Gutiérrez Estrada, José María (1800–1867)

José María Gutiérrez Estrada (b. 1800; d. 1867), Mexican diplomat and politician. Born in the city of Campeche, Gutiérrez Estrada moved to Mexico City with his family when he was young. He was appointed minister of foreign relations by President Antonio López de Santa Anna (1834–1835) and later served as Mexico's diplomatic representative in several European countries. Upon his return to Mexico in 1840, Gutiérrez Estrada published an open letter to the president in which he called for free discussion of a liberal constitutional monarchy in Mexico, arguing that the monarchical form of government was more consistent with the traditions, needs, and interests of the Mexican people. He warned of the need for a strong government to defend Mexico against U.S. aggression, saying "If we do not change our ways, perhaps twenty years will not pass before we see the flag of the United States waving above our National Palace."

The pamphlet caused a sensation, and Gutiérrez Estrada was denounced by both liberals and conservatives. Although he was forced to flee to Europe, he continued his campaign for a Mexican monarchy. His fears were realized in 1847, when the U.S. army conquered Mexico and raised the Stars and Stripes above the National Palace, after which his proposal gained greater support among Mexican conservatives. Gutiérrez Estrada received various diplomatic commissions and was president of the commission that offered the crown of Mexico to Maximilian at Miramar. Each of his three wives was from a noble family.

See alsoMexico: 1810–1910 .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alfred Jackson Hanna and Kathryn Abbey Hanna, Napoleon III and Mexico: American Triumph over Monarchy (1971); Diccionario Porrúa de historia, biografía y geografía de México, 5th ed. (1986).

Additional Bibliography

Palti, Elías José. "La política del disenso: La "polémica en torno al monarquismo" (México, 1848–1850) … y las aporías del liberalismo." México, D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1998.

Ridley, Jasper Godwin. Maximilian and Juárez. London: Phoenix, 2001.

                                        D. F. Stevens