Historical Context of Activism in Mexico by the Catholic Church

     In 1859, self-proclaimed president of Mexico, Benito Juarez established a constitution that effectively removed the church influence and major authoritative presence within the Mexican government. Through his “Leyes de Reforma” Juarez gave authority to the government over institutions that had previously been managed by the Catholic Church, like  marriage. (1)
     The Mexican Constitution of 1917, established by congress, reaffirmed all laws pertaining to separation of church and state in the 1859 “Leyes de Reforma” and the 1874 amendments to the “Leyes de Reforma” which made the separation more distinct. The 1917 Constitution made the laws more severe in that it prohibited the clergy in participating in political activity. (2)
     After the establishment of the 1917 Constitution, the Catholic church developed a way to influence politics without a direct connection between the clergy and the government. The church’s new way of asserting influence was through (and continues to be) through lay organizations, As historian Ian Vallier states: “the Mexican hierarchy began to develop specialized lay groups and units related to growing spheres of secular change in society”(3). Through these lay groups the Catholic church continued to have influence over a large portion of Mexican society and therefore sustained the Catholic community within the country. One such lay organization that formed was Catholic Action (Acción Católica Mexicana-ACM) in the 1930s (4). However, it is important to note that this organization was directly supported by the Catholic church yet separate from politics. Historian Stephan J.C. Andes states in his analysis of this distinction, “Catholic Action acted as the religious and social training ground where the laity learned how to defend religion, and subsequently used this training for the good of civil society” (5). Therefore, a divide within organizations formed, in that some organizations, like the Catholic Action, were directly supported and somewhat governed by the Catholic church, while others were developed completely from a lay community yet have significant Catholic influence. One such type of organizations that formed include pro-life, anti-abortion organizations that were either directly affiliated or drew much of their mission from the teachings of the Catholic Church.

(1) CQ Press. "The Religious Conflict in Mexico." CQ Researcher. Last modified 2016. Accessed April 30, 2016. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1926080100.
(2) CQ Press. "The Religious Conflict in Mexico." CQ Researcher. Last modified 2016. Accessed April 30, 2016. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1926080100.
(3)Vallier, Ian. Catholicism, Social Control, and Modernization in Latin America. Modernization of Traditional Societies Series. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1970. 129.
(4)Andes, Stephan J.C. The Vatican and Catholic Activism in Mexico and Chile: The Politics of Transnational Catholicism, 1920-1940. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2014. 147.
(5)Andes, Stephan J.C. The Vatican and Catholic Activism in Mexico and Chile: The Politics of Transnational Catholicism, 1920-1940. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2014. 161.