Enrique Gurrola

Enrique Gurrola, c. 1907

Enrique Miguel Gurrola Pérez (December 8, 1863 - September 4, 1930) was a Mejican philosopher, writer, radical, and editor renowned for his critiques of materialism and consumerism and his involvement with the Catholic Social Movement (Spanish: Movimiento Social Católico, MSC). Known for his unyielding rhetoric and uncompromising vision of a spiritually guided society, Gurrola emerged as a defining voice for radical Catholic reformism, particulary through his work on Vox Populi, the MSC's most influential publication.

He was born in Querétaro into a family of modest means. His father was a glassmaker, and his mother was a spinner, providing Gurrola with a humble yet industrious upbringing that instilled in him a strong work ethic. He showed intellectual promise at a young age, and by age 11 he had already read numerous classics, including the Illiad and the Anabasis. He matriculated into the National School of Jurisprudence of the Royal and Pontifical University of Mejico, where he became a founding member of the literary club Los Filadelfos, and was influenced by the works of Ernesto Valverde. However, he could not finish his education as he was frequently involved in brawls, many of them stemming from his political and religious beliefs, especially after positivism gained momentum in Mejican education. He was expelled in 1884.

Becoming an autodidact, Gurrola dedicated himself to an independent study of philosophy and law. In 1887, he published his first major essay, La Corrupción del Alma en Tiempos Modernos, which critiqued the burgeoning consumer culture as a moral rot corroding society. He was arrested in 1888 for practicing law without a proper license and for "libelous rhetoric" against the government; he was released the following year, with his brother and two cousins paying his bond. After his imprisonment, he was recruited by Valverde to become an editor of Vox Populi, a newspaper dedicated to advancing the MSC's principles. His editorials, written in the column El Mercado del Diablo (The Devil's Market), regularly decried consumerism as an insidious force that turned citizens into "slaves of their own desires". Gurrola's critiques were not limited to the secular elite; he also targeted what he perceived as lukewarm Catholics, who he believed had abandoned their spiritual duties in pursuit of worldly comforts. He frequently used the colophon "Vindicated, again" in his writings.

A staunch advocate of Integralism, Gurrola championed the idea that society's renewal could only be achieved through a return to Catholic principles. His philosophy was influenced by Thomism, but he also drew upon contemporary European thinkers like G.K. Chesterton, whose defense of distributism aligned with Gurrola's own economic ideals. However, Gurrola’s radicalism set him apart; he called for a complete restructuring of Mejican society, including the nationalization of latifundia and the redistribution of wealth under Church oversight. This, however, brought him into conflict with fellow radical and MSC member Filiberto Labrada, who praised the Mejican nobility in his writings. Their irreparable differences led him to abandon Vox Populi in 1898, founding his own journal, Los Ánimos del Tiempo.

His most famous work, Las Cadenas de Mammón al Desnudo, published in 1903, became a manifesto for Catholic anti-materialists. In it, he argued that consumerism not only entrenched economic inequality, but also eroded the spiritual foundation of society, replacing devotion to God with devotion to profit. In the early 1910s, he became increasingly contrarian to whoever was in power in Mejico - he critiqued President José Yves de Limantour and Coordinator Porfirio Díaz as representatives of a corrupt, materialistic state, and he critiqued Francisco I. Madero as an insufficiently radical reformer who failed to uphold his promises of agrarian reform. After Victoriano Huerta took power, Gurrola's life was threatened, as the general considered him a bickering nuisance, and Gurrola was forced into exile in 1913. While in France, he'd publish under the pseudonym Méngane Peres, and he'd become one of the harshest critics of Plutarco Elías Calles, recognizing him as a "modern Nero", and an avid supporter of the Cristeros, calling them "valiant Crusaders". His writings took on a more apocalyptic tone, warning that Mejico stood at a crossroads: it would either embrace its Catholic heritage or descend into moral and social chaos.

He returned to his homeland in 1927, taking a ship through the Panama Canal to avoid Veracruz, which was under government control, before eventually settling in the port of San Blas, near Cristero strongholds. After the assassination of Calles by José de León Toral in 1928 and the Cristero victory, Gurrola lived to witness the partial restoration of the Church's influence under President Octaviano Larrazolo. After the president's untimely death in early 1930, he saw the election of José Vasconcelos, whom he viewed sympathetically. During the last days of his life, he campaigned for Toral to be pardoned. He passed away from a heart attack while visiting his hometown of Querétaro, in September 1930, at the age of 69.