions of learning, and a common fund which absorbed the Indian 
schools and funds. None of this satisfied Sr. Rodr:lgu.ez, and from that 
time he began to express an unfavoratle attitude towards an administration 
which he had theretofore supported." 


35 


CONCLUSION 


The Jacobin reformers of 1833 and 1834, headed by don Valentin GOmez 
Far:fas and Dr. Jose Marfa Luis Mora, agreed in their policies and views 
~ith the conservatives under the leadership of don Lucas Alaman as regards 
the abolition of the Indian community funds. This strange harmony of opinion 
between two antagonistic poiitical parties continued all through 
our history. The only difference between liberals and conservatives on. 
this subject centered around the manner of disposing of these assets--the 
former wanted to dispose of the property of all the Indian associations 
without exception, including the wealthiest, that is, the religious ones; 
while the conservatives tended to exclude the Church properties. 

The explanation of this is obvious: The liberalism of that time was 
exclusively political, ideological, and cultural in nature. The destruction 
of the economic base of the-Church, through the freeing of its wealth, 
had as its main purpose the removal of a source of strength that allowed 
it to exercise direct and influential political pressure. Furthermore, 
the liberals wanted to take away from the Church the controls it had on 
civilian life and the exclusive monopoly on child and youth development 
through its control of education. 

These objectives, in the political, cultural and educational fields, 

were attained by the liberals after a twenty-five year struggle. They 
were permanently embodied in the well known Reform Laws and the Consti~ 
tution of 1857. But, after freeing the wealth of religious and civil communities--
completed during the thirty-year dictatorship of General. Porfirio 
D:faz~and after the establishment of new land tenure principles, 
the fact remained that Mexico's· economy was distinctly feudal in character, 
perhaps more so than during the colonial period and the era of the 
Viceroyalty. 

If this interpretation of the dissolution of the economic base of 
the Indian communities is reasonable; if, in fact, the nineteenth century 
is, in Mexican history, a period during the last phase of which there was 
no improvement over the productive capacity of the former feudalism--any 
improvement being limited to the seizure of the wealth of corporations, 
which served to consolidate the position of the landowners; if after the 
Reform the Indian communities were deprived of their accumulated funds, 
and in addition tPeir conmµn.al lands were lost by seizure; it ~s then easy 
to· explain why the political institutions of the Indian were weakened and 
in time were lost in the darkness of the past. 

The gigantic looting of Indian wealth following Mexican independence 
was accompanied oy another fact, perhaps more tragic in its consequences. 
During the early nineteenth century the notion of the total incapacity of 
the Indian began to take root, and what is worse, the idea was gaining 
ground that if Mexico were backward, if it could not achieve true democracy, 
it was due to the dead weight represented by the Indians, which burdened 
the development and progress of the republic. 


It was only after he.xico's development resulted in the abolition of 
feudalism in production; when the Mexican Revolution recognized the mistakes 
of the pseudo-liberal policies of the nineteenth century and destroyed 
the excessive concentration .of wealth; with the destruction of 
those land holdings that were unjust, which had resulted from spoilation 
and were a hindrance to the economic development of the country, that 
the Indian reassumed his role as a human being in Mexican society. 

One of the characteristics of the Mexican Revolution is its obvious 
desire, more or less sincere and at times :Perhaps sentimental, to improve 
the economic condition of the Indian and to assure his integration into 
the general culture of the nation. "Lands for the Indians and schools 
for the Indians." That is one of the generous aspirations of the Revolution. 


It might be well to question ourselves as to why it is that to this 
date there has been no demand, no clamor in form, to allow political selfdetermination 
to the large Indian segment of our population. Why is it 
that today, as in the pre-Revolutionary period, the most progressive statesmen 
of the country not only tolerate but give aid to political regimes in 
which the Indian himself has no representation, but is simply the tool of 
the political bosses? How long will this anti-Indian prejudice exist? 
How long will this misconception, this myth that the Indian is incapable 
of political self-determination, and-therefore a handicap in the development 
of democracy in our country persist? 

If this report on manifestations of democracy among the Indians during 
the ·colonial period will in some measure contribute to dispel these 
prejudices, the author shall be more than satisfied. 


37 

Documents Consulted on Elections 

(From the General Archives of the Nation) 

1557 -Request by the Indians of the four wards of Mexico bearing on damages 
from the actions of the governors. Vol. 644, Civil Branch. 

1564 -The Indian officials of Mexico, bearing on the complaint against 
the mayors, aldermen and pri~cipals. Vol. 644, Civil Branch. 

1615 -1632 ~-1686 -Files on election of Governor, Mayor and other officials 
of the Village of Etla. Vol. 347, Sec. of Hospital de 
Jesus. 

