Military bosses or bandits? The liberal participation during the War of Reformation

Abstract

The War of reform in Mexico (1858-1861) divided the country in relation to the permanence or derogation of ecclesiastical privileges, among other aspects. In this context, both the military forces, Liberals and Conservatives to bandists who, on the one hand defended a political ideology and, on the other hand, took advantage of the mobilization to commit their misdeeds. This last aspect was emphasized by the adversaries to discredit and subtract credibility among the population. In this study we analyze how the liberals counted on military leaders who by a series of characteristics came close to being known as political bandits, with the purpose of confronting and annulling the presence of the conservatives in the southeast region of the present state of Hidalgo; so that the political motives were confused with actions of banditry.