Yes, briefly. Guatemala and the rest of Central America were annexed to Agustín de Iturbide’s Mexican Empire on 5 January 1822 and declared themselves independent of Mexico on 1 July 1823. Chiapas stayed with Mexico (1824), Soconusco followed in 1842, and Guatemala gave up its claim to both in an 1882 treaty.
In short: The former provinces of the Kingdom of Guatemala became free of Spanish rule on 15 September 1821. Guatemala’s governing junta, headed by Gabino Gaínza, accepted Iturbide’s offer and confirmed the annexation to Mexico on 5 January 1822. After Iturbide fell, a decree of 1 July 1823 declared the region independent of Spain, Mexico and any other nation: just under 18 months as part of Mexico. Chiapas chose Mexico in a plebiscite on 12 September 1824; Soconusco formally joined on 11 September 1842. In the treaty of 27 September 1882, Guatemala renounced for ever its claimed rights to both.
The annexation, 1822-1823
The Banco de Guatemala’s history of the period gives the Guatemalan official account. From 15 September 1821 the former provinces of the Kingdom of Guatemala were free of the Spanish Crown, but the same Spanish officials stayed in their posts. Banguat says the economic crisis after independence pushed the newly independent states to accept Iturbide’s proposal to join Mexico; the governing junta headed by Gabino Gaínza accepted it and confirmed it on 5 January 1822, against the opposition of San Salvador.
The act of annexation itself, dated at the National Palace of Guatemala on 5 January 1822, shows how the junta counted the answers of the town councils (ayuntamientos) it had consulted. Its tally, as transcribed by the history site Historia Guatemala:
| Town councils’ answer in the act of 5 January 1822 | Number |
|---|---|
| Agreed to the union outright | 104 |
| Agreed with conditions | 11 |
| Left it to the provisional junta | 32 |
| Left it to the Congress due to meet on 1 February | 21 |
| Did not agree | 2 |
The act adds that Nicaragua, Comayagua and Ciudad Real de Chiapas had already joined Mexico on their own, and it frames the union as conditional: the provinces could form an independent state if they came to be able to. (Source: transcription of the act published by Historia Guatemala, a secondary source; the date and the junta’s role match Banguat’s account.)
How it ended: 1 July 1823
Banguat writes that Iturbide’s fall allowed Central America to recover its independence. By a decree of 1 July 1823, the federation declared its absolute independence not only from Spain and Mexico but from any other nation that might wish to govern it, and took the name Provincias Unidas del Centro de América: Guatemala, San Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The US State Department’s Office of the Historian likewise records that Guatemala joined the Federation of Central American States in 1823 with those four neighbours; the United States recognised the federation in 1824.
So the answer to how long is the gap between 5 January 1822 and 1 July 1823. Guatemala’s Independence Day still counts from 1821, not from 1823; see Guatemala’s Independence Day for the holiday.
Chiapas: from the Captaincy General to Mexico, 1821-1824
Chiapas is where was it part of Guatemala gets asked the other way round. The account below is Mexico’s: it comes from INAFED, the Mexican government’s institute for federalism and municipal development.
- Colonial ties. INAFED writes that in the viceregal period Chiapas and Soconusco were more closely tied to Guatemala than to central Mexico, and that late-colonial Chiapas resented the authorities of the Captaincy General of Guatemala for neglecting it.
- 28 August 1821. After a meeting of residents of Comitán, Chiapas declared its independence from the Spanish Empire.
- After Iturbide’s fall the choice reopened: join Mexico or Guatemala.
- 23 January 1824. Ciudad Real’s council asked to join Mexico, followed by Comitán; Tuxtla’s council argued for Guatemala. Because of the split, Mexico’s federal charter of 31 January 1824 did not list Chiapas.
- 12 September 1824. A plebiscite favoured joining Mexico. On 14 September 1824 Chiapas, without the district of Soconusco, formalised its wish before the Mexican Congress, which approved the incorporation on 2 October 1824.
INAFED calls the plebiscite a peaceful and democratic exercise in direct democracy. The Guatemalan position is visible in the 1882 treaty, where Guatemala renounced the rights which it deems it has to Chiapas: until then it had not given up the claim.
Soconusco: a neutral zone until 1842
INAFED’s separate history of Soconusco describes a longer dispute:
- In May 1824 the district’s authorities held a consultation and chose Mexico; in July 1824 the council of Tapachula voted instead to leave Chiapas and join the Central American provinces.
- The Mexican and Guatemalan governments then left Soconusco as a neutral zone; INAFED says it stayed autonomous, run only by municipal authorities, for about seventeen years.
- On 18 May 1840 the mayor of Tapachula asked Mexico for help to join the federation.
- In 1842 Santa Anna’s troops entered the region (INAFED’s word is invadida). Guatemala, by then a republic separate from the federation, protested and published an act claiming the territory. The municipalities of Escuintla, Tapachula and Tuxtla Chico signed documents asking to join Mexico.
- INAFED’s Chiapas article dates Soconusco’s formal incorporation into Chiapas, and so into Mexico, to 11 September 1842.
The 1882 treaty that settled it
| Step | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary agreement signed in New York | 12 August 1882 | Treaty preamble |
| Treaty signed in Mexico City | 27 September 1882 | Treaty text (Mexico; UN copy) |
| Approved by the Mexican Senate | 17 October 1882 | Mexican promulgation decree |
| Approved by Guatemala’s Legislative Assembly | 25 December 1882 | Mexican promulgation decree |
| Ratified by Guatemala’s president | 29 December 1882 | Mexican promulgation decree |
| Ratifications exchanged; treaty in force | 1 May 1883 | Mexican decree; UN copy |
The plenipotentiaries were Ignacio Mariscal for Mexico and Manuel Herrera, Jr. for Guatemala. In the English text held by the UN:
The Republic of Guatemala renounces for ever the rights which it deems it has to the territory of the State of Chiapas and its district of Soconusco, and consequently considers that territory an integral part of the United Mexican States.
In Article II Mexico acknowledges that Guatemala’s reasons for the renunciation were worthy and honourable, and Guatemala, satisfied with that declaration, agrees to seek no compensation of any kind. Article III draws the border: along the centre of the Suchiate River from the sea, through the summit of the Tacaná volcano, across to the Usumacinta (or Chixoy) River, and along the parallel of 17°49’ running east. Article IV sent a scientific commission from each country to mark it on the ground. For crossing that border on the Suchiate today, see the Tecún Umán border crossing guide.
Related
- Is Belize part of Guatemala? covers the other open boundary question, now before the International Court of Justice.
- How big is Guatemala? answers whether Guatemala counts as Central or North America.
- Are Guatemalans Hispanic or Latino? explains how US forms treat Guatemalan and Mexican origin as separate.
Sources
- Banco de Guatemala, Época Independiente y Federación Centroamericana: https://banguat.gob.gt/page/epoca-independiente-y-federacion-centroamericana (read 10 November 2026)
- INAFED (Government of Mexico), Hace 193 años Chiapas se integró como Estado de la República Federal Mexicana, 14 September 2017: https://www.gob.mx/inafed/articulos/hace-193-anos-chiapas-se-integro-a-la-republica-mexicana (read 10 November 2026)
- INAFED, Municipios del Soconusco: 175 años de pertenecer formalmente a México, 17 August 2017: https://www.gob.mx/inafed/articulos/municipios-del-soconusco-chiapas-175-anos-de-pertenecer-formalmente-a-mexico (read 10 November 2026)
- Government of Mexico, Tratado sobre Límites entre México y Guatemala, 1882, with the promulgation decree of 1 May 1883: https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/63818/tratado1882mexguat.pdf (read 10 November 2026)
- United Nations, Delimitation Treaties Infobase, English text of the 1882 treaty: https://www.un.org/depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/MEX-GTM1882DB.PDF (read 10 November 2026)
- US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Guatemala: https://history.state.gov/countries/guatemala (read 10 November 2026)
- Historia Guatemala, transcription of the Acta de anexión de Centro América al Imperio Mexicano (secondary): https://www.historiagt.org/transcripciones/item/45-acta-anexion-a-mexico (read 10 November 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Guatemala ever part of Mexico?
Yes, for about a year and a half. Banco de Guatemala’s history dates the annexation of the former Kingdom of Guatemala to Agustín de Iturbide’s Mexican Empire to 5 January 1822, and the decree that declared Central America absolutely independent of Spain, Mexico and any other nation to 1 July 1823.
How long was Guatemala part of Mexico?
From 5 January 1822 to 1 July 1823, just under 18 months. Iturbide’s fall ended it, and the region became the Provincias Unidas del Centro de América.
Is Guatemala part of Mexico now?
No. Guatemala has been a separate republic since the Central American federation broke up; in the 1882 boundary treaty the two signed as the United Mexican States and the Republic of Guatemala and fixed the border between them, which follows stretches of the Suchiate and Usumacinta rivers.
Did Chiapas used to be part of Guatemala?
In colonial times Chiapas answered to the Captaincy General of Guatemala, and Mexico’s INAFED writes that Chiapas and Soconusco were more closely tied to Guatemala than to central Mexico. After independence Chiapas voted to join Mexico in a plebiscite on 12 September 1824, and Mexico’s Congress approved its incorporation on 2 October 1824.
When did Soconusco become Mexican?
INAFED dates Soconusco’s formal incorporation to 11 September 1842, after about seventeen years as a neutral zone and the entry of Santa Anna’s troops that year, which Guatemala protested. Guatemala renounced its claim to Chiapas and Soconusco in the treaty of 27 September 1882.
Did Mexico pay Guatemala for Chiapas?
No payment appears in the treaty. Under Article II of the 1882 treaty, Guatemala, satisfied with Mexico’s acknowledgement of its conduct, agreed to seek no compensation of any kind for renouncing Chiapas and Soconusco.
