Ignacio Mariscal

**Ignacio Mariscal** (July 5, 1829 – April 17, 1910) was a Mexican liberal lawyer, politician, writer, and diplomat who served as prime minister of Mexico from September 13, 1885 to March 3, 1901, and held office as the fourth general secretary of the Restoration Party from September 1885 to May 1904. Additionally, Mariscal served as secretary of foreign affairs for seven years between January 1878 and September 1885. From 1874 to 1907, Mariscal was a member of the Congress of Mexico.

Born in 1829 as the child of influential middle class parents in the city of Oaxaca, Ignacio Mariscal graduated the Oaxaca City Institute of Arts and Sciences with a PhD in 1852, before moving to Mexico City in 1854 to practice law. From 1855 to 1869, Mariscal was a prominent legal advisor for the government of José Mariano Salas and headed the federal Justice Commission; following the fraudulent 1869 presidential election, he resigned his office and went into early retirement in Oaxaca. During the First Mexican Revolution, Mariscal was appointed as the provisional governor of Oaxaca State after revolutionary forces overthrew the state administration, and he led support for Pedro de Iturbide's rebel forces in the south of Mexico. Following the revolution, Mariscal was elected to the Congress of Mexico as a representative of the Restoration Party for Oaxaca in 1873 and took up office in January 1874. In January 1878, Mariscal was appointed as secretary of foreign affairs by President Juan Almonte and remained in office following the proclamation of the Second Mexican Empire, holding office until September 1885 when he was appointed as president of the Council of Ministers.

During his sixteen year tenure as prime minister of Mexico, Ignacio Mariscal implemented numerous major reforms to the Mexican economy, constitution, foreign policy, and to the armed forces. His first two governments saw the deregulation of the Mexican economy and the repeal of anti-monopoly legislation, allowing oligarchic business practices and corruption to once again become commonplace in Mexico. This major deregulation ultimately culminated in an economic crisis beginning in 1890, prompting Mariscal to hold snap elections in 1893 - as a result of the elections, the Restoration Party lost its majority in the Congress of Mexico and was forced to form a coalition with the Mexican Radical Party and the Progressive Party to remain in office. Under the coalition, the government passed new laws to expand the voting franchise to millions more citizens, whilst constitutional amendments were implemented in the mid-1890s to restrict the powers of the government. After further elections in 1898, the coalition collapsed and Mariscal briefly led a minority government with the external support of the Mexican Radical Party, before calling snap elections after losing the confidence of congress in 1901. The fresh elections saw the Restoration Party lose power for the first time since their entrance into government in 1872, and Ignacio Mariscal resigned as prime minister on March 3, 1901.

Historians and political scientists tend to rank Mariscal in the upper middle quartile of Mexican prime ministers, both due to his longevity in office and the significant reforms enacted during his premiership. Contemporary critics denounced his government for being corrupt and Mariscal personally for making pragmatic deals to remain in office rather than being committed to a specific policy platform.

## History

Ignacio Mariscal was born in the city of Oaxaca on July 5, 1829 as the son of the former lawmaker Mariano Mariscal. During his period in Oaxaca, he obtained the title of doctor after achieving a PhD at the Oaxaca City Institute of Arts and Sciences. Following the Coup of 1852 and the abolition of the First Mexican Empire in August 1853, Mariscal resigned his membership of the Conservative Party. In 1854, Mariscal moved to Mexico City in order to pursue a legal career.

## Legal Career

After moving to Mexico City in 1854, Ignacio Mariscal became a barrister for the local authorities in spite of his personal dislike of the government, gaining the right to use the post nominals LeD (Licenciado en Derecho) for life . In August 1855, President José Mariano Salas signed a formal edict recognising Mariscal for his talents as a jurist and appointing him as a federal advisor to the government on matters of legal affairs. Throughout the late 1850s and early 1860s, Mariscal served as the head of the Justice Commission, which was responsible for issuing legal advice on the regulation of exile and the jurisdiction of federal courts. Following the debarring of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada from the supreme court prosecution service in 1866, Ignacio Mariscal wrote a paper condemning the government's handling of the affair and threatened to resign, but was persuaded to remain in office by Vice President Félix María Zuloaga. Following President Salas' decision to rerun the 1869 presidential election after losing the first ballot, Ignacio Mariscal resigned from the government Justice Commission in April 1869 and returned to his family home in Oaxaca.

