A modern reproduction of the flag used by the Cristeros soldiers in reference to Cristo Rey or Christ the King and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Cristero rebels publicly hanged on telegraph poles in Jalisco, Mexico. The bodies often remained on the poles until the pueblo or town renounced public religious practice.

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (October 2011)

The Cristero War (1926-29) also known as the La Cristiada was an uprising and counter-revolution against the Mexican government. The rebellion was set off by the persecution of Roman Catholics and a ban on their public religious practices. More specifically, the strict enforcement of the anti-clerical provisions by atheist and former President of Mexico Plutarco Elias Calles through the Mexican Constitution of 1917 along with the further expansion of anti-clerical laws exacerbated the conflicts^{[1][2][3][4][5]}. The rebellion is particularly known for the women and children who assisted the rebels in smuggling guns and ammunition in secret and certain priests who were tortured and murdered in public, as later canonized by Pope John Paul II.

After a period of peaceful resistance by select citizens, a number of skirmishes took place in 1926 while the formal violent rebellions began on 2 January 1927,^[6] with the rebels who called themselves Cristeros, invoking the name of Jesus Christ under the title of "Cristo Rey" or Christ the King. The rebellion eventually ended by diplomatic means brokered by the United States Ambassador to Mexico, Dwight Whitney Morrow, with the assistance of the Knights of Columbus.

The rebellions attracted the attention of Pope Pius XI, who issued a series of papal encyclicals between 1925 and 1937. On 11 December 1925, the pontiff issued Quas Primas instituting the Feast of Christ the King. On November 18, 1926, he issued Iniquis Afflictisque (On the Persecution of the Church in Mexico) denouncing the violent anti-clerical persecution in Mexico.^[7] Despite the government's promise to the Church, it continued the persecution of the Church and the people. In response Pope Pius issued Acerba Animi on September, 29, 1932^{[7] [8]}. As the persecution continued he issued Firmissimam Constantiam and expressed his opposition to the "impious and corruptive school" (p. 22) while granting papal support for Catholic Action in Mexico for the third consecutive time with the use of plenary indulgence on 28 March 1937^[9].

The Mexican Constitution of 1917[link]

The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States was redacted by the Constitutional Congress convoked by Venustiano Carranza in September 1916, and it was approved on 5 February 1917. The new constitution was based in the previous one instituted by Benito Juárez in 1857. Three of its 136 articles, number 3, 27, and 130, contain heavily anticlerical sections.

The first two sections of article 3 state that: I. According to the religious liberties established under article 24, educational services shall be secular and, therefore, free of any religious orientation. II. The educational services shall be based on scientific progress and shall fight against ignorance, ignorance's effects, servitudes, fanaticism and prejudice.^[10] The second section of article 27 states that: All religious associations organized according to article 130 and its derived legislation, shall be authorized to acquire, possess or manage just the necessary assets to achieve their objectives.^[10]

The first paragraph of article 130^[11] states that: The rules established at this article are guided by the historical principle according to which the State and the churches are separated entities from each other. Churches and religious congregations shall be organized under the law.

It also provided for obligatory state registration of all churches and religious congregations, and places a series of restrictions on priests and ministers of all religions (ineligible to hold public office, to canvas on behalf of political parties or candidates, to inherit from persons other than close blood relatives, etc.).^[10] The article also allowed the state to regulate the number of priests in each region, even reducing the number to zero, forbade the wearing of religious garb, and excluded offenders from a trial by jury. Venustiano Carranza declared himself opposed to the final redaction of Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, 123 and 130. But the Constitutional Congress contained only 85 conservatives and centrists close to Carranza's brand of liberalism, and against them there were 132 more radical delegates.^[12][13][14]

Article 24 states that: "Every man shall be free to choose and profess any religious belief as long as it is lawful and it cannot be punished under criminal law. The Congress shall not be authorized to enact laws either establishing or prohibiting a particular religion. Religious ceremonies of public nature shall be ordinarily performed at the temples. Those performed outdoors shall be regulated under the law.^[10]

Background to rebellion[link]

"Good Friday scene in the midst of the 20th century", from the archive of the Mexican priest Jesús María Rodríguez. A popular poster used by the Cristero rebels.

The Mexican Revolution of 1910 was originally fought against the longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz, but it would eventually lead to an increase in popular anticlericalism.^[15] Francisco I. Madero was the first revolutionary leader. Madero became president in November 1911, but was eventually overthrown and executed in 1913 by the counterrevolutionary Victoriano Huerta. The support given by the Mexican Church's hierarchy to Huerta resulted in direct confrontation between the Catholic Church and the revolutionary generals Carranza, Villa, and Zapata, who had previously vanquished Huerta's Federal Army under the Plan of Guadalupe.^[16][17][18]

Carranza was the first president under the new Constitution, but he was eventually overthrown by his one-time ally Álvaro Obregón in 1919, who succeeded to the presidency in late 1920. Álvaro Obregón applied the secularist laws emanating from the constitution selectively, only in areas where Catholic sentiment was weakest. This uneasy "truce" between the government and the Church ended with the 1924 election of an atheist, Plutarco Elías Calles.^[19][20] Mexican Jacobins, supported by Calles's central government, went beyond mere anticlericalism and engaged in secular antireligious campaigns to eradicate what they called "superstition" and "fanaticism", including desecration of religious objects, persecution of the clergy and anticlerical legislation.^[15]

Calles applied the anti-clerical laws stringently throughout the country and added his own anti-clerical legislation. In June 1926, he signed the "Law for Reforming the Penal Code", known unofficially as the "Calles Law". This provided specific penalties for priests and individuals who violated the provisions of the 1917 Constitution. For instance, wearing clerical garb in public (i.e., outside Church buildings) earned a fine of 500 pesos (approximately 250 $US dollars at the time); a priest who criticized the government could be imprisoned for five years.^[21] Some states enacted oppressive measures. Chihuahua enacted a law permitting only a single priest to serve the entire Catholic congregation of the state.^[22] To help enforce the law, Calles seized church property, expelled all foreign priests, and closed the monasteries, convents and religious schools.^[23]

Peaceful resistance[link]

A group of men and women boycott against Mexican President Plutarco Calles law against public religious practices.

In response to these measures, Catholic organizations began to intensify their resistance. The most important of these groups was the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty, founded in 1924. This was joined by the Mexican Association of Catholic Youth (founded 1913) and the Popular Union, a Catholic political party founded in 1925. On 11 July 1926, Catholic bishops voted to suspend all public worship in response to the Calles Law. This suspension was to take effect on 1 August. On 14 July, they endorsed plans for an economic boycott against the government, which was particularly effective in west-central Mexico (the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, and Zacatecas). Catholics in these areas stopped attending movies and plays and using public transportation, and Catholic teachers stopped teaching in secular schools.^{[citation needed]}

The bishops worked to have the offending articles of the Constitution amended. Pope Pius XI explicitly approved this plan. The Calles government considered the bishops' activism seditious behavior and had many more churches closed. In September the episcopate submitted a proposal for the amendment of the constitution, but Congress rejected it on 22 September 1926.^{[citation needed]}

Escalation of violence[link]

In Guadalajara, Jalisco, on 3 August 1926, some 400 armed Catholics shut themselves up in the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. They were involved in a shootout with federal troops and surrendered only when they ran out of ammunition. According to U.S. consular sources, this battle resulted in 18 dead and 40 injured. The following day, 4 August, in Sahuayo, Michoacán, 240 government soldiers stormed the parish church. The parish priest and his vicar were killed in the ensuing violence. On 14 August, government agents staged a purge of the Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, chapter of the Association of Catholic Youth and executed their spiritual adviser Father Luis Bátiz Sainz. This execution caused a band of ranchers, led by Pedro Quintanar, to seize the local treasury and declare themselves in rebellion. At the height of their rebellion, they held a region including the entire northern part of Jalisco. Luis Navarro Origel, the mayor of Pénjamo, Guanajuato, led another uprising beginning on 28 September. His men were defeated by federal troops in the open land around the town but retreated into the mountains, where they continued as guerrillas.

