Cristero War: The Rebellion against the Mexican Government's Anti-Catholic Laws

This growing tension reached a boiling point when President Plutarco Elías Calles, who came into power in 1924, took decisive action to enforce these secular provisions. In 1926, Calles issued an executive order to aggressively implement Article 130 of the 1917 Constitution, known as the Calles Law. This law effectively outlawed many aspects of Catholicism in Mexico, including the practice of the religion in public spaces, the establishment of religious orders, and the public involvement of the clergy in education and politics. Calles' aim was to reduce the power of the Catholic Church, which had long been one of the most influential institutions in Mexican society, and to curb what he perceived as an obstacle to modernization and national unity.