Enrique Gorostieta Velarde ( Monterrey, 1889 – Atotonilco el Alto, June 2, 1929) was a Mexican soldier best known for his leadership as a general during the

Cristero War The Cristero War ( es, Guerra Cristera), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or es, La Cristiada, label=none, italics=no , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 1 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementa ...

Life

Born in Monterrey into a prominent Mexican-Basque family, Enrique Gorostieta Velarde had a typically secular education. His early life is not well documented, but it is known that his father, an attorney and businessman, had personal ties with

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wit ...

, and that Enrique was encouraged by his mother to take up a military career, and he enrolled at the Heroic Military College of

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...

in 1906. Upon graduation in May 1911, the same month Porfirio Díaz stepped down from the Presidency, Gorostieta — as a protege of

— served on campaigns against

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the ins ...

in September 1911 and against

Pascual Orozco Pascual Orozco Vázquez, Jr. (in contemporary documents, sometimes spelled "Oroszco") (28 January 1882 – 30 August 1915) was a Mexican revolutionary leader who rose up to support Francisco I. Madero in late 1910 to depose long-time presi ...

in April–May 1912. During Huerta's short dictatorship of 1913-14, Gorostieta's father was Secretary of the Treasury (Secretario de Hacienda). During the Mexican Revolution he served in the

Federal Army The Mexican Federal Army ( es, Ejército Federal), also known as the Federales in popular culture, was the military of Mexico from 1876 to 1914 during the Porfiriato, the long rule of President Porfirio Díaz, and during the presidencies of Franci ...

of counterrevolutionary dictator

, being Huerta's youngest general, and after Huerta's fall fought with

Juan Andreu Almazán Juan Andreu Almazán (May 12, 1891 – October 9, 1965) was a Mexican revolutionary general, politician and businessman. He held high posts in the Mexican Army in the 1920s and ran for the presidency of Mexico in 1940 in a highly disputed elect ...

, but soon fled Mexico for Cuba and later the United States. Upon his return to Mexico, he worked as a soap manufacturer, but found the work boring, and sought a return to military activity. In 1927 the

National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty ( es, Liga Nacional Defensora de la Libertad Religiosa – LNDLR) was a Mexican Catholic religious civil rights organization formed in March 1925 that played a crucial role in the Cristero War ...

chose him to lead the Cristeros, an army of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

rebels fighting against the government forces of president

Plutarco Elías Calles Plutarco Elías Calles (25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a general in the Mexican Revolution and a Sonoran politician, serving as President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928. The 1924 Calles presidential campaign was the first populist ...

.Werner, Michael S.
Concise encyclopedia of Mexico
p. 147, Taylor & Francis, 2001 Gorostieta has been called a Mason and lifelong anti-clerical, but recent letters of his have led historians to believe he was neither. Gorostieta's motivation for taking command of the rebels was not only the high salary he was offered (about 3000 pesos per month, or twice the salary of a regular Army General), but also his political ambition. Although Gorostieta's 1928 "Plan de Los Altos" called for changes to the 1917 Constitution's Article 27 (which the Cristeros saw as restricting the rights of Catholics) and — more important to Gorostieta — install a Gorostieta regime on the country. Philosophically, he believed in a return to the Juarez-inspired 1857 Constitution's view of non-interference and toleration for religion, rather than the Calles' administration's reading of the 1917 Constitution as demanding subordination of religious organizations to the state. Although openly contemptuous of his subordinates' religious faith (several of his officers were priests), he respected the military acumen of the Jalisco farmers under his command, and believed he could turn them into a professional fighting force equal to the regular army.Tuck His importance as a Cristero leader was in bringing military discipline to an unorganized insurgency. He is credited with turning Cristero "armies" into a Cristero Army, which, for a time, was winning battles in the limited region where it operated: rural Jalisco, Michoacan, Colima and Zacatecas. However, without support from the Mexican church or the Vatican and torn by internal dissension, the Cristeros were largely irrelevant as a political or military force as a negotiated settlement was worked out between the Vatican and the Mexican state over interpretations of the Church's rights under the Constitution.

Death

Nineteen days before a cessation of hostilities, based on an agreement worked out by U.S. Ambassador

Dwight Morrow Dwight Whitney Morrow (January 11, 1873October 5, 1931) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician, best known as the U.S. ambassador who improved U.S.-Mexican relations, mediating the religious conflict in Mexico known as the Cristero ...

between Pope Pius XI and Mexican bishop

Pascual Díaz y Barreto The Most Reverend Pascual Díaz y Barreto, SJ (June 22, 1876 – May 19, 1936) was a Mexican prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Mexico City from June 22, 1929 until his death in 1936. Throughout his tenure, he fr ...

, was to take effect, Gorostieta was killed following a Mexican government intelligence operation (2 June 1929). With the movement rapidly collapsing, Gorostieta was attempting a retreat into Michoacán, where he hoped to recruit followers and continue the rebellion. A federal officer, who had infiltrated Gorostieta's inner circle, tipped off the Mexican cavalry to the general's presence in Atotonilco, Jalisco, and killed him in a short firefight.

In popular culture

Gorostieta was portrayed by

Andy Garcia Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...

in the 2012 film '' Cristiada'', aka "For Greater Glory", an epic historical drama also starring

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytim ...

, Eduardo Verástegui and Peter O'Toole.Cristiada (2011)
IMDB, Accessed Oct. 8, 2010

References

External links

by Jim Tuck at Latin American Studies {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorostieta, Enrique 1889 births 1929 deaths People from Monterrey Mexican people of Basque descent Cristero War Mexican generals Mexican rebels People of the Mexican Revolution Deaths by firearm in Mexico

Life

Death

In popular culture

References

Further reading

External links