Guerra Cristera

The Cristero War (1926-1929) was an armed uprising of Catholic rebels, known as cristeros, against the Mexican government’s enforcement of anticlerical laws, especially the 1926 Calles Law, which restricted worship and the clergy. The rebels fought under the cry “Long live Christ the King!” mainly in west-central states such as Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, and Zacatecas.

The conflict ended in 1929 with agreements, known as the “arreglos,” between the Church and the government. Don’t confuse it with the War of Reform (1858-1861), the earlier 19th-century conflict between liberals and conservatives over the role of the Church.