Plan de Iguala. It invited Viceroy Ruiz de Apodaca to become leader of the independence movement. The viceroy rejected the offer, and declared Iturbide a traitor and an outlaw. He sent troops against him, but everywhere the troops rebelled and went over to Iturbide. Lieutenant Colonel Antonio López de Santa Anna, for example, endorsed the Plan de Iguala in Xalapa on May 29, 1821. The overthrow of Ruiz de Apodaca The royalists, led by Brigadier Buceli, declared Apodaca inept and deposed him on July 5, 1821. Apodaca was sent to Spain to face charges, but he was absolved and returned to duty. He was captain general of the Spanish navy at the time of his death in 1835. The city of Apodaca in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, is named for him. General Francisco Novella was made interim viceroy until the arrival of Ruiz de Apodaca's replacement, Superior Political Chief Juan O'Donojú, a short time later. The 300-year rule of Mexico by Spain was nearly at an end. Notes and references García Puron, Manuel, México y sus gobernantes, v. 1. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984. Orozco L., Fernando, Fechas Históricas de México. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1988, . Orozco Linares, Fernando, Gobernantes de México. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, . Further reading External links 1754 births 1835 deaths People from Cádiz Captain generals of the Navy Counts of Spain Viceroys of New Spain Governors of Cuba Spanish colonial governors and administrators Cuban nobility Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Ambassadors of Spain to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland