Reglamento para Gobierno Interior de la Soberana Junta Provisional Gubernativa del Imperio Mexicano
Mexico: D. Alejandro Valdes, 1821. 28pp. Disbound. Light toning, scattered staining. About very good. Item #5207
An extremely scarce pamphlet that comprises the set of rules governing the meetings and deliberations of the first legislative body established in newly independent Mexico at the end of 1821. As part of the Treaty of Cordoba that granted independence in September 1821, Agustin de Iturbide and Juan O'Donojú, the last viceroy of colonial New Spain, negotiated that Mexico would be ruled by a Regency and a provisional legislative junta until a constitution could be written and approved. Iturbide was head of the Regency, and he controlled most of the thirty-six members appointed to the junta, which eventually voted for him to be crowned Emperor of Mexico in May 1822. Although Iturbide dissolved the body after they came to loggerheads shortly into his brief reign, the junta was nevertheless responsible for passing the first laws of the new Mexican state.
The present work puts forth the operating rules for the Junta Provisional Gobernativa in eleven sections, each with a dedicated topic. The initial sections establish general rules for body meetings -- sessions from nine to one, no women, etc. -- before moving on to the duties of the president, vice-president, secretaries, and members. Interestingly, the section concerning the president and vice-president lays out the manner of their first election, to take place on November 28, 1821, and clearly following the publication of these rules. The remaining sections prescribe the manner in which laws can be proposed, how they should be debated, how they can be voted upon, and how they can be approved and passed to the Regency. The final section lays forth various oaths and ceremonies that ought to be performed at certain times, and includes an oath of allegiance for each member to the Treaty of Cordoba and the Plan of Iguala. The ultimate clause notes a publication date of November 14, 1821, less than two months after the Treaty of Cordoba was agreed. A foundational document for the first independent legislative body in Mexico, and rare; OCLC records only one copy in U.S. institutions, at Yale.
Price: $6,750.00