Fernando I of Mejico
Fernando I (11 April 1882 - 27 September 1952), also known as "The Castizo" (Spanish: El Castizo), was King of Mejico from 1931 until his passing in 1952. Fernando I is known for his close collaboration with Mejican dictator José Vasconcelos, for forming a duumvirate of sorts with him, and for his role in the Fall of Communism in Europe. He is considered to have played a key role in turning Mejico into a global superpower.
Born in 1882 to Agustín of Mejico and Mariana Augusta of New Granada, then Dukes of Tlaxcala, Fernando was brought up during the beginning of the Liberal Trentenniun, preceding his father's exile. Intellectually inclined, Fernando proved to be a young prodigy, with a great talent for history, science, philosophy, sports and literary studies. During his early life, he was known for his speeches in support of liberalism and his collaborations with many Mejican periodicals, as well as his occasional advocacy for democracy. With the exile of his family at the age of 30, however, Fernando's political views began to show signs of transformation, partly influenced by the rising tide of nationalist ideologies around the world.
His experiences were shaped by the tumultuous events of his father's reign in exile, leading him to adopt a more authoritarian stance, emphasizing order, cultural identity, and national unity. As he matured, Fernando cultivated a paternalistic vision for Mejico, advocating for a strong, central authority that could steer the nation towards what he saw as its destined greatness. The political treatises published during his exile elaborated on his conception of the monarch as the embodiment of the legitimate collective will in a dictatorship and also espoused anti-revolutionary ideas. Deeply opposed to the presidencies of both Obregón and Calles, Fernando helped raise money for the Christiad, and formed close relations with José Vasconcelos.
The return of the Mejican royal family to the country in 1929 marked an important restoration of the monarchy. Taking the throne upon his father's death in 1931, Fernando's reign would be characterised by a cooperative relationship with José Vasconcelos, who had won the presidential election in 1930. As Vasconcelos grew increasingly authoritarian, elections were eventually abolished in early 1940, after the Cooperativist Party's large surge in both chambers of the Imperial Congress. Fernando I and Vasconcelos formed a duumvirate, where both men operated in tandem, with the monarch endorsing many of the dictator's policies and decisions. Fernando actively supported Vasconcelos' brand of corporatism and his ideology of Castizaje.
During the extremely volatile 1930s and 1940s in Europe, which saw the rise of fascist movements, Fernando navigated the landscape with a measure of pragmatism and ideological selectivity. He and Vasconcelos were both admirers of the authoritarian aspects of European fascist regimes, although they rejected the ideas of racial supremacy that underpinned many of these movements. Fernando voiced his support and materialized it with military and monetary aid to nationalist movements in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Britain, Romania, Poland and Byzantium. His anti-Communism would boil over into open conflict against the Communard Republic of North America in 1941, defeating the republic and re-installing the Louisianan Royal Family to the throne.
Fernando viewed communism as a direct threat to monarchical institutions and established alliances with like-minded factions across the globe. In his efforts against Communist expansion, he provided covert support to the Mladorossi movement, which played a pivotal role in deposing the government of Leon Trotsky in 1949. Together with this, he played a pivotal role in combatting Communism in South America, and especially in Cuba, determined to thwart these ideologies from taking root near Mejican territories, dispatching advisors and resources.
In the later years of his reign, Fernando focused on consolidating his power at home. He was instrumental in re-establishing institutions such as the Inquisition, which, although modernized, was a symbol of the old alliance between the Church and the monarchy. The "Mejican Miracle", a period marked by an incredible surge in economic growth, also began during this time, propelling the country onto the path to becoming a global superpower.