The Cristero Rebellion 1926-1929: Mexican Women, Mothers, and Marianismo
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ABSTRACT THE CRISTERO REBELLION 1926-1929: MEXICAN WOMEN, MOTHERS, AND MARIANISMO In 1926, a religious counter-revolutionary movement began in Mexico known as the Cristero Rebellion. Mexican Catholics across western-central states rose-up against the government, upset in the implementation of what they considered to be anticlerical articles of the Constitution of 1917. Catholics felt targeted by the state and did not like their religious freedom being limited. Amongst the many Catholics who voiced their concern against the state were Mexican Catholic women. I examine the role of women within this movement and the means by which they used their agency as mothers and social activists to defend their religion. Janette Gallardo August 2017 THE CRISTERO REBELLION 1926-1929: MEXICAN WOMEN, MOTHERS, AND MARIANISMO by Janette Gallardo A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History in the College of Social Sciences California State University, Fresno August 2017 APPROVED For the Department of History: We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree. Janette Gallardo Thesis Author Maria-Aparecida Lopes (Chair) History William Skuban History Cristina Herrera Chicano & Latino American Studies For the University Graduate Committee: Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER’S THESIS X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship. Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me. Signature of thesis author: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my parents and family for their continued support. I would have not been able to complete it without them. I also want to thank my thesis committee members: Dr. Lopes, Dr. Skuban, and Dr. Herrera. Dr. Lopes thank you for constant feedback, patience, and willingness to work with me. I appreciate the time and dedication the three of you spent to help me finish my thesis. Finally, I am grateful for the wonderful professors I had from Fresno State’s History Department. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: HISTORIOGRAPHICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF THE CRISTERO REBELLION ............................................................................. 5 CHAPTER 3: MEXICO STATE-CHURCH RELATIONS, 1800-1920S ...................... 22 CHAPTER 4: MEXICAN CATHOLIC WOMEN, MATERNAL IDEOLOGY, AND ACTIVISM ........................................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 60 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 64 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Mexico hosts the second largest population of Catholics in the world today. But the high concentration of Catholics was also evident early on. According to the Pew Research Center, in 1910 91% of the Mexican population was Catholic.1 As a majority Catholic nation Mexicans have a strong sense of identity with the Catholic faith. But this connection was not always seen as good. During the twentieth century, the Mexican state tried to make a clear separation between the Mexican state and Catholic Church. Mexico and the Catholic Church have had an interesting relationship at times working with one-another and at others coming to heads. The 1900s in Mexico saw political upheaval and social unrest, which greatly impacted the institution of the Catholic Church. From 1926 to 1929 the Catholic Church and Mexican state experienced years of internal warfare against each other. This revolutionary movement is known as the Cristero Rebellion led by cristeros, religious peasants, unhappy with the actions of the president. 2 They acted in response to President Plutarco Elias Calles’s enforcement of Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, 37, 55, and 130 of the Constitution of 1917. These articles were problematic for Catholics because they restricted religious education (Article 3), outlawed monastic orders (Article 5), banned worship outside the confines of the church (Article 24), required church property to be turned over to the state (Article 27), revoked citizenship to anyone found disobeying the constitution due to influence from clergy members (Article 37), prohibited priests from holding public office (Article 55), and denied the Church 1 “10 countries with the Largest Number of Catholics, 1910,” Pew Research Center, February 13, 2013, http://www.pewforum.org/2013/02/13/the-global-catholic-population/ (accessed March 2, 2017). 2 Cristeros: is the name used to refer to peasant rebels, who fought in the name of the Catholic Church. 2 2 any juridical personality (Article 130).3 By 1926, the constitution had already been in place for years, but the anticlerical legislation was never fully entirely enacted upon. President Calles closed public religious spaces and expelled priests during his time. In response, Catholic grassroots groups formed hoping to curtail in some way the federal government’s actions against their faith. Sectors of society each responded differently to the rebellion. One sector that was affected was women, for they held a close relation with the Catholic Church. Large numbers of women sided with the church and organized into groups to voice their opposition. In early 1926, prior to the commencement of the rebellion tensions between the church and state had been building up. By February of 1926, governors were ordered to enforce the Constitution of 1917, and by June the full blown out conflict was inevitable when President Calles enacted the Calles Law, which enforced Article 130 of the constitution. The rebellion officially began on July 1926 when the Mexican Episcopate suspended religious services in response to the legislation. Catholics were shocked at this act. The church tried to use legal methods to modify the constitution but were unsuccessful. The warfare began by August 1926 with no centralized stance on the matter, it was the people who organized the movement. The National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty, a civil rights organization, mobilized Catholics across the nation even at times when the Episcopate was not fully on board. Not all priests agreed that the call to arms was the best answer and the Vatican was fearful that this movement 3 “1917 Constitution of Mexico,” Latin American Studies, http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mexico/1917-Constitution.htm (accessed April 10, 2014). 3 3 could suppress the church. Most of the rebellion broke out in western-central states. 4 By June 1927, the total number of cristeros was 20,000.5 Cristeros were not prepared, they lacked, supplies and training. In the beginning, they used whatever they had on hand like slings, sticks, and machetes.6 In 1927 the cristeros became more organized when they hired Enrique Gorostieta, a former general under Victoriano Huerta. Towards the end of the movement there were 50, 000 cristeros, with the highest concentration of combatants in Michoacán with 12,000 and in Jalisco with 10,000.7 Around the same time, the federal army had 59,596 men on their side but the number of dissentions was also high.8 Many agaristas, peasants who partook in land reform, served the state during the rebellion as a form of payment for their new land.9 But there was a lack of unity amongst peasants in regards to the Catholic Church. Throughout the three years of warfare, negotiations were ongoing between Mexican the state and Catholic Church. It was until summer of 1929 when both parties came to an agreement due to the mediation of Dwight W. Morrow, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, between the Vatican, cristeros, and the Mexican government. Within this political movement Mexican Catholic women played an integral role. I will analyze the power of maternal identity and how women acted upon it providing them with a platform. Women’s participation altered society. I 4 Jean Meyer, The Cristero Rebellion: the Mexican People Between Church and State, 1926- 1929, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008),43-47. 5 Ibid, 58. 6 Ibid, 118. 7 Ibid, 85. 8 Ibid, 160. 9 Ibid, 31. 4 4 seek to analyze how Mexican women had agency in defending their faith during the Cristero Rebellion. This work details the participation of women in the Cristero Rebellion. The first chapter presents a historiographical overview on the Cristero Rebellion and on Mexican women during the twentieth century. Chapter two focuses on the history of the Mexican state and Catholic Church relations. It provides an analysis of nineteenth-century Mexico, when the country experienced dramatic political changes. This period saw the enactment of six different constitutions or legislations. I will compare how each successive political administration choose to deal with the Catholic Church by progressively limiting its power. In this chapter I will also examine the role of women in Mexican society prior to the Cristero Rebellion, seeking to respond the following questions: How much agency did women have