In the history of Mexico, the Plan of Guadalupe () was a political manifesto which was proclaimed on March 26, 1913, by the Governor of Coahuila Venustiano Carranza in response to the reactionary coup d'etat and execution of President Francisco I. Madero, which had occurred during the Ten Tragic Days of February 1913. The manifesto was released from the Hacienda De Guadalupe, which is where the Plan derives its name, nearly a month after the assassination of Madero. The initial plan was limited in scope, denouncing Victoriano Huerta's usurpation of power and advocating the restoration of a constitutional government. In 1914, Carranza issued "Additions to the Plan of Guadalupe", which broadened its scope and "endowed with its social and economic content." In 1916, he further revised the Plan now that the Constitutionalist Army was victorious and revolutionaries sought changes to the 1857 Constitution of Mexico. Carranza sought to set the terms of the constitutional convention.
Background
Carranza was a dedicated supporter of fellow Coahuilan Francisco I. Madero. Huerta's "military dictatorship, notable for political corruption and rule by imprisonment and assassination" juxtaposed the formerly "liberal" government which he was appointed the minister of war in Madero's Revolutionary cabinet. Although there had been scattered rebellions against Huerta, there was no unified plan for the revolutionaries. Carranza was one of the most prominent and well-known opposers of Huerta: he was the then-sitting governor of the state of Coahuila. His plan initially united anti-Huerta forces in his home state, but other revolutionary groups signed onto it. The plan became the official program of the northern revolutionaries. It was subscribed to by leading figures of the Mexican Revolution such as Pancho Villa, Álvaro Obregón, and Felipe Ángeles. One scholar has called the plan "oft-mentioned and highly overrated," but the plan did attract widespread support for the anti-Huerta coalition, despite its solely political demands. In December 1914, Carranza issued "Additions to the Plan of Guadalupe", which directly addressed land reform and reforms to improve the lives of workers and peasants.
Description of the Plan
The Plan was divided into seven statements which aimed to repudiate the legitimacy of Huerta's government. The statements reject Huerta as president, including the legislative and judicial branches and any state supporting his administration. The plan designated the collective of the northern revolutionary forces, the Constitutionalist Army. It was to be recognized as a legitimate military force, with Carranza as "First Chief" (Primer Jefe). This articulated Carranza's belief that "the only way the revolutionaries would ever be able to maintain themselves in power was by destroying the old federal army." The plan gave Carranza interim power over Executive Power until peace was restored and then call for new elections.
Text of the Plan
The text of the plan is brief and available online in Spanish. Manifesto to the Nation:
Considering that General Victoriano Huerta, to whom the constitutional President Don Francisco I. Madero had trusted the defense of the institutions and legality of his Government, when siding with the enemies who rebelled against that same Government, to restore the latest dictatorship, committed the crime of treason to scale in power, arresting the President and Vice-president, as well as their Ministers, demanding of them by violent means to renounce their posts, which is verified by the messages that the same General Huerta sent to the Governors of the States communicating to them that he had taken prisoner the Supreme Magistrates of the Nation and their Cabinet. Considering that the Legislative and Judicial Powers in spite of the laws and constitutional rules have recognized and protected General Victoriano Huerta and his illegal and unpatriotic procedures, and considering, of having violated the sovereignty of those States, whose Governors should have been the first to not recognize him, the following subscribers, Chiefs and Officers commanding the constitutional forces, have agreed and will sustain with arms the following: