1893 Mexican general election

The **1893 Mexican general election** was held on Sunday January 22, 1893 to elect members of the 12th Congress of Mexico, and was the second Mexican election to be held under the 1881 constitution, as well as the first election in which more than three political parties gained representation in the Congress of Mexico. The 1893 election was also the last to be held under the 1881 voter requirements, which were abolished after the election to allow a larger portion of the population to be able to vote.

In the aftermath of the First Mexican Revolution in 1869-70, the Restoration Party became the dominant Mexican political party, remaining in office during the transition from the Republic of Mexico into the Second Mexican Empire in 1881, and continuing to dominate during the early years of the new empire. In 1887, prime minister Ignacio Mariscal secured an unprecedented fourth consecutive congressional majority and formed a majority government. However, the new government's economic policies and Mariscal's personal decision not to combat institutional corruption led to the failure of the Central Bank of Guanajuato State in March 1890, which in turn prompted a chain of business and industrial manufacturers to go bankrupt. The collapse of regional economies led to the emergence of the States' Committee in 1891 - under the leadership of secretary Guillermo Prieto, the electoral committee called for the disbanding of the federal government and the return of executive power to the individual regions. The radical regionalist policies of the States' Committee, whilst rejected by every other major party, nonetheless gained significant support from regional elites. After the economy began to briefly rebound in December 1892, prime minister Ignacio Mariscal requested the dissolution of the 11th Congress of Mexico in preparation for a snap general election designed to capitalise on the economic revival - subsequently on December 31, 1893, Emperor Pedro II dissolved congress in preparation for an election on January 22, 1893.

During the election on January 22, 1893 all three hundred and twenty seats in the Congress of Mexico were up for election through the first-past-the-post electoral system, meaning that the candidate with the highest number of votes in each constituency would be duly elected as the congressman for the region. Whilst elections were held simultaneously across the country, each individual Mexican state was responsible for drawing the constituency boundaries inside its territory, with each state being constitutionally limited to a maximum of ten constituencies.

The electoral campaign was dominated by the three major parties, and the insurgent State's Committee; the Restoration Party of Ignacio Mariscal campaigned on the promise of restoring the economy and continuing existing policies of tax cuts, armed forces expansions, and successful international trade deals. The Mexican Radical Party ran on a platform of shrinking the government, once again pledging to abolish the newly formed Secretariat of the Interior and its associated cabinet office, as well as reducing taxes, increasing British and American involvement in the Mexican economy, shrinking the size of the armed forces, and implementing a citizens charter to prevent government overreach into the lives of civilians. The Progressive Party sought to increase widen the electorate, boost scrutiny of politician's campaign donations, as well as introducing measures to make amending the constitution easier, and giving greater power to the Mexican states. The States' Committee sought to repeal the 1881 constitution of Mexico and turn the empire into a confederation of states under personal union with Pedro II of Mexico as the shared head of state.

On January 29, 1893, the results of the election were published in the Imperial Gazette in Mexico City. The Restoration Party won 133 out of the 320 seats, making it the largest party in congress but without its former majority, whilst the Mexican Radical Party won 116, the Progressive Party won 25, the States' Committee won 38, and independent congressmen won 8 seats. The newly elected 12th Congress of Mexico met for the first time on February 7, 1893 and would remain in session until September 1898. Due to the Restoration Party's loss of control over congress, prime minister Ignacio Mariscal initially opened negotiations with the Progressive Party in an attempt to form a coalition - however, after the electoral results were finalised in late January 1893, it became clear that the two parties would not have sufficient seats to form a government. Consequently, Mariscal opened negotiations with the Mexican Radical Party, who agreed to take part in government if they were to be given autonomy over the defence, justice, and foreign affairs portfolios, whilst the Progressives received control over the interior affairs portfolio. On February 7, 1893, with the backing of Mexican Radical Party leader Benito Juárez and Progressive Party leader Protasio Tagle, Restoration Party general secretary Ignacio Mariscal formed his third ministry. During the lifespan of the new government, the coalition passed voter reform laws to widen up the electorate, as well as trade liberalisation laws allowing for British and American investment into the Mexican economy. In October 1898, following fresh elections, the coalition largely collapsed and the Restoration Party was forced to form a minority government, which would itself collapse after less than three years.