Abstract

MARTINEZ CARMONA, Gabriel. Financial Diplomacy and Mediation in the Renegotiation of Mexico’s External Debt, 1836-1842. Hist. mex. [online]. 2022, vol.71, n.3, pp.1193-1234.  Epub Dec 13, 2021. ISSN 2448-6531.  https://doi.org/10.24201/hm.v71i3.4360.

This article analyzes one episode of financial diplomacy: the negotiations for the restructuring of Mexico’s external debt that occurred from 1836 to 1842. Here, the Mexican government made use of a financial agent, the firm of F. de Lizardi and Company, owned by a family of Mexican origin. The proposal made to bondholders involved the creation of a consolidated fund that would combine the two original loans, with old bonds being exchanged for new ones, half of which would not generate interest and could be exchanged for land in northern Mexico. This strategy allowed the interest to be reduced by half and allowed for the colonization of the country’s north, thus creating a barrier to the expansionist interests of the United States, particularly in Texas. Following the proposals of Gould and Fernández, this article seeks to analyze the role of the financial agent as an intermediary between different interests, arguing that this financial intermediary acted more as a “connection” than a “representative,” and so Mexico’s financial interests were affected by the final settlement. For this purpose, there is extensive analysis of the correspondence between the financial agent, the different representatives of Mexico in London, the bondholders and the Mexican Finance and Foreign Affairs ministers, which are stored in Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Archive, as well as the contemporary press.

Keywords : Diplomacy; Mexican External Debt; 19th Century; Texas.

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