## Political Career

### First Mexican Revolution

After the second round of the 1869 presidential election was held in August 1869, defeated candidate Pedro de Iturbide alleged electoral fraud and launched a rebellion against the government. During this uprising, rebel forces in Oaxaca State deposed governor Juan Miguel Abastacal and installed Ignacio Mariscal as the provisional governor in February 1870. As provisional governor, Mariscal welcomed Iturbide to the state and allowed the rebel forces to create a base of operations in the region. Following the end of the First Mexican Revolution in February 1872, Mariscal met with Pedro de Iturbide and President Juan Almonte as part of reconstruction talks and declined to run for election as permanent governor of Oaxaca in 1873, instead choosing to run for congress as a member of the Restoration Party.

### Congress of Mexico

In the November 1873 general election, Ignacio Mariscal was elected to the Congress of Mexico as a member of the Restoration Party representing Oaxaca State and assumed office on January 1, 1874. Upon his inauguration as a congressman, Mariscal became a member of the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Congress of Mexico and became an advocate for the creation of a designated secretariat for internal affairs. On April 18, 1875, Mariscal was appointed as the parliamentary assistant to foreign secretary Juan de Iturbide - over the course of the 8th Congress of Mexico, Mariscal and Iturbide became increasingly close and were seen as strong political allies. Following Iturbide's appointment as Chairman of Congress, Mariscal was appointed as foreign secretary.

### Secretary for Foreign Affairs

Following the 1877 presidential election, former president Juan Almonte was inaugurated as president of Mexico for a second term on January 1, 1878 with his predecessor Pedro de Iturbide as his vice president - whilst Almonte and Iturbide were political rivals, Iturbide's Restoration Party held a supermajority in congress, meaning that Almonte's second administration was effectively a continuation of Iturbide's regime. On January 1, 1878, Ignacio Mariscal was appointed as secretary of foreign affairs by President Almonte. During the Almonte administration, Secretary Mariscal made frequent diplomatic visits to the Republic of Spain and to the Republic of Dunsteen in a bid to establish deep diplomatic relations between the countries. Similarly, Mariscal made frequent trips to Latin American countries during his tenure. Following Pedro de Iturbide's return to the presidency in September 1881, Mariscal remained in office as foreign secretary and likewise remained in office after Iturbide was appointed as Emperor Pedro II of Mexico under the November 1881 constitution which established the Second Mexican Empire. During the premiership of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada as prime minister, Mariscal remained as foreign secretary and heled the government achieve the reopening of diplomatic relations with the United States of America.

### General Secretary of the Restoration Party

On June 16, 1885, prime minister Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada resigned as general secretary of the Restoration Party. In the subsequent leadership race, Ignacio Mariscal ran for office and gained the backing of Emperor Pedro II of Mexico and Crown Prince Juan; whilst not members of the party, the backing of the two most senior royals gave a significant boost to Mariscal's leadership campaign. On September 13, 1885, Mariscal was sworn in as general secretary of the party and was appointed as prime minster later the same day.

## Premiership

 Emperor
 Election

Ignacio Mariscal was sworn in as president of the Council of Ministers by Emperor Pedro II at midday on September 13, 1885 at a private meeting at the Imperial Palace in Mexico City. Mariscal was the first prime minister under the 1881 constitution and the first in Mexican history to come to office due to a mid-term change in party leadership, rather than by coup, appointment, or election.

### Government

#### First and Second Ministries: 1885-93

Upon assuming office, Ignacio Mariscal conducted a minor reshuffle of his cabinet in order to appoint allies to government. Additionally, Mariscal established the office of Secretary for Internal Affairs, completing a 11 year personal campaign for the establishment of such an office. However, for the most part, Mariscal's first ministry was largely a continuation of the government of his predecessor, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada. Following the 1887 general election, the second Mariscal ministry was effectively identical to the first cabinet, though several deputy ministers and assistants were rotated.

#### Third Ministry: 1893-98

Due to the Restoration Party's loss of control over congress following the 1893 general election, prime minister Ignacio Mariscal initially opened negotiations with the Progressive Party in an attempt to form a coalition, which were later expanded to include 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, Ignacio Mariscal formed his third ministry.

#### Fourth Ministry: 1898-1901

Due to the Restoration Party's failure to regain single party control over congress in the 1898 general election, prime minister Ignacio Mariscal attempted to continue his 1893 coalition government - however, following the removal of Protasio Tagle as leader of the Progressive Party months before the election, the party under the leadership of Manuel González refused to join a new coalition government. Mexican Radical Party leader Benito Juárez initially appeared willing to join a coalition, but was faced with strong internal opposition and ultimately declined to form a government. With no coalition partners, Restoration Party general secretary Ignacio Mariscal instead formed a minority administration on October 23, 1898. In January 1899, the Mexican Radical Party signed an external support agreement to help pass Restoration Party legislation without directly taking part in the government. In November 1898, Mexican Radical Party leader Benito Juárez was forced to resign by Bernardo Reyes, who assumed leadership of the party and terminated the support agreement. Without the backing of the Mexican Radical Party, Ignacio Mariscal's government became unable to pass legislation and subsequently collapsed in January 1901, prompting fresh elections.

