Another question from me (ain't I asking too many of them?)
What political events must've taken place for the newly independent Mexico to be more prosperous and more politically stable to
1. Successfully fend off US troops during Mexican-American war, keeping California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona as a part of Mexico
2. Become a major power to rival the US by 1900
IMHO Mexico's biggest problem was that the entire counrey stemmed from a colonial tradition vastly different from the English one - England had a long history of capitalism and liberal thought, Spain and it's colonies were preyyu much medieval in mentality by early 19th century. Maybe if the founding fathers of Mexico lived longer and took an active role in politics, it might've been possible to get the country on a right track?