Caudillos

There was a ruralization as well as a militarization of power, which represented a shift in the center of political gravity from the city to the countryside, from the intellectuals to the interest groups, from the bureaucrats to the rural militias, and from the politicians to the caudillos.

John Lynch, 1994114

The weakness of the central government created a political vacuum filled by regional strongmen known as caudillos. They were generally of humble origins and had achieved prominence by leading their men in combat, especially in isolated rural areas. These strongmen emerged during the independence war when the colonial government could not impose its will throughout Mexico. Some of these caudillos were insurgent leaders while others were royalist officers who had operated without direct control from Mexico City. Both royalists and insurgents built personal followings and emerged as caudillos. The most famous of all the caudillos, Santa Anna, expanded his influence from his Veracruz power base to the national scene.115

Caudillos exercised so much power at the local and regional level that they undermined the authority of the central government. Often they defended local interests that the national government either ignored or opposed. Juan Alvarez, the insurgent leader from Guerrero, maintained regional power to the almost total exclusion of the national government. Eventually he used his home region as a power base to oust Santa Anna. Caudillos retained local power and aspired to national power by promising offices and other rewards to followers once they triumphed. They were the legitimate and perhaps even natural leaders of their home provinces, whether the central government (and later historians) liked it or not. Although a few caudillos, such as Santa Anna, achieved national power, most operated at the regional level and buttressed regional Creole elites.116