？Cambios políticos mediante nuevos procedimientos? El impacto de los procesos electorales en los pueblos de indios de Oaxaca bajo el sistema liberal

the political process beginning in 1808 in the spanish empire brought about substantial changes in political culture. the constitution of cádiz introduced general elections with profound implications on power relations at every level, the national, regional and local, that is. while these changes have been studied mostly for the formerly spanish social sphere less scholarship focuses on the impact elections had on the indigenous villages. therefore, the present article analyses the electoral processes in the heavily indigenous province of oaxaca from 1814 onwards. it intends to show that the hypothesis of a growing local autonomy for the indigenous population vis-a-vis the state has to be rectified.