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In Los Altos de Jalisco, people did not lose land because of the Revolution of 1910. There was little to no involvement by Alteños in the land power struggle and mainstream of the Revolución. That as we may or may not know, involved land redistribution in various areas of Mexico, notably Durango, Chihuahua, Morelos, Guerrero, etc.
However, since the Cristero Rebellion is considered part of the greater Mexican Revolution, and because the Cristiada DID in fact play a greater role in the history of Los Altos, I would venture to say that these individuals are referring to the Cristiada, which actually took place from 1926 to 1929.
During the Cristero Rebellion, Los Altos de Jalisco became the focal point of the religious whirlwind. Most Alteños gave financial, physical, moral, and spiritual support to the priests-in-hiding and the Cristero Rebels. In order to stop this continuous support by the local people, the Mexican federal government ordered everyone within a designated perimeter, essentially the whole northeast quadrant of the state of Jalisco, and rounded them up into makeshift camps, reminiscent of Concentration camps, lest anyone found within the perimeter would be shot. This practice called Reconcentraciones, did more damage to the Alteño economy and social life than anything else during its history. Often epidemics broke out in these camps decimating hundreds of people. While the local cities, ranchos, haciendas, farms, and pueblos were empty of all their residents, federal soldiers would rustle all the horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and as many animals as possible, killing whatever they could not take with them. They would also use churches as their stables, using sacred statues as target practice, drinking communion wine from the chalices, and trampling the Eucharist hosts under their horses hooves.
If someone was discovered of being a Cristero collaborator, federal soldiers would apprehend the individual, torture him, and execute him. The government would then confiscate his land and seize all his family's belongings. In this manner, many Alteños lost land during the "Revolution." This practice of Reconcentraciones took place in 1927, 1928, and 1929. By 1929, the Alteños were anticipating the tired tactic, and hid massive amounts of food, grain, animals, and property.
For anybody out there who would like more information regarding the Cristero Rebellion, I have access to numerous sources, online and in print, and also have various photographs. I researched the Cristero Rebellion for my thesis when I completed my Bachelor of Arts in History. I also did a Powerpoint presentation on the history of the church-state conflict in Mexico, with an emphasis on the Cristero Rebellion.
Good bye and God bless,
Steven F. Hernández
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