Diary of a Mexican Government Official

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16 September 1810

Dear Diary, Today early in the morning the fight for independence started. Our very own Christian priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is the leader of this war. We are fighting against the Spanish authorities of our colony. It’s an outrage to all of us. We also have rebels in this war everything that was in order is now falling apart because of the need for independence against the Spaniards. In the United States of America they had a revolt against the British and now we are having a revolt against Spain. Everything that used to be under control now has become chaotic. What are we going to do with most of Mexico rebelling against the Spaniards?

We have Spaniards within Mexico that were born here. We have Mestizos and Amerindians who are against our colony ruler. It’s so hard to keep order and keep of track of everything that happens in Mexico because of this war! Whenever I wake up I hear gunshots in the distance. It is the most annoying descion that anyone made in order to gain independence. Before our war Napoleon had to start the French revolution and that sparked more wars within Europe and soon came down to Latin America and came to Mexico. No one cares for order they care about Independence and only Independence. Sometimes I just want to scream at the colonists of Mexico to stop the war. No one listens to the government they only listen to our revolutionary leader. Everyone within the government of Mexico is outraged as much as I am at this war. Well, diary I will keep you posted on what is happening with the war it’s the only thing I can do right now until this whole revolution blows over and never comes back.

6 November 1813 Dear Diary,

Today our congress passed the first Declaration of Independence of Mexico. It is so irritating to deal with. What is going to happen to us after this document is passed? I am way too worried about the war and the government to agree to the declaration. Jose Maria Morlos is now our revolutionary leader what is going to happen next? He conquered two cities but are we going to keep him in order to help us gain independence? I hope not. I hope that they kill him like they did to Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla so this war can end. As this war is happening a lot of our money is going out the window after this we might get into an Economic crisis. They are probably going to blame us for this war and the economic trouble. We keep changing revolutionary leader why did we even have this war? What did Spain ever do to us? As I said before this war is something we should not ever again it is so annoying to deal with! I want this war to end now then later so we can get back to our normal lives. “Jose Maria Morelos” Wikipedia. 2009. 30 Nov. 2009. [1]</ref>

24 August 1821 Dear Diary, Today the revolution finally ended! The rebels finally calmed down and everything is getting back in order so now we have control over everyone under the treaty of Cordoba. This document makes it clear that we finally have independence from Spain. It is a great day for everyone in Mexico including my fellow government officials. We are relieved that the war has finally ended. This treaty is something we agreed that is the start of the first Mexican Empire! So I guess we no longer have monarchy but will we have a dictatorship or a democracy? Who knows what will happen next after this treaty is passed? At least we have peace with Spain but we are now known as New Spain it is really good that we are our own government but it may also have problems. What if we have another revolt then everything will be out of place and disorganized and we will have to get reorganized again. The cycle of war will start up again and fall again. I really hope we never have another war again because if we do I will be so annoyed and ready to pull my hair out. I would also be ready to trash at somebody if they mention anything about a war. During this revolution every single person who worked in the offices of the government were about ready to yell out the window to tell the rebels to stop fighting. When I was at home I would close the window shade and lock my windows and door so that rebels or anyone wouldn’t come crashing through my door ready to kill me for being against the fight with Spain. Well, diary at least we won the war and are able to keep order once again. “Independence” Wikipedia. 2009. 30 Nov 2009. [2]</ref> “Treaty of Cordoba” Wikiapedia. 2009. 30 Nov. 2009 [3]</ref>

20 March 1811 Mexico

Dear Diary,

The entire country is going mad; we are in the midst of the peak of the revolution. I am going to go insane soon if things don’t begin to calm down soon. Attempting to help and satisfy both sides of the revolution is begging to take a toll on me, it’s nearly impossible! Today was what I hoped to have been the peak of the revolution, the fighting and chaos is in full swing. The rebel armies defeated the insurgents at Puenta de Calderon today on the Lerma River near Guadalajara. And tomorrow they plan to capture Hidalgo and Allende at Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Bajan using the mass of troops we used to defeat the armies today. Due to the large masses, there is nothing we can do to stop them, they are a force to be reckoned with.

I should have seen this whole ordeal coming; I mean it was only a matter of time before the citizens revolted against the barely functional government. Already in the early 1800’s you could see the citizens losing trust and losing their excitement for the colonial rule. By this point they were beginning to form smaller governments that each wanted to lead to a self-governing country, not a bad idea at all in my opinion. The separations of power had began to be so great, that soon enough damage would be even worse than it is at this point. The upper classman, although I am one myself, are an overall greedy group of people. We were looking out for the best interest of ourselves, and what is best for our lifestyle, and although the people don’t always agree with our decisions, we can easily see that it is what’s best for them as a whole. This idea of a type of republic in a way, rather than an absolute ruler took flight. Soon enough, the idea began to materialize in the rebels heads, and this idea of a reformed governments seemed to be within their reach, until it leaked out of the government, who stopped this extreme act from happening.

This stopping of the rebels “plan” to take over the government resulted, in turn, in some major social problems. Socially, the division was even greater between the upper class who wanted to keep the monarchy, and the absolute ruler that benefited them, and the lower classes who wanted the colonies to have a representative union government that would make their voices heard in politics, and not just he voices of the rich men. This division later resulted in the two sided fighting later on as the revolution is developing.

My concern as a government official is that the fighting will get completely out of hand, almost beyond repair and that the government will no longer have any control what so ever, the control will be solely in the hands of the dangerous people. If this boundary is crossed than the entire country could be in danger. The economic side of the government will begin to decline and without structure there will be complete chaos in the streets. There will be no order to life; people will be wandering around doing whatever they want with no one to reprimand them.

Although I have many worries as a government leader for this country, the Revolution will hopefully have a positive impact on the future of Mexico. The Rebels will hopefully cease the fighting and let their voices be heard by the ideally, open minded upper-class. And although this is rare, maybe the upper-class men will find a compromise with the Rebels. Maybe they can find a way to find a representative government for both populations where the upper-class will still hold their power, partially, but also in a way that the lower-classes can be heard and can have their opinions affect the Mexican government. Ideally, politically the government will develop a form of representation where both classes can be represented accurately where they can both be content. And ideally, socially, the Mexican colonies will form one union where there can be a more simple government, hopefully resulting in a little more social equality and social justice among the classes. Ideally the upper-class will give away some of their power to the government and the overall good of the people therefore chaos can be decreased and order can be regained in the Mexican Government.

Recently the fighting has been getting out of hand, the revolution is completely underway and the rebels are fighting the upperclassmen. And although the upperclassmen have money on their side, the rebels are fighting for something real, which could help them in the end. They are fighting for a chance at their own voices being heard, not just a chance to keep the other people of the country out of their life, keep them hidden. The rebels are fighting for a major life change for them, while the upperclassmen are just fighting to keep the lower-class “nuisances” out of the way. Hopefully the fighting will calm down soon and all problems can be resolved in a manner that will successfully please both sides, the rebels and the upper-class population.

References

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"Latin America, history of." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 20 Nov. 2008 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-60882>.

"Mexico: 1810-1910." Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. 5 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/>.

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