Guerrero, Vicente (1783–1831)

Vicente Guerrero (b. 10 August 1783; d. 14 February 1831), Mexican independence leader and politician. Born in Tixtla in the present state that bears his name, he joined the insurgent Hermenegildo Galeana in 1810 under José Maria Morelos. He continued the struggle after Morelos's defeat and death in 1815. In 1821 he joined Agustín de Iturbide's movement, emerging as one of the major military leaders after independence, but soon broke with Iturbide.

In the 1820s Guerrero, now a prominent populist, became the Grand Master of the Yorkinos (York rite Masons) in 1826. After losing the bitterly contested presidential election of 1828, he joined his supporters in the Revolt of Acordada, and became president in 1829. Guerrero attempted to introduce democratic programs as well as to address the nation's fiscal crisis. While dealing with the emotional issue of the expulsion of the Spaniards and mass politics, he also faced a Spanish attempt to reconquer Mexico in the summer of 1829. Although victorious against the invaders, the president faced a revolt by conservatives led by his own vice president, Anastasio Bustamante. He abandoned office in December 1830. But the Bustamante administration proved to be repressive and threatened the autonomy of the states. As a result, Guerrero was enticed to lead a revolt against the government that had driven him from office. Unable to defeat him on the field of battle, the Bustamante administration managed to capture him by treachery, then to court-martial and execute him.

See alsoAcordada, Revolt of; Iturbide, Agustín de.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

William F. Sprague, Vicente Guerrero, Mexican Liberator: A Study in Patriotism (1939).

Romeo R. Flores Caballero, Counterrevolution: The Role of the Spaniards in the Independence of Mexico, 1804–38 (1974), pp. 47-142.

Michael P. Costeloe, La Primera República Federal de México, 1824–1835 (1975), pp. 178-274.

Jaime E. Rodríguez O., The Emergence of Spanish America: Vicente Rocafuerte and Spanish Americanism, 1808–1832 (1975), esp. pp. 210-228.

Stanley C. Green, The Mexican Republic: The First Decade, 1823–1832 (1987), pp. 140-209.

Additional Bibliography

Martínez del Campo, Silvia. Vicente Guerrero. México, D.F.: Planeta Mexicana, 2005.

Vincent, Theodore G. The Legacy of Vicente Guerrero: Mexico's First Black Indian President. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001.

                              Jaime E. RodrÍguez O.