This was followed by an uprising in Durango led by Trinidad Mora on 29 September, and a 4 October rebellion in southern Guanajuato, led by former general Rodolfo Gallegos. Both of these rebel leaders adopted guerrilla tactics, as they were no match for the federal troops and airforce on open ground. Meanwhile, the rebels in Jalisco (particularly the region northeast of Guadalajara) quietly began gathering forces. This region became the main focal point of the rebellion led by 27-year-old René Capistrán Garza, leader of the Mexican Association of Catholic Youth.^{[citation needed]}

Cristero War[link]

A unit of Cristeros preparing for battle.

The formal rebellion began on 1 January 1927 with a manifesto sent by Garza on New Year's Day, titled A la Nación (To the Nation). This declared that "the hour of battle has sounded" and "the hour of victory belongs to God". With the declaration, the state of Jalisco, which had seemed to be quiet since the Guadalajara church uprising, exploded. Bands of rebels moving in the "Los Altos" region northeast of Guadalajara began seizing villages, often armed with only ancient muskets and clubs. The Cristeros' battle cry was ¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! (Long live Christ the King! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!). The rebels had scarce logistical supplies, and relied heavily on the Feminine Brigades of St. Joan of Arc, raids to towns, trains and ranches in order to supply themselves with money, horses, ammunition, and food. By contrast, later in the war the Calles government was supplied with arms and ammunition by the U.S. government. In at least one battle, American pilots provided air support for the federal army against the Cristero rebels.^[24]

The Calles government did not take the threat very seriously at first. The rebels did well against the agraristas (a rural militia recruited throughout Mexico) and the Social Defense forces (local militia), but, at first, were always defeated by the federal troops who guarded the important cities. At this time, the federal army numbered 79,759 men. When Jalisco federal commander General Jesús Ferreira moved on the rebels, he matter-of-factly wired to the army headquarters that "it will be less a campaign than a hunt."^[25] It was a sentiment which Calles also held.^[25]

However, these rebels, who had had no previous military experience for the most part, planned their battles well. The most successful rebel leaders were Jesús Degollado (a pharmacist), Victoriano Ramírez (a ranch hand), and two priests, Aristeo Pedroza and José Reyes Vega. ^[26] Reyes Vega was renowned and Cardinal Davila, deemed him a "black-hearted assassin".^[27] At least five priests took up arms, while many others supported them in various ways.

The Mexican episcopate never officially supported the rebellion,^[28] but the rebels had some indications that their cause was legitimate. Bishop José Francisco Orozco of Guadalajara remained with the rebels; while formally rejecting armed rebellion, he was unwilling to leave his flock.

On 23 February 1927, the Cristeros defeated federal troops for the first time at San Francisco del Rincón, Guanajuato, followed by another victory at San Julián, Jalisco. However, the Cristeros quickly began to lose in the face of superior federal forces, and retreated into remote areas, constantly fleeing federal soldiers. Most of the leadership of the revolt in the state of Jalisco was forced to flee to the United States, although Victoriano Ramírez and Fr. Reyes Vega remained. In April, the leader of the civilian wing of the Cristiada, Anacleto González Flores, was captured, tortured and killed. The media and government declared victory and plans were made for a socialist reeducation campaign in the areas that had rebelled. As if to prove that the rebellion was not extinguished, and to avenge the death of González Flores, Father Reyes Vega led a raid against a train carrying a shipment of money for the Bank of Mexico on 19 April. The raid was a success, but Reyes Vega's brother was killed in the raid.^[27]

The "concentration" policy,^{[clarification needed]} rather than suppressing the revolt, gave it new life, as thousands of men began to aid and join the rebels in resentment for the cruel treatment of the Federation. When the rains came, the peasants were allowed to return to the harvest, and there was now more support than ever for the Cristeros. By August, they had consolidated their movement and were constantly attacking the federal troops garrisoned in their towns. Soon, they would be joined by Enrique Gorostieta, a general hired by the National League for Religious Liberty.^[27] Although Gorostieta was himself a liberal and a skeptic, he would eventually wear a cross around his neck and speak openly of his reliance on God.^{[citation needed]}

Fathers Reyes Vega and Pedroza were born soldiers. Father Pedroza, was rigidly moral and faithful to his priestly vows. However, the fact that the two took up arms at all is problematic from the point of view of Catholic sacramental theology. On 21 June 1927, the first brigade of female Cristeros was formed in Zapopan. They named themselves for Saint Joan of Arc, the Feminine Brigades of St. Joan of Arc. The brigade began with 17 women, but soon grew to 135 members. Its mission was to obtain money, weapons, provisions and information for the combatant men; they also cared for the wounded. By March 1928, there were some 10,000 women involved. Many smuggled weapons into the combat zones by carrying them in carts filled with grain or cement. By the end of the war, they numbered some 25,000.^{[citation needed]}

The de la Torre family, who had close ties to the Catholic Church and clergy, was instrumental in bringing the Cristero Movement to northern Mexico. The family, originally from Zacatecas and Guanajuato, moved to Aguascalientes and then in 1922 to San Luis Potosí. The family moved again to Tampico for economic reasons and finally to Nogales, both Sonora and Arizona, to escape persecution from authorities because of their involvement in the Church and Movement [2]

The Cristeros maintained the upper hand throughout 1928, and in 1929, the federal government faced a new crisis: a revolt within Army ranks, led by Arnulfo R. Gómez in Veracruz. The Cristeros tried to take advantage of this with an attack on Guadalajara in late March. This failed, but the rebels did manage to take Tepatitlán on April 19. Father Vega was killed in that battle. The military rebellion was met with equal force and the Cristeros were soon facing divisions within their own ranks. On 2 June, Gorostieta was killed when he was ambushed by a federal patrol. However the rebels had some 50,000 men under arms by this point and seemed poised to draw out the rebellion for a long time.^{[citation needed]}

Diplomacy and the uprising[link]

In October 1927, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico was Dwight Whitney Morrow. He initiated a series of breakfast meetings with President Calles at which the two would discuss a range of issues, from the religious uprising, to oil and irrigation. This earned him the nickname "ham and eggs diplomat" in U.S. papers. Morrow wanted the conflict to end both for regional security and to help find a solution to the oil problem in the U.S. He was aided in his efforts by Father John J. Burke of the National Catholic Welfare Conference. Calles's term as president was coming to an end and former president Álvaro Obregón was re-elected was scheduled to take office on 1 December 1928. Though Obregon had been more lenient to Catholics during his time in office, it was also greatly accepted among Mexicans-including the Cristeros- that Calles was his puppet leader.^[29] Two weeks after his election, Obregón was assassinated by a Catholic radical, José de León Toral, an event that gravely damaged the peace process.

Congress named Emilio Portes Gil interim president in September 1928, with an election to be held in November 1929. Portes was more open to the Church than Calles had been, allowing Morrow and Burke to re-initiate the peace initiative. Portes told a foreign correspondent on May 1 that "the Catholic clergy, when they wish, may renew the exercise of their rites with only one obligation, that they respect the laws of the land". The next day, exiled Archbishop Leopoldo Ruíz y Flores issued a statement the bishops would not demand the repeal of the laws, only their more lenient application. Morrow managed to bring the parties to agreement on 21 June 1929.

His office drafted a pact called the arreglos (agreement) that allowed worship to resume in Mexico and granted three concessions to the Catholics: only priests who were named by hierarchical superiors would be required to register, religious instruction in the churches (but not in the schools) would be permitted, and all citizens, including the clergy, would be allowed to make petitions to reform the laws. But the most important part of the agreement was that the church would recover the right to use its properties, and priests recovered their rights to live on such property. Legally speaking, the church was not allowed to own real estate, and its former facilities remained federal property. But the church effectively took control over the properties. It was a convenient arrangement for both parties, and the church ostensibly ended its support for the rebels.^{[citation needed]}

In the last two years, more anticlerical officers who were hostile to the federal government for reasons other than its position on religion joined the rebels. When the agreement between the government and the church was made known, only a minority of the rebels went home, those who felt their battle had been won. As the rebels themselves were not consulted in the talks, many felt betrayed and some continued to fight. The church then threatened rebels with excommunication, and gradually the rebellion died out. The officers, fearing that they would be tried as traitors, tried to keep the rebellion alive. This attempt failed and many were captured and shot, while others escaped to San Luis Potosí, where General Saturnino Cedillo gave them refuge.^{[citation needed]}

On 27 June 1929, the church bells rang in Mexico for the first time in almost three years. The war had claimed the lives of some 90,000 people: 56,882 on the federal side, 30,000 Cristeros, and numerous civilians and Cristeros who were killed in anticlerical raids after the war ended. As promised by Portes Gil, the Calles Law remained on the books, but no organized federal attempts to enforce it took place. Nonetheless, in several localities, officials continued persecution of Catholic priests based on their interpretation of the law. In 1992, the Mexican government amended the constitution by granting all religious groups legal status, conceding them limited property rights, and lifting restrictions on the number of priests in the country.

