Mejican Inquisition
The Mejican Inquisition (Spanish: Inquisición Mejicana), officially known as the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Mejico (Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición en Méjico) is an ecclesiastical tribunal in Mejico that traces its roots back to the Viceregal period. The Inquisition is charged with the task of enforcing orthodoxy and combating heresy in Mejico, in accordance with the strict Catholicism of the Empire, it operates under the authority of the Catholic Church and is staffed by clerics and lay officials who are appointed by the Church, and confirmed by the monarch.
Francisco Gómez de Mendiola y Sahagún, O.P., is the current Inquisitor General of Mejico who was appointed to the position by Pope Ambrose, and confirmed by Emperor Agustín VI on January 3, 2022. Gómez de Mendiola, a member of the Dominican Order, has been noted for his scholarly approach to theological matters and is esteemed for his efforts in advancing the work of the Inquisition with modern investigative techniques while maintaining fidelity to traditional Catholic doctrine.
The Inquisition was first introduced to Mejico in 1571, following the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Spanish forces. It was modeled on the Spanish Inquisition and operated in much the same way. Its primary function was to root out heresy and enforce orthodoxy among the predominantly Catholic population. Throughout the colonial period, the Inquisition wielded significant power and influence, often serving as an extension of the Spanish Crown's authority in the New World, having the authority to arrest, try, and execute individuals accused of heresy, blasphemy, witchcraft, and other crimes against the faith. The tribunal was, and still is, made up of a council of inquisitors, known as the Council of the Supreme, who were responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases, and a network of informants and spies, known as "familiares", who gathered information on suspected heretics.
The Council of the Supreme is responsible for determining the course of action in each case brought before the tribunal. It is comprised of the most senior and experienced inquisitors, who have undergone rigorous training in theology, canon law, and investigative techniques. The Council operates in consultation with the Inquisitor General, who presides over its sessions. Council members are chosen for their expertise and loyalty to the doctrines of the Catholic Church. The network of informants plays a crucial role in the tribunal's operation. They are often community members who are trusted by the Church and are tasked with gathering information on suspected heretics and reporting back to the Inquisitors. They are granted certain privileges and protections by the Inquisition in exchange for their services. Though their work is shrouded in secrecy, their existence is widely known among the populace.
In modern times, the Inquisition has continued to operate with the blessing of the Mejican government, being enshrined in the 1966 Constitution, which provides for the Inquisition to function as an autonomous body within the framework of the Mejican justice system, safeguarding the Catholic faith and morality as enshrined in Mejican law. The Inquisition is responsible for the monitoring and investigation of clergy and religious personnel accused of abuse and other crimes, also having the authority to investigate individuals accused of blasphemy, promoting apostasy, or slandering the Catholic Church. It also has the legal authority to carry out executions, although these are exceptionally rare (with only ten executions being recorded in the past 20 years), censor social media, authors, books, music, movies, and other materials, and to penalize individuals through flogging, economic sanctions, and the confiscation of property. The Tribunal has a presence in Mejico's major cities, with smaller regional tribunals in medium-sized towns, and a system of "ecclesiastical visitations" conducted by the Inquisitions' agents in rural areas.
The Mejican Inquisition had a profound effect on colonial society, shaping the religious and cultural landscape. The tribunal targeted a wide range of individuals, including mestizos and criollos, as well as Spaniards and other Europeans, but it did not have jurisdiction over Indigenous Mejicans, as they were considered neophytes. Some of those accused of heresy were subject to torture and other forms of punishment, and the tribunal had the power to seize property and assets from those found guilty. Despite its reputation, the Inquisition was also responsible for promoting the arts, literature and scholarship in the colony. It established schools and universities, and commissioned works of art and literature. The Inquisition also played a role in promoting the cult of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which became a powerful symbol of Mejican identity.
The Inquisition was severely weakened by the 1917 Constitution and was officially abolished by President Plutarco Elías Calles in 1924 as part of his broader campaign to secularize Mejican society and reduce the power of the Church. However, José Vasconcelos re-established the institution in 1940, seeing it as a means of reinforcing traditional Catholic values and combating perceived threats to society. Despite the Inquisition's re-establishment, it did not continue with the same modus operandi, as the Constitution now provided for freedom of religion, and thus, Protestants ceased to be censored by the tribunal, as they had been in the colonial period.
In Mejico, Liberals have long called for the abolition of the Inquisition, arguing that it is an archaic and outdated institution with no place in modern society, being incompatible with modern ideas of religious freedom and human rights. However, the Inquisition has maintained its role in Mejican society, and traditionalists and members of the Catholic Church have defended the Inquisition as an important defender of the faith and a bulwark against heresy and other threats to the Church. Abolitionism is one of Mejico's most important political points of contention.
