Editing Caudillo (section)

=== Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean ===
[[File:Santaanna1.JPG|thumb|[[Antonio López de Santa Anna|Santa Anna]] in a Mexican military uniform]]
This region was vulnerable to stronger powers, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom. Cuba remained in the hands of the Spanish crown until 1898. The United States seized a huge part of  Mexico. Britain attempted to set up a protectorate on the Mosquito Coast of Central America. The two strongmen of this early century were [[Antonio López de Santa Anna]] in Mexico and [[Rafael Carrera]] in Guatemala.<ref>[[#Henderson|Henderson]], p. 113.</ref>
[[File:FMorazan.jpg|thumb|[[Francisco Morazán]], president of the [[Federal Republic of Central America]], 1829–1839]]

[[Mexico]] began its revolt against Spain in 1810, gaining independence in 1821. Political divisions in the post-independence period were labeled federalist, seeking a weak central government and often associated with [[Liberalism in Mexico|liberalism]], and centralist, who sought a strong central state and defense of traditional institutional structures, particularly the Mexican Army and the Roman Catholic Church. Many regional strongmen were in the Federalist-Liberal camp, which supported local control and the continuation of their power.<ref>"The Roots of Caudillismo", p. 33 in [[#Hamil|Hamill]].</ref>

The quintessential Mexican ''caudillo'', who gained national power for decades, was Santa Anna, who was initially a Liberal but became a Conservative and sought strengthening of the central government. Following the [[Mexican–American War]], regional caudillos such as [[Juan Álvarez]] of the state of Guerrero and [[Santiago Vidaurri]] of [[Nuevo León]]-[[Coahuila]] ousted Santa Anna in the [[Plan of Ayutla|Revolution of Ayutla]], bringing Liberals to power. Álvarez follows the pattern of the "folk ''caudillo''", whom historian [[François Chevalier (historian)|François Chevalier]] calls a "good ''cacique'', [who] protected the mainly indigenous and mestizo peasants of Guerrero, who in turn gave him their loyalty".<ref>"The Roots of Caudillismo", p. 33 in [[#Hamil|Hamill]].</ref> Álvarez briefly served as President of Mexico, returning to his home state, leaving ideological liberals to institute the era of [[La Reforma]].<ref>Laurens Ballard Perry, ''Juárez and Díaz: Machine Politics in Mexico''. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press 1978, pp. 5–6.</ref> 

During the era of the Mexican Reform and the [[Second French intervention in Mexico|French intervention in Mexico]], there were a number of generals who had regional personal followings. Important figures whose local power had consequences nationally included [[Mariano Escobedo]] in [[San Luis Potosí]]; [[Ramón Corona]] in [[Jalisco]] and [[Durango]]; and [[Porfirio Díaz]] in parts of Veracruz, Puebla, and Oaxaca. There were other ''caudillos'' whose power was more local but still important, including Gerónimo Treviño and Francisco Narajo in Nuevo León, Servando Canales and [[Juan Cortina]] in [[Tamaulipas]], [[Florencio Antillón]] in Guanajuato, Ignacio Pesqueira in [[Sonora]], [[Luis Terrazas]] in [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], and [[Manuel Lozada]] in [[Tepic]].<ref>Laurens Ballard Perry, ''Juárez and Díaz: Machine Politics in Mexico''. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press 1978, pp. 5–6.</ref> 

Following the defeat of the French in 1867, the government of [[Benito Juárez]] and his successor following his death, [[Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada]], faced opponents who objected to their increasingly Centralist administrations. Those opponents gravitated to supporting Díaz, a military hero of the French intervention, who challenged Juárez and Lerdo by attempting rebellions, the second of which, the [[Plan of Tuxtepec]], was successful in 1876. Juárez and Lerdo removed some ''caudillos'' from office, but this prompted them to rebel. These included Trinidad García de la Cadena in [[Zacatecas]], Luis Mier y Terán in [[Veracruz]], Juan Haro in [[Tampico]], [[Juan N. Méndez]] in Puebla, Vicente Jiménez in Guerrero, and [[Juan Cortina]] in [[Matamoros, Tamaulipas|Matamoros]]. "That they slowly gathered around Porfirio Díaz is the story of the rise of Porfirian Mexico."<ref>Perry, ''Juárez and Díaz'', p. 32.</ref>