Present-day[link]

The Mexican constitution prohibits outdoor worship, which is only allowed in exceptional circumstances, generally requiring governmental permission. Religious organizations are not permitted to own print or electronic media outlets, governmental permission is required to broadcast religious ceremonies, and ministers are prohibited from being political candidates or holding public office.^{[30][dubious – discuss]}

Aftermath of the war and the toll on the Church[link]

The government did not abide by the terms of the truce and, in violation of its terms, shot some 500 Cristero leaders and 5,000 other Cristeros dead.^[31] Particularly offensive to Catholics after the supposed truce was Calles's insistence on a complete state monopoly on education, suppressing all Catholic education and introducing secular education in its place: "We must enter and take possession of the mind of childhood, the mind of youth."^[31] Calles's military persecution of Catholics would be officially condemned by President Lázaro Cárdenas and the Mexican Congress in 1935.^[32]

Between 1935 and 1936, Cardenas had Calles and many of his close associates arrested and forced them into exile soon afterwards.^[33][34] Freedom of worship was no longer suppressed, although some states still refused to repeal Calles' policy,^[35] and relations with the church improved while Cardenas was president.^[36]

Government disregard for the church, however, did not relent until 1940, when President Manuel Ávila Camacho, a practising Catholic, took office.^[31] Church buildings in the country still belonged to the Mexican government^[35] and the nation's policies regarding the church still fell into federal jurisdiction. Under Camacho, the bans against church, though lawfully required either throughout the country or in just some Mexican states, were no longer enforced anywhere in Mexico.^[37]

The effects of the war on the Church were profound. Between 1926 and 1934 at least 40 priests were killed.^[31] There were 4,500 priests serving the people before the rebellion, but by 1934 there were only 334 priests licensed by the government to serve fifteen million people.^[31][38] The rest had been eliminated by emigration, expulsion and assassination.^[31][39] By 1935, 17 states had no priest at all.^[40]

The end of the Cristero War affected emigration to the United States. "In the aftermath of their victory, many of the Cristeros — by some estimates as much as 5 percent of Mexico's population — fled to the U.S. Many of them made their way to Los Angeles, where they found a protector in John Joseph Cantwell, the bishop of what was then the Los Angeles-San Diego diocese."^[41] Under Archbishop Cantwell's sponsorship the Cristero refugees became a substantial community in Los Angeles, in 1934 staging a parade some 40,000 strong through the city.^[42]

Cristero War saints[link]

The Catholic Church has recognized several of those killed in the Cristero rebellion as martyrs, including the Blessed Miguel Pro (SJ), who was executed by firing squad on 23 November 1927, without a trial, on trumped up charges of involvement in an assassination attempt against former President Álvaro Obregón but in actuality for his priestly activities in defiance of the government.^{[43][44][45][46][47][48]} His beatification occurred in 1988.

On 21 May 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized a group of 25 martyrs from this period.^[49][50] They had been beatified on 22 November 1992. Of this group, 22 were secular clergy and three were laymen.^[49] They did not take up arms^[50] but refused to leave their flocks and ministries, being shot or hanged by government forces for offering the sacraments.^[50] Most were executed by federal forces. Although Pedro de Jesús Maldonado was killed in 1937, after the war ended, he is considered a Cristero and a member of this group.^{[citation needed]}

Father Luis Bátiz Sainz was the parish priest in Chalchihuites and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was known for his devotion to the Eucharist and for his prayer for martyrdom: "Lord, I want to be a martyr; even though I am your unworthy servant, I want to pour out my blood, drop by drop, for your name." In 1926, shortly before the closing of the churches, he was denounced as a conspirator against the government because of his connections with the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty, which was preparing an armed uprising. A squad of soldiers raided the private house where he was staying on August 14 and took him captive. They executed him, reportedly without benefit of a trial, along with three youths of the Mexican Association of Catholic Youth.^{[citation needed]}

The Catholic Church declared thirteen additional victims of the anti-Catholic regime as martyrs on 20 November 2005, thus paving the way for their beatifications.^[51] This group was mostly lay people, including a 14-year-old, José Sánchez del Río. On 20 November 2005, at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, José Saraiva Cardinal Martins celebrated the beatifications.^[51]

Socialist education and incidents against rural teachers[link]

As it was mentioned above, the Calles law was repealed after Lázaro Cárdenas became president.^[35] Cárdenas earned respect from Pope Pius and befriended Mexican Archbishop Luis María Martinez,^[35] a major figure in Mexico's Catholic Church who successfully persuaded Mexicans to obey the government's laws in a peaceful manner. The church refused to back Mexican insurgent Saturnino Cedillo's failed revolt against Cardenas,^[35] despite the fact that Cedillo endorsed more freedom for the church as well.^[35]

Cardenas' government continued to suppress religion in the field of education during his presidential years (1934–40).^[31][52] Congress amended Article 3 of the Constitution in October 1934 to include the following introductory text (textual translation): "The education imparted by the State shall be a socialist one and, in addition to excluding all religious doctrine, shall combat fanaticism and prejudices by organizing its instruction and activities in a way that shall permit the creation in youth of an exact and rational concept of the Universe and of social life."^[53] This amendment was invalidated by future President Manuel Ávila Camacho and was officially repealed from the Mexican Constitution in 1946.^[54] Constitutional bans against the church would not be enforced anywhere in Mexico during Camacho's presidency.^[37]

The promotion of so called "socialist education" met with strong opposition in some parts of academia^[55] and in areas formerly controlled by the Cristeros.

Pope Pius XI also published the encyclical, Firmissimam Constantiam, on 28 March 1937, expressing his opposition to the "impious and corruptive school" (paragraph 22) and his support for Catholic Action in Mexico. This was the third and last encyclical published by Pius XI making reference to the religious situation in Mexico.^[56]

Many Cristeros took up arms again, and they were followed by other Catholics, but this time unarmed teachers were among the main targets of Cristero-associated atrocities.^{[57][58][59][60][61]}

Rural teachers did not take up arms,^[62] but some of them refused to leave their schools and communities, and many had their ears cut off.^{[52][63][64][65]} This is the reason why those teachers who were murdered and had their corpses desecrated are often known as "maestros desorejados" ("teachers without ears") in Mexico.^[66][67]

In the worst cases, teachers were tortured and murdered by the Cristeros.^[58][60] It is calculated that almost three hundred rural teachers were murdered in this way between 1935 and 1939,^[68] while other authors calculate that at least 223 teachers were victims of the violence between 1931–40,^[58] including the assassinations of Carlos Sayago, Carlos Pastraña, and Librado Labastida in Teziutlán, Puebla, hometown of future president Manuel Ávila Camacho;^[69][70] the execution of a teacher, Carlos Toledano, who was burned alive in Tlapacoyan, Veracruz;^[71][72] and the lynching of at least 42 teachers in the state of Michoacan:^[60] J. Trinidad Ramírez in Contepec, Pedro García in Apatzingan, Juan Gonzalez Valdespino in Huajumbaro, José Rivera Romero in Ciudad Hidalgo, María Salud Morales in Tacambaro; et al. The atrocities by the Cristeros against rural teachers have been criticized in essays and books published by the Jesuit Ibero-American University in Mexico.^[73][74]

Battle hymn of the Cristeros[link]

A surviving Cristero, Juan Gutiérrez, recited a hymn sung by the Cristeros, to the tune of the Spanish "Marcha Real"^[when?][75]

Spanish

La Virgen María es nuestra protectora y nuestra defensora cuando hay que temer

Vencerá a todo el demonio gritando "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" (x2)

Soldados de Cristo: ¡Sigamos la bandera, que la cruz enseña el ejército de Dios!

Sigamos la bandera gritando, "¡Viva Cristo Rey!"

