Agustín V. Zamorano held office in Monterey in the north, while José María de Echeandía ruled Southern California from Los Angeles and San Diego.

His objective was to modernize and strengthen Mexican rule over California, as a bulwark against the growing influence of Russia and the United States.

[3] While the colonists were traveling north to Alta California on two ships, president Antonio López de Santa Anna took full power, and revoked Híjar's appointment as governor, thereby allowing Figueroa to continue in that post.

[2] Figueroa objected to the colonization plan since he believed that at least half of the mission lands should be turned over to California natives, as had been the Crown's stated intention.

[3] On 7 March 1835, a small group of the Híjar-Padrés colonists launched a brief rebellion against Figueroa in Los Angeles.

[3] In 1835, Figueroa published in Monterey, California his manifesto defending his administration and explaining his opposition to the Híjar-Padrés colonization plan.

[5] Francisco García Diego y Moreno, who later became California's first bishop, reported that Figueroa was "greatly agitated on account of the disturbances that the colonists caused",[6] and set out on a strenuous voyage in 1835 to calm the political turmoil.

The following year, Diego reported to the Mexican government that Figueroa had shown symptoms of apoplexy in his final months, and that blood clots had been discovered in his brain when his body was preserved after his death.

[6] Early 20th-century historian J. M. Guinn wrote that "He [Figueroa] is generally regarded as the best of the Mexican governors sent to California".

[2] Historian Kevin Starr wrote that Figueroa was "the most competent governor of California during the Mexican era".