Opposite Versions of the Concept of Public Opinion. Mexico, first half of the Nineteenth Century
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Abstract
The modern and liberal definition of the idea of public opinion spread from Cadix to Spanish América during the 1810s. In Mexico the concept was taken up by enlightened elites which used it as a tool to justify their reform and secularisation strategy. However, contrary to what they had expected, the instrumentalisation of the concept spread beyond enlightened circles. Conceptually mixed up with traditional notions such as «public spirit» or with apparently more modern ones such as «the will of the people», public opinion undermined the constitutional system and representative government principles by being invocated by various social and political forces to justify their extra-legal interventions in public affairs.
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