La Revolucion Cristera en Tres Cuentos Mexicanos: Dios en la Tierra Que Lo Dejaron Solo Y La Otra Mejilla

Abstract

PRÉCIS This thesis is a study of the Mexican short story that reflects the Cristero Revolution between 1926-1929 and 1934-1941. The Cristero Revolution between Church and State takes place on two different occasions. The second revolution is a continuation of the first one, because achieving a resolution on the first conflict was not achieved on 1929. The first part of this thesis summarizes some of the major factors from a historical perspective that explains the 400 years of conflict between Church and State, until the first Cristero Revolution in 1926. It is not that there were no other conflicts between the church and state in Mexico before the Cristero Revolution, but it had never become an armed rebellion due to persecution on the part of the state. In the literary study, three short stories are analyzed to compare and contrast the literary as well as ideological differences between the short story from the Mexican Revolution and the short story from the Cristero Revolution: Dios en la tierra / God on Earth by José Revueltas (1944). It is a short story in position against the Cristero movement in the second rebellion. It is from the book by the same name, Dios en la tierra / God on Earth. La noche que lo dejaron solo / The night he was left alone by Juan Rulfo (1953). It is a short story in favor of the Cristero movement from the first rebellion. It is from the book, El llano en llamas / The fields of fire) y La otra mejilla / The Other cheek by Antonio Ávila-Hernández (2000) (short story in favor of Cristero movement from the first rebellion, it comes out of the vii book, Narrativa típica / Typical Narrative). This three authors offer a very good representation of the most common themes in the short story from the Cristero Rebellion. On the historical perspective, the critic Jean Meyer mentions how, since the arrival and conquest by the Europeans, church and state have been fighting each other for the power to control the millions of indigenous people on this continent. Very early in this history the Crown in Spain established laws limiting the amount of land own by the church. By 1735, the Crown of Spain had already established that no territories given to the conquerors could be passed on to the church. The Crown was trying to avoid having a Catholic Church with vast territories in the new lands. The complete separation of church and state comes in 1767, when more than 500 Jesuit priests were ordered to leave the territories and go back to Spain by the Viceroy on the New Spain. Some people revolted against the state, but there were no major attacks against the government. After the Mexican Independence, the liberal government enacted a new constitution in 1857, in which it was established that the government is a separate and independent entity from the church. Article 3 of the New Constitution eliminated the privileges of the church, and the authority of the church to hold special tribunals for the people. However, after the government realized that the new laws were not popular among the Christian citizens, it was decided not to implement most of these laws. The Government of President Plutarco Elias Calles decided to implement those laws in 1926; which is what lead to the Cristero Rebellion. The historical significance of this event for the Mexican literature is the literature starts to flourish like never before. The authors of the short stories created their viii own reality to reflect this period, who for the most part, were all children during the conflict. Therefore, these authors are trying to tell stories of the conflict they lived in their youth. The short story of the Cristero rebellion is defined by several unique characteristics that makes us to be able to separate this literature from that of the Mexican revolution. The historical period in which the short story of the Cristero Revolution occurs always makes reference to the presidency of Plutarco Elias Calles, the president in power during the persecution. In the short story of the Mexican Revolution, the historical references are most commonly associated with Pancho Villa, Emilano Zapata, and a few other heroes who have all die prior to the Cristero Revolution. The most recurrent themes in the short story from the Mexican Cristero Revolution are: religious persecution, torture, dehumanization, and war. The most common characters in this type of story are: the ordinary everyday Catholic Christian, religious authorities, and the Mexican army of the period. The combination of all of these literary themes and characters offers readers the unique literature of the common people who rises to fight back despite persecution by the government. These elements offer us a unique perspective on the Cristero Rebellion. Perhaps one of the most unique literary elements that characterize the short story from the Cristero Rebellion is the religious symbolism. Common symbols on this type of literature are: Good, Jesus, and the New and Old Testaments. There are frequent references of God. In the short story Dios en la tierra, the author Jose Revueltas mentions God twenty one times, and this is a short story against the ideals of the Cristero ix movement. References to the Old Testaments are made by the authors to point out the God who is on the side of those who worship Him. The New Testament is used to show opposition to God, who wants peace and harmony among all of his people. In the short story of the Mexican Revolution, references to God are made only occasionally. In these references the characters are asking God to protect them from being killed in the conflict. The environment in which these stories happen is also limited. The Cristero Rebellion only took place in the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Durango, and Nayarit. Therefore, these are the only areas where we can find the setting for these stories. The Mexican Revolution was a war that extended itself throughout the entire Mexican nation. Therefore, the setting for the short stories from this period can take place in any part of Mexico. The short stories that were analyzed reflect the differences between the short story from the Cristero Revolution and the short story from the Mexican revolution. These two Revolutions have given Mexico a wealth of literary work. However, as mentioned before, each one has specific characteristics. It is these characteristics that allow us to be able to separate the short story of the Cristero Rebellion from the short story of the Mexican Revolution.