### Domestic Policy

The domestic policy of the Mariscal ministry was largely focused on economic restructuring and the continuation of the Mexican industrial revolution, with the government passing laws to deregulate the economy and once again allow a small collection of wealthy businessmen to buy up much of the Mexican economy. In August 1890, the Mexican economy began to experience turbulence after the collapse of the Central Bank of Guanajuato State, which led to the closure of several major industrial producers. By December 1892, the economy had began to recover, prompting Mariscal to call a snap election - however, the election saw the Restoration party lose its majority in congress, forcing it to form a coalition with the Mexican Radical Party and the Progressive Party.

During his third ministry, Ignacio Mariscal's government passed the National Elections Act 1894, which expanded the franchise to include up to six million voters, as well as loosening requirements on party registration. At the behest of Progressive Party leader Protasio Tagle, the act became the legislative priority of the government during its first year in office, before Mexican Radical Party leader Benito Juárez's flagship constitutional amendment process was opened in September 1894 to constitutionally limit the power of the government in the lives of citizens. Similarly, with the Mexican Radical Party possessing control over the armed forces, the government pursued aggressive cuts to the military budget and redeployed some of the military away from the American border after the United States expanded its security forces in the region.

### Foreign Policy

As a former secretary for foreign affairs, Ignacio Mariscal's administration had a significant focus on foreign policy, particularly during the periods 1885-93 and 1898-1901 when the Restoration Party held full control over the Secretariat for Foreign Affairs. One of the most significant foreign policy objectives of the Mariscal premiership was the continued deepening of diplomatic relations with both the United States of America and the Spanish Republic, which Mariscal perceived to be the two natural diplomatic partners of Mexico. In 1888, Ignacio Mariscal hosted a Latin America diplomatic meeting in Mexico City, attended by representatives of twenty different state and provincial level governments in the region. Following the formation of the Third Mariscal Ministry in 1893, the government passed new laws to allow for increased investment from British, American, and Spanish banks into the Mexican economy.

### Elections

During his tenure as prime minister, Ignacio Mariscal contested four general elections (1887, 1893, 1898, and 1901) and successfully formed governments following the first three elections. Following the 1887 general election, the Restoration Party made minor losses but retained its supermajority and formed a new ministry. However, following an economic downturn and general public frustration at their representation by the same party since 1874, the government lost its majority in the 1893 general election and was forced to form a coalition with the Mexican Radical Party and the Progressive Party to remain in office. After five years of a tense coalition government, the Restoration party remained without a majority following the 1898 general election but received the external support of the Mexican Radical Party to remain in office. However in November 1890, Mexican Radical Party leader Benito Juárez was ousted by Bernardo Reyes - under Reyes, the Mexican Radical Party withdrew its support for the government, which collapsed two months later, necessitating further general elections in 1901 which saw the Restoration Party return to opposition for the first time in 27 years.

## Post-premiership

Following the 1901 general election, Ignacio Mariscal formally tendered his resignation as prime minister to Emperor Pedro II on March 1, 1901 prior to the first session of the newly elected 14th Congress of Mexico and briefly served as caretaker prime minister until March 3, 1901, when Bernardo Reyes formally took office as prime minister. After stepping down as prime minister, Mariscal remained as a member of congress and as general secretary of the Restoration Party, effectively serving as leader of the opposition. During his period in opposition, Mariscal came under pressure from members of his party discontented with allowing a defeated prime minister to remain as party leader, whilst other factions disagreed with his policy positions. In May 1904, Mariscal was ousted as party leader and replaced by Francisco León de la Barra, who assumed office with the backing of Emperor Pedro II. Having lost his position within the party, Ignacio Mariscal declined to run for re-election in 1907 and retired from active politics. In 1910, he died of old age and was given a small private funeral.

## Styles and Titles

* 1829 - 1859: *Señor* **Ignacio Mariscal**
* 1859 - 1870: *Señor* **Ignacio Mariscal** LeD
* 1870 - 1874: *His Excellency*, **Ignacio Mariscal** LeD
* 1874 - 1907: *The Honourable* **Ignacio Mariscal** MC LeD
* 1907 - 1910: *The Honourable* **Ignacio Mariscal** LeD