History
Origins
The origins of the Mejican Inquisition can be traced back to the early days of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Inquisition was first established in Spain in the 15th century under the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, as a means of ensuring religious orthodoxy after the Reconquista. It was a period when Catholicism was reasserted across the Kingdoms of Spain, and heresy was seen as a potent threat to the unity and stability of Christian Europe.
With the successful conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortés in 1521, Spain extended its reach into the New World, bringing with it its institutions, one of which was the Inquisition. This territory, known henceforth as New Spain, included the lands that would later become Mejico. The Catholic Church's immediate concern was the Christianization of the indigenous peoples, and over time, the enforcement of orthodoxy became equally imperative, particularly as the number of European settlers increased.
The Spanish Crown had total domination of political and religious matters in the colony. Pope Alexander VI in 1493, and Pope Julius II in 1508, gave the Crown extensive authority over New Spain, with the goal of evangelizing the region. Spanish officials appointed religious authorities in Mejico, and even had the authority to reject papal bulls there. The evangelization process and later Inquisition had political motivations. The objective of Christian conversion was to strengthen alternative sources of legitimacy to the traditional authority of the tlatoani, or chief of the basic political unit of the city-state.
Franciscan friars began the work of evangelization in the mid-1520s, and continued under the first Bishop of Mejico, Fr. Juan de Zumárraga in the 1530s. Many of the Franciscans learned the native languages and even recorded much of the native culture, providing a great deal of our current knowledge of Mesoamerica. The Dominicans arrived in 1525. They were seen as both intellectuals and agents of the Inquisition, paralleling their role in Spain. These two orders, along with the Augustinians, provided most of the evangelization effort. By 1560, the three orders had more than 800 clergy at work in New Spain. The Jesuits arrived in 1572. The number of clergymen grew to 1,500 by 1580 and then to 3,000 by 1650. In the early years, the clergy's attention would be focused on the conversion of the Indigenous. In the latter years, however, struggles between religious orders as well as segments of European society emerged and took precedence over conversion activities.
A series of three ecclesiastical councils met during the course of the 16th century to give shape to the newly established Church in New Spain. In 1565, the Second Mejican Ecclesiastical Council met to discuss how to implement the decisions of the Council of Trent (1546-1563). The Catholicism being imposed here was heavily influenced by the Counter-Reformation and required total assent from its believers. Its main thrust was not on individual belief or conscience but on collective observance of clerically ordained precepts and practices. This combination of authoritarianism and collectivism was extended to the Indies during the course of the 16th century.
This sense of collectivism allowed for a certain amount of laxity in the conversion of the Amerindians, as many outward practices were similar to Catholic practices. Both systems intertwined religious and secular authority, practiced a type of baptism with subsequent renaming of the child and the practice of communion had parallels with eating replicas of Aztec divinities with blood. Franciscan and Dominican studies of Indigenous culture and language led to a certain amount of appreciation for it. It was definitely different from the Donatism previously subdued in Spain - instead, the Indigenous religion was branded as paganism, but was regarded as an authentic religious experience that had been corrupted by demonic influences. Much of appreciation was helped by the fact that many parallels could be drawn between the gods and the cults of the saints as well as the Virgin Mary. For this reason, evangelization did not result in a direct onslaught against indigenous beliefs. Rather the evangelizers attempted to shift existing belief into a Christian paradigm. While in theory Christianity was to have absolute supremacy in all things religious, in practice, the Church did not oppose any practices that did not directly conflict with doctrine.
The natives more easily adjusted to aspects of Catholicism that were similar to their previous beliefs, including the notion of the intertwining of religious and secular authority. Many European and indigenous practices continued side-by-side with indigenous beliefs. Indigenous practices were redesigned with Christian names and references. Pre-Hispanic beliefs and practices therefore survived in the new religion and colored the new religion's expression. The most famous example of this may be the emergence of the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The Franciscan Fr. Bernardino de Sahagún suspected that it was an adaptation of an Aztec cult for a mother goddess, while the archbishop of Mejico, the Dominican Fr. Alonso de Montúfar, promoted the cult. There was even some speculation in the early colonial period that Quetzalcoatl was being refashioned as the Apostle Thomas.
Establishment and colonial period
The first Inquisitor General of Mejico was Pedro Moya de Contreras, who later became the Archbishop of Mejico. When the Holy Office was established in 1571, it exercised no jurisdiction over Amerindians, except for material printed in indigenous languages. Moya de Contreras established the "Tribunal de la Fe" (Tribunal of the Faith" in Mejico City, and through the Holy Office he transferred to Mejico the principles of the Inquisition set by Tomás de Torquemada in Spain. He was responsible for the first autos-da-fé, public acts which often involved the penancing or execution of accused heretics.
