José Ponciano Arriaga Mejía (1811–1865) was a lawyer and radical

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician from the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí.

Biography

Arriaga rose to prominence in the late 1840s and is particularly known for pushing for the equality of people through

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically h ...

. Arriaga proposed a law in which the government would confiscate lands from the local hacienda owners and redistribute it to the local Indian population. Later in his career, Arriaga proposed landowners who possessed more than 15 square leagues, had to begin cultivating their land or forfeit it. Arriaga further proposed that anyone who did not own at least 50 pesos worth of land would be exempt from most

taxes A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...

. The focus for Arriaga on equality through property rights stems from his argument that "despite the fundamental laws of the land, a privileged caste would be able to establish an aristocracy of wealth and monopolize land and political power." Arriaga is also known for proposing a law that would establish a public attorney to represent the poor. Ponciano Arriaga has served in multiple political positions including: *

Minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

*Constitutional Congressman representing eight constituencies:

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

Mexico State The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

, Michoacán, Jalisco, Puebla,

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

as well as San Luis Potosí and the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...

. * Secretary of the Interior *Defensor de los Fondos de Beneficencia * President of the Chamber of Deputies in 1856 and 1862-1863. Arriaga, in his position as First Minister of the Interior, participated in writing the first draft of the 1857 Mexican constitution, later earning him the title of "Father of the 1857 constitution." The

Ponciano Arriaga International Airport Ponciano may refer to: *Girau do Ponciano, a municipality in the western of the Brazilian state of Alagoas * Ponciano Arriaga International Airport, an international airport at San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico * San Ponciano church, a cha ...

in San Luis Potosí is dedicated to Arriaga's memory. Arriaga is entombed in the Mexican National Rotunda (Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arriaga, Ponciano 1811 births 1865 deaths Liberalism in Mexico Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) 19th-century Mexican lawyers Mexican Secretaries of the Interior People from San Luis Potosí City Mexican people of Basque descent 19th-century Mexican politicians Politicians from San Luis Potosí