El ascenso criollo y la construcción de la independencia mexicana, una aproximación genealógica

Abstract

This essay analyzes two letters written by Ambrosio Eugenio Melgarejo de Santaella addressed to the Viceroy of New Spain, the Count of Aranda, and the King of Spain, Carlos III, respectively. In such correspondence, Melgarejo requested royal favors to have their children “lustrosamente establecidos” [prestigiously established]. Foucault's theory of genealogy, will shed some light about the meaning of regal concessions within the colonial context in New Spain, and the importance of lineage in the establishment of a creole identity. In the study of Ambrosio’s manuscripts there is a representation of symbolic elements that are key to Mexico’s independence. In addition, it is possible to study Ambrosio Eugenio’s letters as the starting point of some of the practices that afflict Hispanic societies today, such as the lack of transparency of public institutions, or the social, and economic inequalities among different ethnic groups.