English translation

The Virgin Mary is protector and defender against that we fear

She will vanquish demons with a cry of "Long live Christ King!" (x2)

Soldiers of Christ, let us follow this flag, for its cross points to the army of God

Let us follow the flag and declare, "Long live Christ King!"

In popular culture[link]

Juan Rulfo's famous novel Pedro Páramo is set during the Cristero War in northwestern Mexico.^{[citation needed]}

Graham Greene's novel The Power and the Glory is set during this period.

There is a long section of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre devoted to the history of what its author, B. Traven, refers to as "the Christian Bandits".

Many fact-based films, shorts, and documentaries about the war have been produced since 1929.^[76] The list includes:

1. El coloso de mármol (1929)^[77]
2. Los cristeros (aka Sucedió en Jalisco) (1947)^[78]
3. La guerra santa (1979)^[79]
4. La cristiada (1986)^[80]
5. Cristeros y federales (2011)^[81]
6. Los últimos cristeros (aka The Last Christeros) (2011)^[82]
7. Cristiada (aka For Greater Glory) (1 June, 2012 release date)^[83]

See also[link]

	Mexico portal
	Christianity portal
	Military history portal

• Mexican Revolution
• National Action Party (Mexico)
• List of wars involving Mexico
• Feminine Brigades of St. Joan of Arc
• Cristero Museum

References[link]

External links[link]

• Cristeros (Soldiers of Christ) – Documentary
• The Cristero Rebellion, by Jim Tuck
• AP article on the 2000 canonizations
• Biography of Miguel Pro
• Spanish article on the war
• Spanish biographies of the saints canonized in 2000
• Ferreira, Cornelia R. Blessed José Luis Sánchez del Rio: Cristero Boy Martyr, biography (2006 Canisius Books).
• Iniquis Afflictisque – encyclical of Pope Pius XI on the persecution of the Church in Mexico (18 November 1926)
• Miss Mexico wears dress depicting Cristeros at the 2007 Miss Universe Pageant

Reading[link]

• Inquiries into the Cristero Insurrection against the Mexican Revolution by Ramon Jrade in Latin American Research Review, Vol. 20, No. 2 (1985), pp. 53–69
• Meyer, Jean. The Cristero Rebellion: The Mexican People between Church and State, 1926–1929. Cambridge, 1976.
• Tuck, Jim. The Holy War in Los Altos: A Regional Analysis of Mexico's Cristero Rebellion. University of Arizona Press, 1982. ISBN 0-8165-0779-1
• Groppe, Lothar. P. Michael Pro SJ: Ein mexikanischer Schlingel wird Priester und Martyrer. Freundeskreis Maria Goretti, e.V., Munich, 1988.
• Purnell, Jenny. Popular Movements and State Formation in Revolutionary Mexico: The Agraristas and Cristeros of Michoacan. Durham: Duke University Press, 1999.
• Greene, Graham. The Power and the Glory (novel). New York: Viking Press, 1940 (as The Labyrinthine Ways).
• Mabry, Donald J. Mexican Anticlerics, Bishops, Cristeros, and the Devout during the 1920s: A Scholarly Debate Journal of Church and State Vol. 20, No. 1, (1978), 81–92
• Luis Gonzalez – Translated by John Upton. San Jose de Gracia: Mexican Village in Transition ISBN 978-0-292-77571-8 (historical novel), Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1982.
• Potter, Gary. Valor and Betrayal – The Historical Background and Story of the Cristeros at Catholicism.org.
• De la Torre, José Luis. De Sonora al Cielo: Biografía del Excelentísimo Sr. Vicario General de la Arquidiócesis de Hermosillo, Sonora Pbro. Don Ignacio de la Torre Uribarren (Spanish Edition)[3]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2010)

Mexican Revolution Revolución Mexicana
Collage of the Mexican Revolution
Date 1910–1920 Location Mexico Result Porfirio Diaz ousted from power and exiled in France. Convention of Aguascalientes between revolutionary leaders. Mexican Constitution of 1917 enacted. Assassination of important revolutionary leaders Madero, Zapata and Carranza. Founding of the National Revolutionary Party.
Belligerents
Counter-revolutionary forces: Federal troops led by Porfirio Díaz Forces led by Bernardo Reyes Forces led by Felix Diaz Army of Victoriano Huerta U.S. Army (1910-1919)	Revolutionary forces: Maderistas Orozquistas Villistas Zapatistas Carrancistas Magonistas Seditionistas Germany (support)
Commanders and leaders
1910-1911: Porfirio Díaz 1911-1913: Pascual Orozco, fought own revolution after Diaz was overthrown and later sided with Huerta after Huerta took power Bernardo Reyes, lead own revolution until his death in 1913 Félix Díaz, sided with Reyes and later Huerta after Reyes died in 1913 Emiliano Zapata, sided with Orozco until Huerta took power Victoriano Huerta, sided with Reyes until Reyes died in 1913. After Reyes died, Huerta launched his own revolution and took power 1913-1914:Victoriano Huerta Pascual Orozco 1914-1919:Venustiano Carranza Alvaro Obregon 1920: Venustiano Carranza	1910-1911: Francisco I. Madero Pascual Orozco, fought against Diaz Bernardo Reyes, fought against Diaz Francisco Villa Emiliano Zapata Venustiano Carranza 1911-1913: Francisco I. Madero Francisco Villa Venustiano Carranza 1913-1914: Francisco Villa Emiliano Zapata Venustiano Carranza Alvaro Obregon 1914-1919: Francisco Villa Emiliano Zapata 1920: Alvaro Obregon

A graphical timeline is available at Timeline of the Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution (Spanish: Revolución mexicana) was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz, and lasted for the better part of a decade until around 1920. Over time the Revolution changed from a revolt against the established order to a multi-sided civil war. This armed conflict is often categorized as the most important sociopolitical event in Mexico and one of the greatest upheavals of the 20th century.^[1]

After prolonged struggles, its representatives produced the Mexican Constitution of 1917. The Revolution is generally considered to have lasted until 1920, although the country continued to have sporadic, but comparatively minor, outbreaks of warfare well into the 1920s. The Cristero War of 1926 to 1929 was the most significant relapse into bloodshed.

The Revolution led to the creation of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario ("National Revolutionary Party") in 1929; it was renamed the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party) (PRI) in 1946. Under a variety of leaders, the PRI held power until the general election of 2000.

Porfirio Díaz's rule[link]

History of Mexico
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Pre-Columbian Mexico
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War of Independence
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Leaders of the 1910 revolt pose for a photo after the First Battle of Juárez. Present are José María Pino Suárez, Venustiano Carranza, Francisco I. Madero (and his father), Pascual Orozco, Pancho Villa, Gustavo Madero, Raul Madero, Abraham González, and Giuseppe Garibaldi Jr.

"Manifestación antireeleccionista" by José Guadalupe Posada

After Benito Juárez's death in 1872, Porfirio Díaz took over as Mexico's leader. As allies the two men had fought against the French in the Battle of Puebla, but once Juárez rose to power Díaz tried to unseat him. Díaz began his tenure as president in 1876 and ruled until May 1911^[2] when Francisco I. Madero succeeded him, taking office in November.^[3] Díaz's regime is remembered for the advances he brought in industry and modernization, at the expense of human rights and liberal reforms.

Díaz's rule from 1876–1910 has become known as the Porfiriato era. Díaz had a strict "No Re-election" policy whereby presidents could not serve consecutive terms in office. He followed this rule when he stepped down (1880) after his first term and was succeeded by Manuel González. Gonzalez was controlled by Diaz and was commonly known as Diaz's puppet. The new president's period in office was marred by political corruption and official incompetence. When Díaz ran in the next election (1884), he was a welcome replacement. In future elections Díaz conveniently put aside his "No Re-election" slogan and ran for president in every election.

Diaz was an early liberal, but changed his views after Juarez took office. He became the dictator against whom he had warned the people. Through the army, the Rurales--a paramilitary force that kept order in the countryside—and gangs of thugs, Diaz frightened people into voting for him. When bullying citizens into voting for him failed, he simply rigged the votes in his favor.^[4] He justified his stay in office by claiming that Mexico was not yet ready to govern itself;^{[citation needed]} only he knew what was best for his country and he enforced his belief with a strong hand. "Order followed by Progress" were the watchwords of his rule.^{[citation needed]}

While Díaz's presidency was characterized by promotion of industry and the pacification of the country, it came at the expense of the working class. Farmers and peasants both complained of oppression and exploitation. The economy took a great leap during the Porfiriato, as he encouraged the construction of factories, roads, dams, industries and better farms. This resulted in the rise of an urban proletariat and the influx of foreign capital (principally from the United States).

