Conservatism: Ideology, Principles, Representatives and Conservatism in Mexico

He conservatism It is an ideology that defends the maintenance of traditions. He opposes progressivism and advocates for right and center-right ideas. This thinking is contrary to radical changes. It is nationalist and defends the system of moral, family and religious values ​​prevailing in society.

The origins of conservatism are found in the work Reflections on the French Revolution, written by the British politician and philosopher Edmund Burke. Conservative thinking is characterized by preferring the established order in society and traditions, as they represent the basis of governability and nationalism.

Edmund Burke, precursor of conservatism

In Mexico conservative ideas flourished with independence and the First Empire of Agustín de Iturbide. Then it was extended with the creation of the Conservative Party, in 1849. At present, the conservative Mexican expressions are the National Alliance Party (PAN) and the Solidarity Party, among other organizations.

Conservative ideology

The conservative political ideology is a set of doctrines and currents of thought expressed in opinions and positions. It is linked to right-wing and center-right ideas, which are opposed to radical political, social, cultural and economic changes.

Conservatism is in favor of strengthening social and religious values ​​and family traditions.

Relationship with the market

On the economic level, for its nationalist thinking, conservatism historically defended the protectionism of the markets. However, this thought changed radically in the twentieth century, after the merger of some conservative parties with liberalism.

Then liberal liberal market thinking was adopted, which is now paradoxically considered conservative. Conservatism defends capitalism as a system of production in opposition to the socialist and / or communist system.

Heterogeneous current

Currently, political conservatism is not homogeneous. On the contrary, there are different currents with different positions on the market economy and on the political sphere.

The fusion of conservative and liberal thinking is known as conservative liberalism.

Beginning

- God is the center of the universe.

- There is an order and a natural law for humanity.

- Private property is inherent to man, is a natural right and, in addition, fulfills a social function.

- There is a universal moral and certain cultural ethical values.

- To achieve social stability, strong authority and legality are necessary.

- The person has dignity and this must be respected.

- The great masters of people are civilization, tradition and culture.

- The deconcentration of power and local autonomy contribute to the maintenance of tradition and order.

- Man enjoys free will to do good or evil.

- Human reason has limits.

- Social justice and equity are a true reflection of solidarity and love for others taught by Christianity.

- It is oriented in the social towards the organicist or naturalistic conceptions of individuals and society. That is to say, that the law and the natural right are principles of life.

- Considers religion as an element of social cohesion, as it helps to cement and strengthen family and social values.

- It is inclined towards the preservation of status quo or the established social order, both socially and legally.

- Prefers and advocates maintaining traditions as the basis of governance. Promotes national values ​​(nationalism) and patriotism.

- Feel distrust for the metaphysical theories of society.

- In the economic field, defends private initiative as the guiding principle of the economy.

- Accept economic interventionism whenever it is in the national interest.

Historical representatives of conservatism

Edmund Burke

Conservatism was born in England with the ideas put forward by the British philosopher and politician Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797) about the French Revolution. Burke was opposed to the profound changes proposed in the political, economic and social structures.

Burke, also a writer, defends the value of family and religion, the rural and natural world as opposed to industrialism. This initial thought of conservatism soon evolves and ends up admitting the existence of the new bourgeois order.

Luis de Bonald

In 1796 Louis de Bonald defines the principles of conservatism in his work Theory of political and religious power . He describes them as"absolute monarchy, hereditary aristocracy, patriarchal authority in the family". And he adds:"the religious and moral sovereignty of the popes over all the kings of Christianity."

Joseph-Marie

Another French thinker like Joseph-Marie, Count de Maistre, develops his thesis on"religious authoritarianism". He opposes what he calls the"theophobia of modern thought", which downplays the importance of divine providence to explain the phenomena of nature and of society itself.

Carl Schmitt

Another of the most prominent ideologues and representatives of international conservatism will be the German philosopher Carl Schmitt (1888 - 1985). He was a harsh critic of the bourgeoisie, for its permissiveness and also the passivity to face the advance of socialism in the world.

In its absence, it proposed restricting the system of liberties and democracy itself through the establishment of governments or authoritarian states.

Francisco Tadeo Calomarde

In Spain one of its maximum representatives was Francisco Tadeo Calomarde (1773 - 1842), Spanish politician and minister of Fernando VII.

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo lived between 1828 and 1897. Also Spanish, he was one of the founders of the Spanish Conservative Party.

Other authors

Other German philosophers and statesmen, such as Hegel and Otto von Bismarck, are also inscribed in the conservative doctrines. Hegel's ideas about historical materialism sparked a revolution in the field of social sciences.

Representatives in America

George Washington and John Adams

In America, with George Washington and John Adams, American conservatism was very peculiar, just as it was in Latin America.

Instead of supporting the monarchy, he defended the preservation of nascent republican institutions and the maintenance of the existing social order.

José Rafael Carrera and Agustín de Iturbide

In Latin America, two representatives of conservative promonarchy thought are the Guatemalan military leader José Rafael Carrera (1814 - 1865), and the Mexican politician and military officer Agustín de Iturbide (1783 - 1824).

