MLA Research Paper

Introduction

Cristero War is a stage in the history of Mexico, called the Cristiada era, which consisted of a Catholic movement against the government. This war began in 1926, with the protest of clergy against the regulatory law that promoted Plutarco Elias Calles, in the artículo130. The statute minimized the involvement of churches in the lives of the people of that time, for example, the imposition of quotas and special requirements to the representatives of the church. Subsequently, the clergy responded to the removal of the bishops of the church as a form of protest, this in turn caused the people to rise up spontaneously. This event was one of the most crucial events that left a huge “Red Mark” on the Mexican history.

Discussion and Analysis

Reform laws, passed in the 1850 and finally approved in 1917, pursued to nationalize the land owned by the Church (Gonzalez & Upton, pp 100 - 103). The intention was to curb the accumulation of land and wealth by the Catholic Church. As laws were passed, the clergy expressed with strong protests, to which the federal government responded by arresting several priests. One of the aspirations of the Mexican Revolution (1910 - 1920) was to provide land to the poor. Consequently, new laws arranged the seizure of large estates for distribution among the needy, as they became known as the land reform. The Church hierarchy in general, wanted to take part in this matter as the new legislation directly affected influential religious figures who owned large properties. Moreover, while the Church said he was not opposed to the division of property, the proposed project differed from the official (Mabry, 81 - 92).

However, citizens were convinced that the Church only wanted to protect the interests of large landowners, among whom there were wealthy clergy. On the other hand, there were also priests "agrarians" who supported the distribution of land among the poor. This conflict within the church only served for the government and the Catholic hierarchy distance themselves further (Purnell, pp 140 - 145).

In early 1925, the newly elected president of Mexico, Plutarco Elias Calles, began to vigorously implement the provisions of the new Constitution concerning the Church. For example, drove the country to many foreign priests (Jrade, pp. 53 - 69). He commanded to arrest the archbishop of Mexico for having declared that he would fight the anticlerical articles of the Constitution. They also seized several church buildings. Many thought that the intention of these measures was to prevent national heritage largely ended in Rome (Purnell, pp 140 - 145).

In July 1926 church services were suspended in the temples by order of the Mexican bishops themselves, a decision that the government interpreted as a political ploy to put the masses against them. Whatever the reason, this measure ignited the war that sparked the Cristero.

Emergence of Rebellion

Cristero rebellion began in July 1926 and extended into the whole Mexican Republic between mid 1927 and late 1929. The most adversely affected areas included the states ...