Mexico’s Bicentennial: The Unending Fight Against Tyranny
Ray Walser /
Two centuries ago in Mexico a powerful advocate proposed New World freedoms and liberty as the answer to Old World tyranny. The voice came from an obscure Catholic priest named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and, issued on September 16, 1810, is remembered as the famous call for Mexican independence from Spain. Like Americans in the 1770s, Mexicans of the 1810s recognized that citizens no longer derive their laws and rights from divine or monarchical authority but from the people and the consent of the governed.
On this historic bicentennial of Hidalgo’s declaration, we join in the celebration of Mexico’s independence and freedom.
For Mexico’s citizens, this bicentennial moment provides an opportunity to renew their commitment to advance human freedom, individual liberty, and the pursuit of a democratic way of life. The Mexican people take justified pride in their successes over the last two centuries as they have become an increasingly middle-class country, a global economic player, and the world’s 13th largest economy. Mexican democracy is making great strides as it has moved beyond dictatorship and one-party democracy to a modern, competitive system. Active competition among political parties and an increasingly vocal civil society are transforming Mexico’s political life. (more…)