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Part Seventy-Four: Iberian Shifts

The Alfonsine Reforms in Spain:
Spain's defeat in the Second Napoleonic War was an even larger defeat in prestige for the regime of Queen Isabella II. Spain had suffered many losses in the war for nothing and had been forced to cede Minorca, considered an integral part of the country as one of the Belaeric Islands, to France. Additionally, the balanced system in the Cortes Generales between the Partido Moderado and the Partido Progresivo that had endured for all of Isabella's reign had begun to break down. The Carlists had been experiencing a resurgence in the north as part of a resistance against French occupation while in other regions of the country, the monarchy and both old parties had lost much of their legitimacy after the Second Napoleonic War.

Dissatisfaction with the political status quo in Spain grew quickly and by 1871 many Carlists were openly calling for the abdication of Isabella. Along with the Carlists, many liberal politicians started calling for her abdication and in 1872 Leopoldo O'Donnell[1] of the Union Liberal was elected as Prime Minister. O'Donnell was an advocate for the Queen's abdication and brought much of the Cortes against the Queen. With this much weight behind the call, Queen Isabella relented and abdicated in favor of her son Alfonso, who was crowned Alfonso XII in July of 1872[2].

Upon Alfonso's coronation, he began collaborating with Prime Minister O'Donnell in embarking on liberal reforms. Alfonso granted further governing functions to the Cortes Generales and moved the role of the king further toward that of a figurehead. During the 1870s and 1880s, Alfonso also used the royal treasury to fund the construction of factories to improve the Spanish economy after the European Wars. These factories were accompanied by a nationalized royal railroad system spanning all of Spain. Alfonso also brought Spain back into the colonial game, expanding Spanish interests in Morocco, Camaroon[3], and consolidating Spanish control over the Philippines.


Morelian Collectivism:
In Ibero-America, the struggle between the conservatives and liberals in many countries continued through much of the 19th century. However, in the latter half of the century a new ideology arose and was thrown into the mix. Based around the socialist ideals gaining popularity in Europe, the movement that would become Morelian collectivism started in the Mexican states with Benito Juarez.

Juarez had become the leader of the Mexican state of Oaxaca and crafted his presidency around the beliefs of Mexican Revolution leader Jose Maria Morelos. As the first mestizo leader in Oaxaca, Juarez enacted land reform legislation in Oaxaca that gave the many landless peasants a means to make a living. Juarez also incorporated Christian teachings into the basis for his reforms to appeal to the clergy, using references from the Bible as a justification for advancing socialist ideas. Juarez was a popular president in Oaxaca, but also became a popular leader abroad with his pushes for a united Mesoamerican country.

Beginning in the 1870s, the discovery of Mayan temples by explorers and the need for economic cooperation created a resurgence in a unifying nationalism in Mesoamaerica. With the recreation of Gran Colombia, several of the smaller nations became worried about imperial expansion of Gran Colombia to the north. Juarez, who dreamed of a united Mesoamerican state, brought the Central American countries together in the Conference of Tehuantepec in 1887. Most of the attendees of the conference agreed to the formation of a united federal republic. The Federal Union of Meso-American Republics, was formed in 1888 and consisted of the countries stretching from Oaxaca to Nicaragua. The only refusals to join came from Veracruz and Costa Rica; the more Anglo elite in Veracruz were worried about the Ibero influence on the port, while Costa Rica declined due to Nicaragua's refusal to give up territorial disputes and had already secured protection from the United States and felt the FUMAR would not serve its interests. Since Juarez declined the Mesoamerican presidency due to his age, Porfirio Diaz, also of Oaxaca, was elected to the position.

During the presidencies of Porfirio Diaz and his successor Justo Rufino Barrios[4], Morelian collectivism was spread to the constituent republics beginning with agrarian reforms in the other provinces of the country. Outside the FUMAR, Morelian collectivism became popular in other Ibero-American countries with large mestizo and indigenous populations such as Bolivia. Morelian political movements were formed in most Ibero countries and contributed to the spread of nascent socialism from Europe to the Americas.

[1] Leopoldo O'Donnell was actually a Prime Minister of Spain in OTL. Those Irish-Spaniards sure do get around. :O
[2] After Alfonso was crowned, there was a brief Carlist War, but it was too minor to be mentioned.
[3] The Rio Muni colony that became Equatorial Guinea. It's expanded a bit.
[4] OTL President of Guatemala who had visions of reuniting Central America.