Part of his success in maintaining power came from mitigating U.S. influence through European investments—primarily from Great Britain and Imperial Germany. Progress came at a price, however, as basic rights such as freedom of the press were suspended under the Porfiriato.^[5] The growing influence of the U.S. was a constant problem for Díaz.

Wealth, political power and access to education were concentrated among a handful of families, overwhelmingly of European descent, known as hacendados, who controlled vast swaths of the country by virtue of their huge estates (one family, the Terrazas, had one estate in Sonora alone that comprised more than one million acres). Most people in Mexico were landless, laboring on the vast estates or in the mines for little more than slave wages. Foreign companies, mostly from the United Kingdom, France and the U.S., also exercised power in Mexico.

Díaz changed land reform efforts that were begun under previous leaders. His new "reforms" virtually undid all the work by leaders such as Juárez. No peasant or farmer could claim the land he occupied without formal legal title. Helpless and angry small farmers and landless peasants saw no hope for themselves and their families under a Diaz regime, and came to the conclusion that a change of leadership would be the only route that offered any hope for themselves and their country. Such famous figures in Mexican history as Francisco I. Madero, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata would launch a rebellion against Díaz, all of which eventually coalesced into what became known as the Mexican Revolution. More than 95% of Mexico's land was owned by less than 5% of the population. This vastly unequal distribution of land—and, therefore, wealth—had plagued Mexico for many years, to the anger and dismay of the working classes, as this corrupt system allowed the rich to get richer while ensuring that the poor remained poor, or got even poorer. Workers on the vast "haciendas" were often treated like slaves, being beaten for the slightest infraction—real or imagined—and murders of workers by their "masters" was not uncommon. Another way to ensure that farmers and workers were kept under the thumb of the wealthy classes was to make sure that any debt incurred was passed down from generation to generation, thereby ensuring that it would never be paid off and the farmers would be kept in perpetual debt bondage.

Most historians mark the end of the Porfiriato in 1911 as the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. In a 1908 interview with U.S. journalist James Creelman, Díaz stated that Mexico was ready for democracy and elections and that he would step down to allow other candidates to compete for the presidency.^[6][7][8] Growing "old and careless", Díaz figured he would retire to Europe and allow a younger man to take over his presidency. Because of the turmoil this caused, Díaz decided to run again in 1910 for the last time, with an eye toward arranging a succession in the middle of his term.

Madero ran against Díaz in 1910. Diaz thought he could control this election as he had the previous seven.^[9] Although similar overall to Díaz in his ideology,^{[citation needed]} Madero hoped for other elites to rule alongside the president. Díaz did not approve of Madero and had him jailed on election day in 1910. Díaz was announced the winner of the election by a "landslide", providing the initial impetus for the outbreak of the Revolution. When it became obvious that the election was fixed, Madero supporter Toribio Ortega took up arms with a group of followers at Cuchillo Parado, Chihuahua, Mexico on November 10, 1910.

Francisco I. Madero's presidency (1911–1913)[link]

1903. The banner reads: "The Constitution has died" (La Constitución ha muerto).

In 1910 Francisco I. Madero, a young man from a wealthy family in the northern state of Coahuila, stated that he would be running against Díaz for the presidency in the next election. To ensure Madero did not win, Díaz had him thrown in jail, then declared himself the winner. Madero soon escaped and fled for a short period of time to San Antonio, Texas, United States. On October 5, 1910, Madero issued a "letter from jail" called the Plan de San Luis Potosí, with its main slogan Sufragio Efectivo, No re-elección ("free suffrage and no re-election"). It declared the Díaz regime illegal and called for revolt against Díaz, starting on November 20. Though Madero's letter was not a plan for major socioeconomic revolution, it offered the hope of change for many disadvantaged Mexicans.^[9]

Madero's vague promises of agrarian reforms attracted many peasants throughout Mexico. He received the support from them that he needed to remove Díaz from power and raised an army consisting mostly of ordinary farmers, miners, and other working-class Mexicans, along with much of the country's Indian population. Madero's army fought Diaz's forces with some success, and he attracted the forces of other rebel leaders like Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata and Venustiano Carranza, and they eventually joined together to fight Diaz. Diaz's army suffered several major defeats, and his administration started to fall apart..

In late 1910 revolutionary movements broke out in response to Madero's letter. Pascual Orozco, along with governor Abraham González, formed a powerful military union in the north and took Mexicali and Chihuahua City, although they were not especially committed to Madero. These victories encouraged alliances with other revolutionary leaders, including Pancho Villa. Against Madero's wishes, Orozco and Villa fought for and won Ciudad Juárez, bordering El Paso, Texas, along the Rio Grande.

After Madero defeated the weak federal army, on May 21, 1911 he signed the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez with Diaz. It stated that Díaz would abdicate his rule and be replaced by Madero. Insisting on a new election, Madero won overwhelmingly in late 1911. Some supporters criticized him for appearing weak by not assuming the presidency and failing to pass immediate reforms, but Madero established a liberal democracy and received support from the United States and popular leaders such as Orozco, Villa and Zapata.

Madero was a weak leader and quickly lost much of his support while in power. He angered both the more radical revolutionists and the conservative counter-revolutionists, including the unpopular Congress elected during Díaz's rule. His refusal to enact land reforms caused a break with Zapata, who announced the Plan de Ayala, which called for the return of lands "usurped by the hacendados" (hacienda owners) and demanded armed conflict against the government. Zapata then sided with Orozco.^[10]

Soon after this, Orozco also broke away from Madero's government and led a rebellion against him. He organized his own army, called "Orozquistas"--also called the Colorados ("Red Flaggers")--after Madero refused to agree to social reforms calling for better working hours, pay and conditions. The rural working class, which had supported Madero, now took up arms against him in support of Zapata and Orozco, further diluting what little support Madero had.

Madero's time as leader was short-lived and was ended by a coup d'état in 1913 led by Gen. Victoriano Huerta. Madero had appointed Huerta as army commander when he first claimed power, but Huerta had turned against him. Following Huerta's coup, Madero was forced to resign. He and vice president José María Pino Suárez were both shot to death less than a week later by two army officers who were transporting them to a penitentiary. Both killers were quickly promoted—one to the rank of general—confirming suspicions, in most eyes, that they were acting on Huerta's orders. Even though Madero had lost much support among the people, his murder ruptured the country, and he was gradually lionized as a martyr of the revolution.

Victoriano Huerta's reign (1913–1914)[link]

Gen. Victoriano Huerta

In early 1913, Gen. Victoriano Huerta, who commanded the armed forces, conspired with U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson and Mexican politicians Félix Díaz and Bernardo Reyes to remove Madero from power. La decena trágica was an event in which ten days of sporadic fighting in a faked battle occurred between federal troops led by Huerta and Díaz's conservative rebel forces. This fighting stopped when Huerta, Félix Díaz and Henry Lane Wilson met and signed the "Embassy Pact" in which they agreed to move against Madero and install Huerta as president. After this was accomplished, however, Zapata reunited with Villa and the other revolutionaries.^[11] Orozco, however, sided with Huerta and Huerta made him one of his generals.^[10]

When Huerta gained power and became president, most world governments acknowledged him as the rightful leader. However, incoming U.S. President Woodrow Wilson not only refused to recognize Huerta's government, but replaced Henry Lane Wilson as U.S. Ambassador with John Lind, a Swedish-American. Wilson and his Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan--and many Mexicans—saw Huerta as a usurper of presidential power in violation of the Constitution of Mexico.

American forces at Veracruz.

Venustiano Carranza, a politician and rancher from Coahuila, was at the forefront of opposition to Huerta, and organized his own rebel army, called the Constitutionalists, with the secret support of the United States. On March 26, 1913, Carranza issued the Plan de Guadalupe, which refused to recognize Huerta as president and called for war between the two factions. Leaders such as Villa, Zapata, Carranza and Álvaro Obregón led the fight against Huerta. In April 1914, U.S. opposition to Huerta had reached its peak when American forces seized and occupied the port of Veracruz, cutting off arms, supplies and money from Germany, which suppored Huerta. In late July the situation worsened for Huerta, and after his army suffered several defeats, he stepped down and fled to Puerto México.

