Of Patriots and Traitors. The Ideological Odyssey of José Fernando Ramírez (1804–1871) and Its Relevance for Reflecting on Contemporary Mexico

Abstract

When in contemporary Mexico terms like “patriots” or “traitors,” more fitting for other eras, are used in a banal, dangerous, and irresponsible manner, it is history that must provide perspective on the dynamic events of the present. With this objective, aiming to distance itself from the dichotomies in which current Mexican society seems to be sinking, this article delves into the complex figure of José Fernando Ramírez, who lived and participated in the turbulent times of Mexico’s nation-building during the 19th century. As a historian, jurist, and politician, Ramírez had a distinguished public career, serving multiple times as a minister and even as a justice of the Supreme Court. However, his political trajectory paralleled a complex ideological journey that took José Fernando Ramírez from radical liberalism to more moderate positions, eventually leading him to collaborate with the Second Mexican Empire. Thus, this article seeks to analyze the particular circumstances of Ramírez, with the primary aim of providing an explanatory answer to the ideological odyssey undertaken by numerous Mexican liberals of his generation, which led them from being considered patriots to being labeled as traitors. Additionally, from a historical perspective and through the analysis of Ramírez’s case, it aims to contribute to a reflection that reduces the exclusionary dichotomous political practices present today, where self-proclaimed immaculate patriots deny this status to former political rivals, classifying them as enemies to be defeated or simply as traitors to the homeland.