Topic summary
Cristero War
United StatesKnights of Columbus
Emilio Portes Gil
Joaquín Amaro Domínguez
Saturnino Cedillo
Heliodoro Charis
Marcelino García Barragán
Jaime Carrillo
Genovevo Rivas Guillén
Álvaro Obregón†
Enrique Gorostieta Velarde†José Reyes Vega†Alberto B. Gutiérrez Aristeo Pedroza Andrés Salazar Carlos Carranza Bouquet † Dionisio Eduardo Ochoa † Barraza Damaso Domingo Anaya † Jesús Degollado Guízar Luis Navarro Origel † Lauro Rocha Lucas Cuevas † Matías Villa Michel Miguel Márquez Anguiano Manuel MichelVictoriano Ramírez† Victorino Bárcenas † ~50,000 men and women (1929) 30,000–50,000 deadEstimated 250,000 dead
The Cristero War (Spanish: La guerra cristera), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or La Cristiada, was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularist and anticlerical articles of the 1917 Constitution. The rebellion was instigated as a response to an executive decree by Mexican PresidentPlutarco Elías Calles to strictly enforce Article 130 of the Constitution, an implementing act known as the Calles Law. Calles sought to limit the power of the Catholic Church in Mexico and its affiliated organizations and to suppress popular religiosity.
The rural uprising in north-central Mexico was tacitly supported by the Church hierarchy and was aided by urban Catholic supporters. The Mexican Army received support from the United States. American Ambassador Dwight Morrow brokered negotiations between the Calles government and the Church. The government made some concessions, the Church withdrew its support for the Cristero fighters, and the conflict ended in 1929. The rebellion has been variously interpreted as a major event in the struggle between church and state that dates back to the 19th century with the War of Reform, and as the last major peasant uprising in Mexico after the end of the military phase of the Mexican Revolution in 1920.