Legacy[link]

After Huerta vacated the presidency he moved to Spain in an attempt to establish a new home. Later he returned to Mexico to try to lead another counter-revolution within the post-revolutionary Mexican state.

Germany, which favored Huerta while he was in power, considered him an important factor in their plans for war in Europe. Knowing that the U.S. government was firmly opposed to Huerta's leading Mexico, the Germans saw him as a distraction to keep the Americans' attentions away from Europe. They funded Huerta's move to the U.S., from where he began planning another revolution in Mexico that would put him back in power. The German government gave him funding and advice.

The U.S government and Carranza, the newly elected President of Mexico, were understandably concerned when Huerta showed up in America. They kept him under surveillance to ensure that he did not gain entry into Mexico, as neither government wanted another counter-revolution. Fortunately for both of them, Huerta was stopped at the border in El Paso, Texas by U.S. border guards as he tried to enter Mexico and was kept there under house arrest. He died in early 1916.

Pancho Villa (active 1911–1916)[link]

Pancho Villa (left), Commander of the División del Norte (Division of the North), and Emiliano Zapata, Commander of the Ejército Libertador del Sur

Gen. Francisco "Pancho" Villa with his staff in 1913. Villa is in gray suit in center. His aide, Gen. Rodolfo Fierro, is to Villa's right.

Gen. Caho meeting with the Governor of Chihuahua, March 20, 1914.

José Doroteo Arango Arámbula, better known as Francisco "Pancho" Villa, came from the northern state of Durango. With his army, known as "Villistas", he joined the ranks of the Madero movement. He led his Villistas in many battles, including the attack on Ciudad Juárez in 1911, which led to the defeat of Mexican President Gen. Porfirio Díaz.

In 1911 Gen. Victoriano Huerta—commander of the rebel forces of Francisco I. Madero--appointed Villa his chief military commander.^{[citation needed]} However, Huerta and Villa eventually became bitter enemies. In 1912 Villa's men seized a horse from a Diaz supporter and Villa decided to keep it for himself. Seeing the opening he needed to get rid of Villa, Huerta ordered his execution for insubordination (Madero had issued strict orders against looting). Raúl Madero, Madero's brother, intervened to save Villa's life. Jailed in Mexico City, Villa fled to the United States. Soon after the assassination of President Madero he returned to Mexico to fight Huerta, although he had only a handful of companions with him. However, by 1913 his forces had swelled into an army of thousands, called the División del Norte (Northern Division). Villa and his army, along with Carranza and Obregón, joined forces to fight against the Huerta dictatorship.

Villa and Carranza had different goals. Because Villa wanted to continue the revolution, he became an enemy of Carranza. After Carranza took control in 1914, Villa and other revolutionaries who opposed him met at what was called the Convention of Aguascalientes. The convention deposed Carranza in favor of Eulalio Gutiérrez. In the winter of 1914 Villa's and Zapata's troops entered and occupied Mexico City. Villa's treatment of Gutiérrez, and the citizenry in general, outraged more moderate elements of the population, and Villa was forced from the city in early 1915.

Columbus, New Mexico, after being attacked by Villa's forces.

In 1915 Villa took part in two of the most important battles of the revolution, that together are known as Battle of Celaya, which occurred from April 6–7 and from April 13–15. He attacked the forces of Gen. Obregon but was badly defeated in what became one of the bloodiest battles of the revolution, with thousands dead. With his forces' defeat of Villa, Carranza seized power. A short time later the United States recognized Carranza as president of Mexico. On March 9, 1916, Villa crossed the U.S.–Mexico border and raided Columbus, New Mexico, in order to extract revenge on an American arms dealer who sold ammunition to Villa that he used in the Battle of Celaya and which turned out to be useless. During this attack, 18 Americans died but 90 of Villa's men were killed by U.S. troops and civilians who repelled the attack (another version of the story is that Villa didn't lead the attack on Columbus but that it was carried out by two of his lieutenants, a pair of brothers who were trying to curry favor with Villa by killing the crooked arms dealer. When Villa heard about the incident he was so outraged that he had the brothers executed, but by then the damage had already been done).

Under heavy pressure by public opinion (stoked mainly by the papers of ultra-conservative publisher William Randolph Hearst) to punish these Mexican attacks, U.S. President Wilson sent Gen. John J. Pershing and around 5,000 troops into Mexico in what turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt to capture Villa.^[12] It was known as the Punitive Expedition. After nearly a year of pursuing Villa, the hunt was called off, the forces returned to the U.S. and Pershing was given command of the American Expeditionary Force in WWI. The American intervention had been limited to the western sierras of Chihuahua. It was notable as the first time the U.S. Army used airplanes in military operations. With the Americans always in pursuit of him, Villa had the advantage of intimately knowing the inhospitable terrain of the Sonoran Desert and the almost impassable Sierra Madre mountains and always managed to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.

Even though Villa's forces were badly depleted by his loss at Celaya, he continued his fight against the Carranza government. Finally, in 1920, Obregón—who had defeated him at Celaya—finally reached an agreement with Villa, who "hung up his guns" and retired to his farm. In 1923 Villa was assassinated by a group of seven gunmen who ambushed him while he was sitting in the back seat of his car—he never learned to drive—in Parral. It is presumed the assassination was ordered by Obregón, who feared a bid for the presidency by Villa.

Venustiano Carranza (1914–1920)[link]

Venustiano Carranza

Venustiano Carranza became president in 1914, after the overthrow of the Huerta government. He was driven out of Mexico City by Villa and Zapata in December 1914, but later gained the support of the masses by the development of a program of social and agrarian reform. He was elected president in 1917. To try to restrain the revolutionary slaughter, Carranza formed the Constitutional Army to try to bring peace by the adoption—albeit reluctantly—of the majority of the rebels' social demands into the new constitution. The socialist constitution addressed foreign ownership of resources (Article 27), an organized labor code (Article 123), the role of the Roman Catholic Church in education (Article 3), and land reform.

During his presidency he relied on his personal secretary and close aide, Hermila Galindo de Topete, to rally and secure support for him. Through her efforts he was able to gain the support of women, workers and peasants. Carranza rewarded her efforts by lobbying for women's equality. He helped change and reform the legal status of women in Mexico.^[13]

Although his intentions were good, Carranza was not able to stay in power long enough to enforce many of the reforms of the Constitution of 1917. There was greater decentralization of power because of his weakness. He had appointed Gen. Obregón as Minister of War and of the Navy. In 1920 Obregón, with Gens. Plutarco Elías Calles and Adolfo de la Huerta, led a revolt against Carranza under the Plan of Agua Prieta. Their agents assassinated Carranza on May 21, 1920.^{[citation needed]}

Emiliano Zapata (active 1910–1919)[link]

Emiliano Zapata

Emiliano Zapata was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution. He is considered one of the national heroes of Mexico: towns, streets and housing developments named "Emiliano Zapata" are common across the country. His image has been used on Mexican banknotes. People have long taken different sides on their evaluation of Zapata and his followers: some considered them bandits, but to others they were true revolutionaries who worked for the peasants. Presidents Porfirio Díaz and Venustiano Carranza called Zapata a womanizer, barbarian, terrorist and bandit. Conservative media nicknamed Zapata "The Attila of the South".

Many peasants and indigenous Mexicans admired Zapata as a practical revolutionary whose populist battle cry, "Tierra y Libertad" (Land and Liberty), was spelled out in the Plan de Ayala for land reform. He fought for political and economic emancipation of the peasants in southern Mexico. Zapata's trademark saying was, "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."^[14] Zapata was killed in 1919 by Gen. Pablo González and his aide, Col. Jesús Guajardo, in an elaborate ambush. Guajardo set up the meeting under the pretext of wanting to defect to Zapata's side. At the meeting, Gonzalez's men assassinated Zapata.

