Powerful Texas?

Is it at all possible for the Republic of Texas if it didn't join the USA to becoming as powerful as the USA OTL?

(Well... Okay, maybe not THAT powerful, but powerful enough to be considered a regional power or superpower)
 
It is possible to make it a regional power. Though you would need to balkanize Mexico and the US to do so. Thing is balkanizing either after 1837 is quite hard.

Here is a possible scenario:

Texas gets its independence as in OTL. Ten years later, the Mexican American war happens as in OTL. But lets say Paredes never goes back to Mexico city and leads a coup against Herrera. Herrera (smarter than Paredes) manages to hold the alliance with Great Britain and lease California with assistance in the war.
War begins over Texas and Oregon and the US is very much screwed. At the end Texan independence is acknowledged by all sides (Britain will push Mexico to recognize it), and Oregon stays British.
The Souther states lost a fair amount of trade during the war and blame the involvement of Britain on the North for wanting Oregon. Tensions also rise with the slavery issue and the South secedes and manages to become independent. (It also takes a few more states lets say Kentucky Southern Missouri and The Indian territory all formally secede). Later on as there is pressure for manumission The Souther federation implodes and we end up with 3 or 4 cotton republics (the more the better). All this time Texas grows in population as people flee the breaking south. Amongst the chaos Texas makes its move and swallows the part of Oklahoma which was not part of the Indian territory.
Meanwhile in Mexico the liberal reforms by the Herrera government and the subsequent Farias government cause a much stronger reaction the conservatives and Mexico once again falls into Civil War. Britain also begins to demand its pay with the lease in California. With the pressure Mexico balkanizes into four core nations. The most northernly one consists of the provinces most in favor of the federal republic ideal (California, New Mexico, and the top row of Mexican provinces).
Britain claims its chunk of northern Alta California but in the East the Mormons set up an independent Deseret (consisting roughly of OTL's Utah and chunks of Colorado). Afriad of British annexation Southern California (including Baja) New Mexico, Sonora Chihuahua, and Coahuila come up with a plan to federalize with Texas. (a bit ASB but whatever). Texas grows. (Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas remain independent due to some conflict over the border).
Without a strong US the Canadian provinces gain their autonomy without confederation.
Texas ends up as a major regional power having very strong influence over some of the Southern Cotton Republics, the ex-Mexican nations, Dessert, Sacramento (the British Northern California Dominion), and spreads into the Caribbean.
 
Is it at all possible for the Republic of Texas if it didn't join the USA to becoming as powerful as the USA OTL?

(Well... Okay, maybe not THAT powerful, but powerful enough to be considered a regional power or superpower)

Nope. It would need near a hundred million people, in addition to a advanced, technologically developed economy to be deemed a super power, and it will take some serious ASB wanking to get to that state.

Now an independent Texas becoming a regional power is doable. Especially if you keep the US locked in political gridlock, have Mexico descends into a persistent state of civil war, and give Texas's leadership for a couple of generations a prenatural sense of intuition and insight.
 
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