subject: The Cristero War: Fanning The Flames Of Revolution [print this page] Two ideological phases emerge when considering the Mexican Revolution: first was the 1910-1921 phase and second the Cristero War phase of 1926-1929. The autocratic president Porfirio Diaz fanned the flames of dissent during the first period, the fighting continuing when his leadership wavered and he was replaced by other, similarly unpopular, leaders. When Venustiano Carranza held office in 1916 he revised the national constitution. However, the increased anti-religious sentiment by Mexico's political leaders were not evidenced in the constitution until its draft of 1917.
The new constitution included several articles which stripped the Church of a great deal of its rights, including eradicating their legal status as an organization. The first president to serve under the document, Alvaro Obregon, hadn't really enforced the laws, trying to make peace with the clerical institution; the 1924 election of Plutarco Calles to the presidency became something of a witch hunt, as Calles was a fierce atheist and acted upon his beliefs. He passed new legislation which essentially made religion a criminal activity; holy objects and grounds were desecrated and the clergy was prosecuted and often murdered. Any criticism of the government by priests would result in imprisonment, and wearing religious robes in public was cause for a steep fine..
In response to this, the Catholic church and its followers attempted a peaceful protest, including suspending all public worship and economically boycotting the government. Unfortunately, their resistance was often met with violence from the police, under order from Calles, and things escalated in August 1926, when 400 Catholics locked themselves in a church in Jalisco and were involved in a shootout with the federal military. January 1, 1927 was the launch of the Cristero War; it was a war that began with a manifesto, calling for the religious citizens of Mexico, to fight for their rights.
The government didn't take this rebellion very seriously at first; the fighters had very little military experience and were massively outnumbered. However, the Cristeros (literally, Fighting for Christ) planned their engagements well and managed to win a few battles at the outset. After the federal troops forced them into remote areas and killed one of the rebel leaders, the Calles administration declared the war over - but it was only the start.
The concentration and media focus had been great for recruitment and the Cristeros soon found themselves with thousands of volunteers who wished to resist the cruel federal policies. There was even a brigade of female fighters in Zapopan, which had 25,000 members by the time fighting ended. The rebels had the upper hand throughout 1928 and in 1929 the government had to deal with a revolt within the national Army which weakened its power.
The end of the Cristero War was the result of the U.S Ambassador Dwight Morrow - Mexico's liaison. Difficulties with oil conflicts had put stumbling blocks in the way of Mexico-America relations, and the Mexican rebellion further hindered agreements. Luckily in 1928 Calles was replaced by Emilio Portes Gil, who was a little less anti-clerical than the previous administration. With the help of a priest named John Burke, the men drafted a peace pact that would allow worship to resume, let priests live on church lands and relax some of the harsh constitutional articles. In June 1929, church bells rang out for the first time in three years, after nearly 90,000 deaths on both sides.