Zapatistas[link]

Francisco I. Madero, Emiliano Zapata, in Cuernavaca

"Zapatista" originally referred to a member of the revolutionary guerrilla movement founded about 1910 by Zapata. His Liberation Army of the South (Ejército Libertador del Sur) fought during the Mexican Revolution for the redistribution of agricultural land. Zapata and his army and allies, including Pancho Villa, fought for agrarian reform in Mexico. Specifically, they wanted to establish communal land rights for Mexico's indigenous population, which had mostly lost its land to the wealthy elite of European descent.

The majority of Zapata's supporters were indigenous peasants from Morelos and surrounding areas, but intellectuals from urban areas also joined the Zapatistas and played a significant part in their movement, specifically the structure and communication of the Zapatista ambitions. Zapata had received a limited education in Morelos, only going to school for a few years. Educated supporters helped express his political aims. The urban intellectuals were known as "city boys" and were predominantly young males. They joined the Zapatistas for many reasons, including curiosity, sympathy, and ambition.

Zapatistas.

Zapata agreed that intellectuals could work on political strategy, but he had the chief role in proclaiming Zapatista ideology. The city boys also provided medical care, helped promote and instruct supporters in Zapatista ideology, created a plan for agrarian reform, aided in rebuilding villages destroyed by government forces, wrote manifestos and sent messages from Zapata to other revolutionary leaders. Zapata's compadre Otilio Montaño was one of the most prominent city boys. Before the Revolution Montaño was a professor. During the Revolution he taught Zapatismo, recruited citizens and wrote the Plan de Ayala for land reform. Other well-known city boys were Abraham Martínez, Manuel Palafox, Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Pablo Torres Burgos, Gildardo Magaña, Dolores Jiménez y Muro, Enrique Villa and Genaro Amezcua.^[15]

Zapatista women[link]

Since Zapata's political ambitions and campaign were usually local, women were able to aid the Zapatista soldiers from their homes. There were also female Zapatista soldiers who served from the beginning of the revolution. When Zapata met with President Madero on July 12, 1911, he was accompanied by his troops. Among them were female soldiers, including officers. Some women also led bandit gangs before and during the Revolution. Women joined the Zapatistas as soldiers for various reasons, including revenge for dead family members or to perform raids. Perhaps the most popular Zapatista female soldier was Margarita Neri, who was a commander. Women fought bravely as Zapatista soldiers and some were killed in battle, and long after the revolution ended many continued to wear men's clothing and carry pistols. Col. María de la Luz Espinosa Barrera was one of the few whose service was formally recognized with a pension as a veteran of the Mexican Revolution.

Agrarian land reform[link]

Under the Porfiriato, rural peasants suffered the most. The regime confiscated large sections of land, which caused a major loss by the agrarian work force. In 1883 a land law was passed that gave ownership of more than 27.5 million hectares of land to foreign companies. By 1894 one out of every five acres of Mexican land was owned by a foreign interest. Many wealthy families also owned huge estates, resulting in landless rural peasants working on the property as virtual slaves. In 1910 at the beginning of the revolution, about half of the rural population lived and worked on such plantations.

United States involvement[link]

Ricardo Flores Magón (left) and Enrique Flores Magón (right), prisoners in Los Angeles.

In the ten-year span that the United States was involved in the Mexican Revolution, groups such as the Red Cross were able to help the Mexican people. The interests among United States citizens in Mexico during the revolution, on the other hand, were mostly representative of the United States politicians. Economic interests in Mexico from 1910-1920 had decided what United States policy toward Mexico during that period would be.

At the turn of the 20th century, United States citizens and corporations held about 27% of Mexican land. By 1910 United States investment in the country—such as land, railroads, mines, factories, etc.--had increased even more, pushing President Woodrow Wilson to intervene in Mexican affairs because the revolution was negatively impacting the Mexican economy, thereby endangering United States business interests. Twice during the Revolution the United States sent troops into Mexico.

Defense position set up by revolutionary forces.

The first time was in 1914, during the Ypiranga incident. When United States intelligence agents discovered that the German merchant ship Ypiranga was carrying illegal arms to Huerta, President Wilson ordered troops to the port of Veracruz to stop the ship from docking. He did not declare war on Mexico. The United States forces then skirmished with Huerta's troops in Veracruz. The Ypiranga managed to dock at another port, which infuriated Wilson. The ABC Powers arbitrated and U.S. troops left Mexican soil, but the incident added to already tense United States–Mexico relations.

In 1916, in retaliation for Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico, and the death of 16 United States citizens, President Wilson sent forces commanded by Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing into Mexico to capture Villa. Villa was deeply entrenched in the mountains of northern Mexico, and knew the terrain too well to be captured. Pershing was forced to abandon the mission and return to the United States. This event, however, further damaged the already strained United States–Mexico relationship and caused Mexico's anti-United States sentiment to grow stronger. Some^[who?] historians believed the United States government invested too much in the Mexican issue and violated its own avowed neutrality.

The Catholic Church during the revolution[link]

From 1876-1911 relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Mexican government were stable. Porfirio Díaz had a keen interest in keeping good relations with the Church, since he was worried about the American expansionist threat. Díaz addressed the issue thusly:

"Persecution of the Church, whether or not the clergy enter into the matter, means war, and such a war that the Government can win it only against its own people, through the humiliating, despotic, costly and dangerous support of the United States. Without its religion, Mexico is irretrievably lost."

However, Díaz was not completely supportive of the Church. Before his own presidency Diaz had supported the Juarez regime, which implemented anti-clerical policies, such as expropriation of large tracts of Church-owned property and the forced laicization of Mexican clergy. Indeed, many Roman Catholic clergy, including the Blessed Miguel Pro, were executed during the anti-clerical Cristero War of Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles during the latter part of the Revolution.

Youth movement[link]

As the Revolution progressed, the status of the University in relation to it changed several times; each time its students took different positions as well. Under different university directors, different revolutionary ideals were forced upon the student body. In many cases the curriculum would change as well. With each change, however, the importance of youth groups became more crucial. The university's students made up the bulk of the youth movement, chiefly composed of educated youth. During the Revolution, some viewed students as anti-revolutionary because of the image of the university as a safe haven for the rich and privileged. People engaged in the Revolution urged the university and students to become more involved and to accept the ideals and beliefs of the revolution.

The youth movements of the revolution were mainly confined to higher schools and especially the National University of Mexico. Young men used art, music, and poetry to speak out on the Revolution and encourage support. The leaders in government often made efforts to suppress such outlets. After the Revolution, new governments in turn gradually tried to suppress the freedoms of the University. By the 1920s, student protests were against the government.

End of the revolution[link]

Rebel camp

Monument to the Revolution located due west of the center of Mexico City.

Historians debate the exact end of the "revolutionary period". The most tumultuous phase of it ended with the death of the Constitutional Army's primer jefe (First Chief) Venustiano Carranza in 1920, and the election and inauguration of Gen. Álvaro Obregón as President.^[16] Coup attempts and sporadic uprisings continued, such as the Cristero Wars of 1926–1929, which erupted after Prescient Plutarco Calles, Obregon's handpicked successor and an anti-Catholic fanatic,^[17] persecuted the church in Mexico.^[17]

One major uprising occurred in 1923, when former interim President Adolfo de la Huerta led a revolt against President Álvaro Obregón, whom he denounced as corrupt-^[18] after Obregon endorsed Plutarco Calles as his successor.^[19] Catholics, conservatives and a considerable number of army officers, who felt Obregon had reversed Carranza's policy of favoring the army at the expense of the farmer-labor sector, supported de la Huerta.^[19] With his superb organizing ability and popular support, Obregon crushed the rebellion and forced De La Huerta into exile. On March 7, 1924, he fled to Los Angeles and Obregon ordered the execution of every rebel officer who had a rank higher than major.^[19] Despite the fact that minor revolts and mutinies occurred over the following years,^[18] de la Huerta's revolt was regarded as the last major uprising to take place against the Mexican government after the Mexican Revolution.^[18]

Effective implementation of the social provisions of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico and the near cession of revolutionary activity did not occur until the administration of Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–1940). According to Robert McCaa, the total "demographic cost" during the Mexican Revolution 1910–1920 was approximately 2.1 million people.^[20] Only two major figures in the rebellion, Alvaro Obregon and Pancho Villa, lived past 1920.^[21] Venustiano Carranza, Francisco Madero and Emiliano Zapata each died violently during the revolution.^[21] In the middle of the revolution, Pascual Orozco, who was living in exile in Texas, was killed while attempting to steal cattle from a ranch.^[21] During the course of the revolution, however, counter-revolutionaries Victoriano Huerta and Porfirio Diaz died comfortably in their beds.^[21]

A triple execution in Juarez, c. 1916.

