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| Cristero Prepare for Battle |
The Cristero War (sometimes known as the Cristiada in Mexico) lasted from 1926 to 1929, during which Christians fought against the policies of religious persecution enforced by the liberal Mexican government. These policies of religious persecution, stemmed from the anti-Christian 1917 Mexican Constitution. Confiscation of Church property, closing Christian schools, even preventing religious education in churches and requiring all religious activity be overseen by the government were features of the Constitution passed by Marxists who came to control the Mexican government. Citizen soldiers for Christ took the name “Cristeros”.
Beginnings
The roots of the conflict harkens back to familiar players in the American Civil War. The centralist policy of Benito Juarez (1806-1872) and other "progressive" schemes have earned Juarez the nickname “the Mexican Lincoln”. In similar fashion Juarez as Lincoln had advisiors swayed by the ideas of materialist philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883) that were sweeping the elitist salons from London and Boston to Mexico City.
Juarez the famous Mexican President was himself a well known enemy of Christians. In 1861 he and his political party reneged on their foreign debt and precipitated a war with their European creditors. President Lincoln came to his aid sending money and arms using Union General Phil Sheridan as a military liaison officer of sorts to the Juarez government.
Juarez acknowledged Lincoln’s help and jailed the Confederate States envoy in Mexico. He also did his best to stop any aid from getting to Texas. Juarez and his government despised the Texans who he believed had “stolen” Mexican territory and who harbored numerous Christian groups that were perceived to be enemies by the liberals in Mexico.
North of the border as the War Between the States wound down Confederate soldiers commanded by Missouri General J. O. Shelby joined the fight against Juarez. His “Iron Bridge” was welcomed by the Mexican people who were trying to throw off the oppressive anti-Christian government of Benito Juarez. The Confederates fought the Juaristas continuing the battle against those who sought to centralize government and diminish the Judeo-Christian worldview.
Like Lincoln and his centralist allies; Juarez prevailed. In doing so he planted the seeds of the Cristero War nearly 60 years later which would try to fulfill the dream of “wiping religion from the landscape of Mexico”. The subsequent Constitution of 1917 was an effort to oppress Christianity out of existence.
After 1917, Mexico was led by anti-Catholic centralists, leftists, Marxists and other liberals who tried to evoke the anticlerical spirit of President Benito Juárez from the previous century. The liberal dictators were arrogant intellectual elites who considered Christians to be superstitious cowardly peasants easily crushed by sophisticated government forces, believing the campaign against them would resemble a “hunt” like killing game animals...
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