1 April 2018 -- Special to Mexpatriate
With Chapultepec Castle forming an historical backdrop, he announced it was "time for Mexico to put two hundred years of strife behind it. It is time for the chaos to end. Mexicans deserve prosperity. They deserve order. They deserve peace.
"The only period of our history when this nation had one spirit was when my great great great great great uncle was on the Mexican throne. It is time for Mexico to be proud of its glory. It is time to put another Iturbide on the throne of Mexico."
Since its independence from Spain, Mexico has had two emperors. The first was Agustín Jerónimo de Iturbide y Huarte, the Spanish general who switched sides to give Mexico its independence in 1821. His act of perfidy may be why Mexicans have been reluctant to claim him as the Father of Mexico. Plus the fact that he ended up dying in front of a Mexican firing squad.
Because Mexico could not find any European royalty to don the crown, Congress elected Iturbide as Emperor of Mexico. He was to enjoy that title for less than a year before he was overthrown in a military coup led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, one of Mexico's true scalawags.
Irreal Iturbide evoked his uncle's legacy as a blueprint for Mexico's future. "The Emperor Agustín did not need to be elected in some democratic sham. He embodied the spirit of Mexico, as do I. I represent no special interests. I am above corruption. I represent the true common people who have no voice. The rest of the candidates running for the presidency represent only fragments of this great country.
"I am tied to no ideology. I represent one Mexico. One body. One communion. In me, Mexico will be great again."
The second emperor was the Hapsburg archduke, Maximilian I, who was invited to serve by Mexican conservatives and supported by French imperial troops. Maximilian adopted one of Emperor Augustin's children to be his heir. The current titular claimant to the Mexican throne is a descendant of that adoption, Count Maximilian von Götzen-Iturbide.
When asked whether he had talked with Count Maximilian, Iturbide responded: "Of course, not. He is a German. I am Mexican. This is a Mexican throne. Through my father I am an Iturbide. Through my mother, I am a direct descendant of Moctezuma. No one better represents the blood of Mexico than do I."
If current polls are any indication, the man who would be king has a lot of people to convince that he should be president. Early soundings indicate his support at .0001%.
When last seen, Iturbide was measuring curtains for Chapultepec Castle, a place he wants to return to its former status as the home of the executive.
Purple seems to be his preferred color.
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