Conservatism in Mexico (history and current affairs)

Conservatism emerged in Mexico and the rest of Latin America -even in the United States- after the wars of emancipation. Throughout the nineteenth century the political scene was dominated by two major parties: the conservative and the liberal.

Support for Fernando VII

In Mexico, conservative thinking was expressed initially with the support of the restoration of the monarchy and the rights of King Fernando VII, in the first two decades of the 19th century.

The monarchists fought the insurgents led by the priest José María Morelos y Pavón, who fought for the Mexican independence of the Spanish Empire.

The First Mexican Empire

The process continued with Agustín de Iturbide with the establishment of the ephemeral First Mexican Empire. At the fall of this, the conservative current was divided between monarchists and Borbonists.

The first struggled for a system of monarchical government, but Mexican. The latter were in favor of being governed by a monarch of the Bourbon House of Spain.

Role of the Church

The tensions and armed conflicts between conservatives and liberals continued for decades in Mexico. The role of the Catholic Church was one of the points of greatest conflict.

The conservatives defended the maintenance of the economic and social power of the Church against liberal thought, which demanded to separate the Church from the State and education.

The slogan of conservative combat was"Religion and fueros". They fought because the Catholic religion was the only one tolerated and professed by the Mexican people and for the maintenance of the monopoly of education, because in this way they avoided the infiltration of liberal ideas.

In the same way, they tried to preserve privileges and military jurisdiction. The conservatives were convinced that a constitutional monarchy was the best system of government for the country.

Current conservatism

With this, the principles of conservatism remained in force despite allowing certain political, social and economic reforms. Thus, the old monarchical institutions that existed during the viceroyalty remained.

The Church would continue to maintain power by co-governing and governing education, while the upper classes of society would preserve their privileges.

Representatives of Mexican conservatism

Antonio López from Santa Anna

Among the main representatives of Mexican conservatism in the first half of the nineteenth century stands General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who ruled equally with liberals, centralists and monarchists.

Lucas Alamán

Lucas Alamán

Lucas Alamán was founder of the Mexican conservative party. In addition, he was a historian, writer, naturalist, politician and businessman.

Juan Nepomuceno Almonte

General Juan Nepomuceno Almonte was a prominent Mexican politician and diplomat, follower of Emperor Maximilian I.

Other representatives

There are also other politicians who governed and occupied high positions in Mexico, such as Francisco de Paula Arrangoiz, Felix Zuloaga, Ignacio Comonfort, Hilario Elguero, Miguel Miramon, Luis Osollo, Leonardo Marquez and Antonio Haro.

Mexican Conservative Party

These men were the founders of the Mexican Conservative Party, whose foundation was to preserve order, institutions and colonial values.

The party was officially founded in 1849, after the Mexican defeat in the war against the United States, but its ideological foundation came from the Jesuit priests who were expelled from Mexico in the 18th century. So the conservative Mexican ideology had a strong influence of European conservative thinking.

The conservative organization was made up of the political and economic elites of the country. They were Spanish and white aristocrats, landowners and landowners who defended the criollo supremacy over the mestizo and indigenous population.

The Mexican Conservative party disappeared in the year 867, after the fall of the second and last Emperor Maximilian I.

The current conservatism in Mexico

Conservatism continued to manifest throughout the twentieth century through different political conjunctures. Its ideological foundations had no place in post-reform Mexico in the last century, or after the Revolution, in 1910.

The conservatives did not accept the new political and social order, and they kept fighting to try to overthrow it.

Reduced current

Later, in the period from 1940 to 1988, the conservative right was reduced to certain traditionalist regions, such as Bajío and Puebla. However, it remains valid.

It is expressed politically through new organizations such as the Popular Force Party, which succeeded the Mexican Democrat. They focused their struggle towards the combat of communism and socialism, and everything opposed to Christian values.

Ascent of conservatism

There was a rise in the new right-wing current in the late 1970s, due to, among other things, the political crisis of the 1980s.

Conservatives congregate around the National Action Party, composed of young technocrats led by Vicente Fox. In a country with immense poverty and cycles of low economic growth, they embodied the transformation of the Mexican economy and social conservatism.

Then another PAN conservative, Felipe Calderón, wins the presidency, giving way to power to a more moderate group of the Mexican right.

But in 2007, due to conflicts within the PAN, other political organizations emerged: the Humanist Party, the Social Participation Movement, the National Sinarquista Union and the Solidarity Party.

References

1. The religious thought of Lucas Alamán. Retrieved on February 27, 2018 from biblioteca.itam.mx
2. Liberalism and conservatism in Mexico. Consulted on es.wikipedia.org
3. Uribe, Monica. The extreme right in Mexico: modern conservatism (PDF)
4. Anastasio Bustamante. Consulted of biografiasyvidas.com
5. Conservative Party (Mexico). Consulted on es.wikipedia.org
6. Conservative thinking (PDF). Consulted by americo.usal.es
7. The conservatism. Consulted by abc.com.py
8. The Conservative Party and the Trade Unions. Consulted by books.google.com
9. José Contreras. The extreme right, with its own party. Consulted cronica.com.mx