was done. But the reformed plan, or plan of Palo Blanco, as it was called, was but the original one in another form. Iglesias was required to recognize it in toto, otherwise the general-in-chief would be invested with the executive power.[1] As Iglesias, the president of the supreme court, the legitimate successor of a deposed executive, was a strong constitutionalist, he would not entertain the revolutionary proposals,[2] and rejected the plan.
Favored by the defection of the troops and garrison at Matamoros, Diaz entered that city April 2d, after a slight engagement with the cavalry which sallied out against him. The surrendered forces, amounting to 400 infantry and over 300 cavalry, were set at liberty. Escobedo, however, was already on the march to the frontier with 6,000 men in different columns, and on his approach Diaz, though he had been joined by Treviño and Naranjo, and his forces were daily increasing, was obliged to evacuate Matamoros, and directed his course with the cavalry toward Monterey, while Gonzalez with the infantry marched southward through the Huasteca. It was the intention of Diaz
- ↑ The following is a synopsis of the reformed plan: Art. 1st. The constitution of 1857, the reform act of Sept. 25, 1873, and the law of Dec. 14, 1874, are the supreme laws of the republic. 2d. Non-reelection of the president of the republic and governors of the states shall be a supreme law until it be legally made a constitutional reform. 3d. Lerdo de Tejada, and all functionaries appointed by him, are no longer recognized, nor the elections of July 1875. 4th. Governors of states who accept this plan will be recognized. Where this is not the case, the general-in-chief will appoint a provisional governor. 5th. The elections for the supreme powers of the union will be held two months after the occupation of the capital, and conducted in conformity with the electoral laws of Feb. 12, 1857, and Dec. 23, 1872. 6th. The executive power, with only administrative faculties, will reside in the president of the supreme court, provided that he accept this plan in all its parts, and publish his recognition of it within one month after the publication of the plan in the journals of the capital. In case of his refusal, the general-in-chief will be invested with the executive power. 7th. On the assembling of the eighth constitutional congress, the object of their first labors will be the constitutional reform which guarantees the independence of municipalities, and the law conferring a political organization on the federal district and Lower California. 8th. Generals, chiefs, and officers who support this plan will be retained in their positions. Diario Debates, 8° Cong., i. 3-5. Consult also Velasco, Planes de Tuxtepec y Palo Blanco, 8-11; La Voz de Méj., Apr. 8, 1876.
- ↑ See his letter, published in Diario Oficial, Apr. 8, 1976, and Tagle, Circular Exped., 4.