1674 -Elections among the chichimecos. Vol. 740, Civil Branch. 

1675 -Information furnished by the mayors~ aldermen and residents of the 
four wards of San Juan, in the City of Mexico. Vol. 1688, Civil 
Branch. 

1683 -Providing for .the municipal authorities of the.Villa de Salamanca 
to comply and observe the ordinances issued and approved by Luis 
de Velasco. Vol. 68, Sec. of Duplicates of Royal Decrees. 

1689 -Elections --The City of Antequera in the Valley of Oaxaca is ordered 
to hold elections to fill the vacant positions with capable 
candidates and in the prescribed manner. Vol. 36, Sec. of Duplicates 
of Royal Decrees. 

1700 -Election of the Governor of Coatepec. Files submitted by the mayor 
of Coatepec to His Excellency, on the election of governor and 
other minor officials in that town, for the current year. Vol. 
1659, Civil Branch. 

1727 -Files on el~ctions in the four villages of Marquesado del Valle. 
Vol. 348, Sec. of Hospital de Jesus. 

1732 -Files on the election of governor and other officials of Tacubaya 
and Coyoacan. Vol. 333, Sec. of Hospital de Jesus. 

1733 -1804 -Elections in the jurisdiction of Marquesado del Val.le. Vol. 
347, Sec. of Hospital de Jestis. 

1740 -Files submitted to the Lieutenant General of Chicontepec on the 
election of governor and other officials, held that year, in the 
absence of the former governor, Domingo Gabriel. Vol. 166, Civ


il Branch. 


1740 -Files on the election of governor, mayor and other officials of 
Tepeji de la Seda. Vol. 443, Historical Branch. 

1754 -Files on electi.ons held in Santa Ana Zagachi. Vol. 347, Sec. of 
Hospital de Jesus. 

1759 -Petition by the residents of Actopan to the effect that only pure 
Indians be chosen for elective positions in that community. Vol. 
1680, Civil Branch. 

1760 -Election of governor in the Villa de Etla. Vol. 348, Sec. of Hospital 
de Jesus. 

1762 -Julian Santiago, Governor of Calimaya, versus Pedro de Alcantara, 
on the latter's refusal to accept his resignation. Vol. 1689, Civil 
Branch. 

1763 -Complaint by the communities of San Jeronimo and San Bartolome on 
excessive levies on the possession of governors' canes, etc. Vol •. 
1675, Civil Branch. 

1764 -Request by the residents of San Pedro Mesistepec to the effect that 
they be permitted to elect, without intervention, the officials 
of that community. Vol. 443, Historical Branch. 

1165 -Complaint on the election of Pedro Ignacio de la Cruz as governor 
of Huichapan. Vol 443? Historical Branch. 

1765 -Opinion of the legal counsellors to the effect that no person be 
reelected as governor of Actopan unless he has resided formerly 
in that comn.unity. Vail. 443, Historical Branch. 

1765 -1766 -Complaint by the residents of Tepexoxuca on the election 
of governor. Vol. 443, Historical Branch~ 

1766 -Complaint by the residents of Huehetoca on the election of governor. 
Vol. 443, Historical Branch. 

1767 -Files on the reelection of Antonio Melchor as governor of Coyote-pee. 
Vol. 1661, Civil Branch. 

1768 -Election of Agust!n·Bautista as mayor of Santa Cruz de Ixmiquilpan 
Vol. 1661, Civil Branch. 

1768 -Election of Agust1n Bautista as mayor of Santa Cruz de Ixmiquilpan. 
Vol. 1661, Civil Branch. 

1768 -Election of Ambrosio Sanchez as governor of Ixtlahuaca, and inquiry 
made thereon by the head mayor. Vol. 1661, Civil Branch. 


39 

1768 -Writ presented on behalf of the people of San Luis Temascaltepec, 
requesting that minors and children abstain from intervening in 
the elections and cease rioting and disturbing the peace. Vol. 
1661, Civil Branch. 

1772 -Writ presented at the request of Marfa Rita and Marfa Angela and 
Maria Nicolasa, stating that the Governor had appointed them Mother 
Superior and assistants, respectively, and that as such they 
had to pay contributions in cash which, because of their poverty, 
they were unable to afford, etc. The three are Indians of Tlayacapa. 
Vol. 1736, Civil Branch. 

