Catholic Activism in Revolutionary Mexico, c. 1920–1925

Abstract

Chapter 2 describes Catholic activists at work building a new Christian social order in revolutionary Mexico. Catholic activism in Mexico reflected both counterrevolutionary and constructive tendencies, revealing the complex nature of the movement and its intimate relationship with the revolutionary process. The chapter focuses especially on the work of two Catholic leaders: Alfredo Méndez Medina and Luís María Martínez. Méndez Medina helped found the Secretariado Social Mexicano, which sought to unionize Catholics in the 1920s. María Martínez established la Unión de los Católicos Mexicanos, simply known as ‘La U’ by its adherents. During the decade, Vatican officials tried to come to grips with the diversity of Catholic social and political activism and secure a durable Church–state agreement with Mexico’s post-revolutionary government.