IOTL, when the First Mexican Empire gained independence from Spain, the new country was very sparsely populated, with a total population of 6.2M, and almost 10% of the population, primarily young men – having been killed during the Mexican War of Independence, leaving the young nation with a labour shortage. Mexican liberals argued in favor of allowing foreigners to immigrate; citing the opportunity to emulate the United States' booming population and economic growth, which was largely attributed to immigration. However, opponents claimed that it'd be too difficult to attract settlers, and that these immigrants wouldn't assimilate into Mexican society.
Emperor Agustin de Iturbide made colonization a priority for his administration; appointing a government commission, headed by Juan Francisco Azcárate y Ledesma, to come up with a plan, which recommended following the precedent of the Spanish policy of allocating Empresarios (as well as the revision of said Spanish policy in 1820, and which had made it more flexible, and allowed colonists of any religion to settle there, rather than requiring any settlers to be Catholic as had previously been the case), and inviting foreign settlers to help colonize Coahuila, Nuevo Santander, Baja California, Alta California, New Mexico, and Texas. The proposal suggested that Europeans and American citizens be recruited for most of the states and provinces, but recommended sending Mexican convicts and recruiting Chinese settlers for California (Baja & Alta) instead. However, Iturbide's primary concern was stabilizing the new government, and the Imperial Colonization Law was not signed until February 18, 1823; with Iturbide overthrown only a month later, and the law being annulled shortly thereafter.
The newly proclaimed Republic of Mexico did approve immigration on a wider basis once more a year later, but unlike the Imperial Colonization Law of 1823, its successor, the General Colonization Law of 1824, required immigrants to practice Catholicism and stressed that foreigners needed to learn Spanish. This statute also banned foreigners from gaining titles to land that was within 20 leagues (84km) of the border of another country or within 10 leagues (42km) of the coast; but in most other respects, there were markedly fewer specifics, with states being directed to design their own statutes to implement the federal law (or not to implement it, as the case may be). And accordingly, the northern state of Coahuila y Tejas was the fastest to pass its own state law implementing the federal plan on March 24, 1825; with this ultimately leading to the Republic of Texas' secession, and the newly independent Texas continuing its own version of the Empresario program until its accession to the United States of America.
So then, what do you think might have happened, in an alternate TL where the First Mexican Empire endured for at least a few more years, and the original Mexican Imperial Colonization Law was actually brought into effect in accordance with the original plans of Azcárate y Ledesma? What might have been the impact of extending the scope and scale of the Mexican Empresario Programs ITTL- would it strength, or weaken, Mexico's relative strength ITTL compared to IOTL? And even if it did wind up weaken Mexico's control over the areas settled under TTL's greatly expanded Empresario programs instead, and result in all of these hitherto largely unpopulated northernmost territories breaking away much like the Republic of Texas did IOTL (and the Republic of Fredonia tried and failed to do before that), what might be the fate of these multiple 'Empresario Republics'? Particularly the proposed Empresarios in the Californias ITTL, predominantly populated by Chinese settlers as had originally been planned by Imperial Mexico. What do you think their fate might be?
Emperor Agustin de Iturbide made colonization a priority for his administration; appointing a government commission, headed by Juan Francisco Azcárate y Ledesma, to come up with a plan, which recommended following the precedent of the Spanish policy of allocating Empresarios (as well as the revision of said Spanish policy in 1820, and which had made it more flexible, and allowed colonists of any religion to settle there, rather than requiring any settlers to be Catholic as had previously been the case), and inviting foreign settlers to help colonize Coahuila, Nuevo Santander, Baja California, Alta California, New Mexico, and Texas. The proposal suggested that Europeans and American citizens be recruited for most of the states and provinces, but recommended sending Mexican convicts and recruiting Chinese settlers for California (Baja & Alta) instead. However, Iturbide's primary concern was stabilizing the new government, and the Imperial Colonization Law was not signed until February 18, 1823; with Iturbide overthrown only a month later, and the law being annulled shortly thereafter.
The newly proclaimed Republic of Mexico did approve immigration on a wider basis once more a year later, but unlike the Imperial Colonization Law of 1823, its successor, the General Colonization Law of 1824, required immigrants to practice Catholicism and stressed that foreigners needed to learn Spanish. This statute also banned foreigners from gaining titles to land that was within 20 leagues (84km) of the border of another country or within 10 leagues (42km) of the coast; but in most other respects, there were markedly fewer specifics, with states being directed to design their own statutes to implement the federal law (or not to implement it, as the case may be). And accordingly, the northern state of Coahuila y Tejas was the fastest to pass its own state law implementing the federal plan on March 24, 1825; with this ultimately leading to the Republic of Texas' secession, and the newly independent Texas continuing its own version of the Empresario program until its accession to the United States of America.
So then, what do you think might have happened, in an alternate TL where the First Mexican Empire endured for at least a few more years, and the original Mexican Imperial Colonization Law was actually brought into effect in accordance with the original plans of Azcárate y Ledesma? What might have been the impact of extending the scope and scale of the Mexican Empresario Programs ITTL- would it strength, or weaken, Mexico's relative strength ITTL compared to IOTL? And even if it did wind up weaken Mexico's control over the areas settled under TTL's greatly expanded Empresario programs instead, and result in all of these hitherto largely unpopulated northernmost territories breaking away much like the Republic of Texas did IOTL (and the Republic of Fredonia tried and failed to do before that), what might be the fate of these multiple 'Empresario Republics'? Particularly the proposed Empresarios in the Californias ITTL, predominantly populated by Chinese settlers as had originally been planned by Imperial Mexico. What do you think their fate might be?