Resumen de Los debates en torno al Patronato eclesiástico a comienzos de la época republicana: el caso de Michoacán
The discussion over the Patronato Real in Mexico after reaching independence reflects the difficult relationship between the Church and the recently formed Mexican state. This paper examines the process in which the idea of the division of powers was discussed by ecc1esiastics and laymen. Especially, we examine the views of the archbishop of Michoacán, Juan Cayetano Gómez de Portugal, on the Patronato and the new Mexican nation; being both a liberal constitutionalist and a defender of ecc1esiastical privileges, he was caught between two conflictive theoretical positions. Through Gómez de Portugal 's writings we are able to trace how in the first half of the 19th century the Church's initial hope that an independent Mexico would protect ecc1esiastical privileges - threatened by the Borbonic Reforms - was frustrated.
