A nascent national identity

Spain's instability combined with Criollo resentment would spark the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821). General Iturbide's Three-Guarantee Army entry into the now named Plaza de la Constitución (1812) signaled the end of the War of Independence. Iturbide, named Emperor of Mexico, and the newly established Congress attempted to go about the business of the nascent country. By 1823, the Empire collapsed and a three-branched representative, but centralized, democracy was established. The Federal District (D.F.) was established as the country's capital, utilizing a radius emanating from Mexico City's Plaza. In this insipient period, the Plaza became a national metaphor, as political and improvement efforts were proposed but never successfully executed at the national level or in regard to the Plaza. During this period the Plaza would acquire the sobriquet "Zócalo", in reference to President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's failed attempt to beautify the Plaza with a monument. Political violence, not only between liberals and conservatives but also within their own ranks, proved disastrous, as a divided Mexico would suffer the humiliating occupation of the Zócalo by the US Army during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).