Villa, who had ambitions to run for President of Mexico,^[21] was assassinated in 1923;^[21] While different people were reported to have been connected to his murder,^[21] it has been long believed that Plutarco Calles, who saw Villa as a potential challenge in the upcoming presidential election,^[21] was the main person who organized it.^[21] During the course of the Cristero War, Obregon—who was re-elected President after his supporters amended the Mexican Constitution to allow former presidents to seek a non-consecutive term--^[17] was also assassinated, in 1928 by a Catholic fanatic named Jose de Leon Toral.^[17]

With Obregon dead, Calles was now the most powerful figure in Mexico.^[19] As a result of the social crisis caused by Obregon's death, Calles formed the National Revolutionary Party (PNR). The party would be regarded as the world's most durable political entity.^[19] Between 1928 and 1934, a period known as Maximato, three front men for Calles served as President of Mexico.^[19] By 1934 Calles, who had become increasingly conservative and rich,^[19] had lost influence among the large number of liberals and progressives in the PNR and agreed to let leftist Lazaro Cardenas run for President.^[19] Calles, however, could not control Cardenas.^[19] In 1936 Cardenas had Calles and 20 of his top henchmen arrested and deported to the United States.^[22]

Cárdenas was regarded as the most radical president in Mexican history but also as the most honest.^[19] His vision for Mexico was based on three principles: the ejidos (common lands) restored through a strong agrarian program to combat the domination of the large haciendas;^[19] a socialist education system to oppose the "fanaticism" of the Church;^[19] workers, cooperatives to check the excesses of industrial capitalism.^[19] To achieve this goal, he pleaded with workers, peasants and students to form a united front.^[19] Cárdenas also abolished capital punishment, better known in Mexico as fusilamiento, death by firing squad, in 1938. He also nationalized Mexico's oil industry, which was controlled by American and European oil companies, and renamed the PNR the Party of Mexico's Revolution (PRM). Cárdenas and the PRM's ability to control the republic without summary executions showed the revolutionary period was at its end.

Another major step occurred in 1940, when Cárdenas voluntarily relinquished all power to his successor Manuel Ávila Camacho, a legal transition that was unprecedented in Mexican history. In 1942 Ávila Camacho and all living ex-Presidents appeared on stage in Mexico City Zócalo, in front of the Palacio Nacional, to encourage the Mexican people to support the Americans and British in World War II. This demonstration of political solidarity among diverse elements signaled the true end of the Revolution. Given its importance in national history, Mexican politicians and political parties refer frequently to the Revolution in their political rhetoric.

See also[link]

	Mexico portal
	History portal

• Battle of Tierra Blanca
• List of wars involving Mexico

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

Many portions of this article are translations of excerpts from the article Revolución Mexicana in the Spanish Wikipedia.

General[link]

• Britton, John A. Revolution and Ideology Images of the Mexican Revolution in the United States. Louisville: The University Press of Kentucky, 1995.
• Chasteen, John. Born In Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. New York:
• Doremus, Anne T. Culture, Politics, and National Identity in Mexican Literature and Film, 1929–1952. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 2001.
• Documents on the Mexican Revolution Vol.1 Part 1. ed. Gene Z. Hanrahan. North Carolina: Documentary Publications, 1976
• Foster, David, W., ed. Mexican Literature A History. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.
• Gonzales, Michael J. "The Mexican Revolution: 1910–1940" Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002.
• Hauss Charles, Smith Miriam, "Comparative Politics", Nelson Thomson Learning, Copyright 2000
• Hoy, Terry. "Octavio Paz: The Search for Mexican Identity." The Review of Politics 44:3 (July, 1982), 370–385.
• Lucas, Jeffrey Kent. The Rightward Drift of Mexico's Former Revolutionaries: The Case of Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2010.
• Macias, Anna. "Women and the Mexican Revolution, 1910–1920." The Americas, 37:1 (Jul., 1980), 53–82.
• Mora, Carl J., Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society 1896–2004. Berkeley: University of California Press, 3rd edition, 2005
• Meyer, Jean A. The Cristero Rebellion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976, pp. 10–15
• Myers, Berbard S. Mexican Painting in Our Time. New York: Oxford University Press, 1956.
• Noble, Andrea, Photography and Memory in Mexico: Icons of Revolution. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010.
• Noble, Andrea, Mexican National Cinema, London: Routledge, 2005.
• Orellana, Margarita de, Filming Pancho Villa: How Hollywood Shaped the Mexican Revolution: North American Cinema and Mexico, 1911–1917. New York: Verso, 2007
• Paranagua, Paula Antonio. Mexican Cinema. London: British Film Institute, 1995.
• Quirk, Robert E. The Mexican Revolution and the Catholic Church 1910–1919. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1973, pp. 1–249
• Reséndez Fuentes, Andrés. "Battleground Women: Soldaderas and Female Soldiers in the Mexican Revolution." The Americas 51, 4 (April 1995).
• Smith, Robert Freeman. The United States and Revolutionary Nationalism in Mexico 1916–1932. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972
• Soto, Shirlene Ann. Emergence of the Modern Mexican Woman. Denver: Arden Press, 1990.
• Swanson, Julia. "Murder in Mexico." History Today, June 2004. Vol.54, Issue 6; p 38–45
• Turner, Frederick C. "The Compatibility of Church and State in Mexico." Journal of Inter-American Studies, Vol 9, No 4, 1967, pp. 591–602
• Weinstock, Herbert. "Carlos Chavez." The Musical Quarterly 22:4 (Oct., 1936), 435–445.

Online[link]

• Brunk, Samuel. The Banditry of Zapatismo in the Mexican Revolution The American Historical Review. Washington: April 1996, Volume 101, Issue 2, Page 331.
• Brunk, Samuel. "Zapata and the City Boys: In Search of a Piece of Revolution." Hispanic American Historical Review. Duke University Press, 1993.
• "From Soldaderas to Comandantes" Zapatista Direct Solidarity Committee. University of Texas.
• Gilbert, Dennis. "Emiliano Zapata: Textbook Hero." Mexican Studies. Berkley: Winter 2003, Volume 19, Issue 1, Page 127.
• Hardman, John. "Soldiers of Fortune" in the Mexican Revolution. "Postcards of the Mexican Revolution"
• Merewether Charles, Collections Curator, Getty Research Institute, "Mexico: From Empire to Revolution", Jan. 2002.
• Rausch George Jr. "The Exile and Death of Victoriano Huerta", The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 42, No. 2, May 1963 pp. 133–151.
• Tannenbaum, Frank. "Land Reform in Mexico". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 150, Economics of World Peace (July 1930), 238–247.
• Tuck, Jim. "Zapata and the Intellectuals." Mexico Connect, 1996–2006.

External links[link]

• Mexican Revolution from the Library of Congress at Flickr Commons
• EDSITEment's Spotlight: The Centennial of the Mexican Revolution, 1910-2010 from EDSITEment, "The Best of the Humanities on the Web"
• U.S. Library of Congress Country Study: Mexico
• Mexican Revolution of 1910 and Its Legacy, latinoartcommunity.org
• Women and the Mexican Revolution on the site of the University of Arizona
• Stephanie Creed, Kelcie McLaughlin, Christina Miller, Vince Struble, Mexican Revolution 1910–1920, Latin American Revolutions, course material for History 328, Truman State University (Missouri)
• Mexico: From Empire to Revolution, photographs and commentary on the site of the J. Paul Getty Trust
• Mexican Revolution, ca. 1910-1917 Photos and postcards in color and in black and white, some with manuscript letters, postmarks, and stamps from the collection at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University
• Papers of E. K. Warren & Sons, 1884–1973, ranchers in Mexico, Texas and New Mexico, held at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University
• Mexican Revolution, in the "Boys' Historical Clothing" website. This is an overview of the Revolution with a treatment of the impact on children.
• SMU's Mexic : graphs from the DeGolyer Library contains contains dozens of photographs related to the Mexican Revolution.
• Time line of the Mexican Revolution