1850 Mexican general election

The **1850 Mexican general election** was held on Sunday August 25, 1850 and was held to elect the 6th Congress of Mexico, marking the fifth congressional election under the First Mexican Empire and the first general election to be contested by a formal political party in Mexican history. All three hundred seats in the Mexican congress were up for election, although only approximately ninety thousand citizens out of the population of 6.8 million were eligible to vote, with a total turnout of 87%.

Following the 1842 general election, the independent liberal faction under the leadership of prime minister Valentín Gómez Farías won a landslide victory, and were later re-elected with an even larger majority in the 1843 general election following the death of Emperor Agustín I. During the 1843-50 congressional session, the government of Valentín Gómez Farías undertook a series of constitutional reforms to emancipate and recompense former slaves, as well as to expand the voter base, to create a semi-independent judicial system, and loosening government control over the economy by reducing tariffs on imports. In response the radical reforms, the independent conservative faction reappointed José Ignacio García Illueca as leader in 1848, and restructured itself into the Conservative Party the following year, becoming the first formal political party in Mexican history. After seven years of the 5th Congress of Mexico being in session, Emperor Pedro I dissolved the congress on July 27, 1850 in preparation for elections a month later.

During the election on August 25, 1850, all three hundred 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. During the election campaign, prime minister Valentín Gómez Farías was highly active in campaigning for the liberal faction, touting his successful government record and campaigning on the pledge to finish implementing his reforms. Contrastingly, conservative leader José Mariano Salas campaigned strongly on repealing the liberal reforms, implementing tougher budget requirements, and reintroducing protectionist economic policies.

On September 1, 1850, the full results of the general election were published in the Imperial Gazette in Mexico City, showing that the independent liberal faction had retained control over the Congress of Mexico once again with an increased majority, inflicting losses on the Conservative Party. Consequently, with the liberals continuing their control of congress, prime minister Valentín Gómez Farías formed a third majority government comprised of independent liberals. On September 16, 1850, the sixth Congress of Mexico met for the first time following the election and the new government was formally sworn into office by Emperor Pedro I the same day. Having failed to overturn the liberal government through electoral methods, José Mariano Salas and the Conservative party instead resorted to the armed forces, and in October 1852, the party overthrew the government in a coup d'état - after Pedro I objected to the coup, he was placed under house arrest, and the monarchy was formally abolished in August 1853. Following the coup, the Congress of Mexico was dissolved and would not meet again until 1872, though no new election would be held until 1873.