1773 -Writ presented on behalf of the people of Santiago de Miahuatlcin, 
jurisdiction of Tehuaccin de las Granadas, requesting that the election 
of governor be held immediately and stating the reasons 
for such demand. Vol. 1677, Civil Branch. · 

1773 -Demand of the people of Ixcatepec to the effect that the authorities 
of Zacualpan forbid reelections and exclude mulattoes from 
voting, and that the Indic.ns of the jurisdiction be advised o f 
the celebration of the elections. Vol. 1643, Civil Branch. 

1774 -Writ presented at the request of San Salvador de Actopan regarding 
the election of Antonio Perez and the appointment issued thereafter 
in the name of Juan Miguel Perez. Vol. 1661, Civil Branch. 

1777 -1778 -Writ prepared on behalf of the people of San Martin, requesting 
authority to elect their officials. Vol. 443, Historical 
Branch. 

1778 -Writ on the election of governor of San Juan Bautista de Xichu. 
Vol. 443, Historical Branch. 

1781 -Action taken pursuant to an official order establishing the site 
of hearings and justice in the town of Tepeji de la Seda. Vol. 
1661, Civil Branch. 

1782 -Petition made by the caciques of Xocotitlcin requesting the removal 
of macehuales from official positions in the government of the 
crnmnunity. Vol. 1639, Civil Branch. 

1783 -The people of San· Luis de la Paz express their opposition to reelections. 
Vol. 1661, Civil Branch. 

1786 -Action taken by the people of Ostotipac on the matter of elections. 
Vol. 443, Historical Branch. 


40 

1789 -Report filed on the last election of governor and other officials 
for the remainder of the current year and the next one held by the 
town of Amecameca, in the jurisdiction of Chalco. Vol. 1686, Civ


/ il Branch. 

1791 -Election of governor and other munfr:::.pal officials in the town of 
Axuchitlan, Vol. 1661, Civil Branch. 

1791 -Don Baltazar Juan, Governor of San Juan Bautista de Acapetlahuaya 
versus certain officials on the matter of imprisonment of sev eral 
Indians who opposed the celebration of elections. Vol. 1686, 
Civil Branch. 

1803 -The Indians of San Mat:f.as Tepetomatitlan and San Bernabe Amaxac, 
on discrepancies found in the election. Vol. 1661, Civil Branch 

1803 -Discrepancies .found in the electioiis held in San Nicolas Tetel cingo. 
Vol. 444, Historical Branch. 

1803 -1804 -Discrepancies in the election held at San Juan Bautista 
Yolotepec. Vol. 444, Historical Branch. 

1803 -1804 -Election of governor and other community officials in Queret~
o. Vol. 444, Historical Branch. 

1803 -1804 -Discrepancies in the elections held in San Felipe Quemango 
Vol. 444, Historical Branch. 

1804 -Discrepancies found in the elections held at Otumba. Vol~ 444, 
Histo~ical Branch. 


1804 -Petition to the effect that Indians who have not previously served 
as mayors be allowed to vote in the election of community officials 
at Malinalco. Vol. 444, Historical Branch. 

1804 -Report by a superior official on the appointment of a new mayorbecause 
of the misconduct of the one elected. Vol. 444, Historical 
Branch. 

1804 -Petition filed by Don Mariano Herrera, Priest of Zilacayoapan, requesting 
that he be allowed to be present at the election of governor 
and other connn.unity officials in that town. Vol. 1661, Civil 
Branch. 

1804 -Discrepancies in the elections of San Pedro Texupilco. Vol. 444, 
Historical Branch. 

· 1806 -Elections held at Yahualica during the current year. Vol. 1639 , 
Civil Branch. 


41 

1807 -Petition filed by Anastasio Hernandez de Orta, Indian of San Gregorio 
Cuaquilcingo, requesting the election of governor to be held. 
Vol. 1661, Civil Branch. 

1807 -1808 -Petition by the people of San Juan Pifias requesting that 
the elections for governor be held. Vol. 444, Historical Branch. 

1808 -Petition by the people of San Mateo Ixcuintlapilco requesting 

1808 -Petition by the people of San Mateo Ixcuintlapilco requesting that 
the elections for connnunity officials be held. Vol. 444, Historical 
Branch. 

1808 -The connn.unity of (.,lllihuitlan requesting return by the. higher officials 
of a gold-handle cane used by its governor. Vol. 444, Historical 
Branch. 

1809 -The people of Santa Marfa Anducayaco, San Jose de Gracia'and Santo 
Domingo, requesting the election of governors. Vol. 444, Historical 
Branch. 

1809 -T~e people of Santa Maria Apasco on the election of governor and 
other conmunity officials•. Vol. 1404, Land Division. 

1820 -Approval: by the people of Almoloya of the reelection of San Jose 
de la Luz Flores as governor. Vol. 1661, Civil Branch. 

Jl7r.7