The Inquisition was initially concerned with maintaining orthodoxy among the settlers. However, it quickly expanded its remit to include the regulation of Indigenous beliefs and practices. The blending of Catholicism and native customs was seen as a form of heresy that needed to be rooted out. Consequently, Nahua, Maya, and other indigenous traditions were suppressed, and acts like idolatry and witchcraft were harshly punished. Over the following century, the Mejican Inquisition grew in power and influence. Its influence was not just religious but also extended to the socio-political fabric of colonial society.
One group that was particularly persecuted by the Inquisition during this time were the crypto-Jews, known as Marranos, who were Jews that had ostensibly converted to Catholicism, but privately maintained their Jewish beliefs and practices. Following the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal in 1492 and 1497, many converted to Christianity to avoid persecution. However, these "New Christians" were often suspected of insincerity in their conversion. As Spain pursued its imperial ambitions in the New World, some of these conversos migrated to Mejico, bringing with them the risk, in the views of Spanish authorities, of heretical practices spreading in the colonies. The Inquisition's pursuit of crypto-Jews began to gain momentum under Pedro Moya de Contreras. The two most famous examples are Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva, and Francisca Núñez de Carabajal.
The Mejican Inquisition also targeted Protestants, as the Protestant Reformation was causing significant religious upheaval in Europe. Although the Protestant presence in Mejico was minimal during the early period of the Inquisition, any suspects found were dealt with severely. The concern over Protestantism echoed the wider Counter-Reformation movement within the Catholic Church, aiming to reinforce Catholic doctrine and curb the spread of Protestant ideas. Notably, the Inquisition also examined the behavior of the clergy ffor any signs of moral or doctrinal lapses, extending its scrutiny to those within the Church's own ranks. Illicit behavior, failure to maintain celibacy, blasphemy, and unauthorized preaching were amongst the transgressions that could attract the Inquisition's attention.
In the 17th century, the Mejican Inquisition began to direct more attention toward regulating the morality and orthodoxy of colonial society, which had become more complex and stratified. The population was a mix of Indigenous peoples, Europeans, Africans (both free and enslaved), and a growing number of mestizos (persons of mixed ancestry). The Holy Office sought to maintain Catholic orthodoxy but also to sustain the social order by policing the boundaries between these different groups. This included an increased scrutiny on bigamy and blasphemy, but also perceived deviations from proper moral conduct, such as sexual misconduct. Individuals from all levels of society could find themselves the subject of an Inquisitorial investigation, though enforcement could often be inconsistent and influenced by an individual's social status or connections.
By the 18th century, the influence of the Enlightenment began to spread through Europe, eventually reaching the colonies. The Inquisition found itself confronting new ideological threats in the form of Enlightenment texts and ideas. The spread of rationalist and secular thought challenged the Church's dogmas and authority. As a result, the Mejican Inquisition focused part of its efforts on censorship, controlling the importation and circulation of prohibited books and other printed materials.
One of the most significant factors in the Inquisition's operations during this period was the Bourbon Reforms, which began around 1700. The new policies implemented by the Bourbon monarchy aimed to modernize the administration of its colonies, recognize the equality of Criollos and Peninsulares, as well as to strengthen imperial control over the Church. This period saw several conflicts between civil and ecclesiastical authorities, with the Inquisition caught in the middle. Notwithstanding these reforms, the Mejican Inquisition retained significant power and autonomy. It continued to conduct autos-da-fé, though the frequency and intensity of these events decreased over time.
In response to the encroachment of Enlightenment thought, Mejican Counter-Enlightenment thinkers emerged, aiming to defend traditional values and the role of the Catholic Church in society. These intellectuals were not against progress or rational inquiry, per se, but were concerned about the secularizing trends of Enlightenment philosophy, which they feared could undermine the spiritual and moral foundations of Mejican culture. They advocated a philosophy that intertwined faith with reason and emphasized the harmony of scientific understanding with Catholic teachings.
In the realm of higher education, the position of the Church was dominant, overseeing institutions such as the Royal and Pontifical University of Mejico, an important center of intellectual life in New Spain. Here, and in other similar institutions, Counter-Enlightenment thinkers worked to foster a Catholic enlightenment, which adopted some aspects of rationalist thought while maintaining a firm theological foundation. Lectures and debates on philosophy, natural science, and theology all took place within the boundaries established by Catholic doctrine. Counter-Enlightenment writings rationalized the existence of the Inquisition as a necessary institution to protect the purity of the Catholic faith and the stability of society. They argued that the Inquisition served as a bulwark against the moral decay that threatened to follow in the wake of the secular Enlightenment. This philosophy linked the imperial and ecclesiastical powers as complementary forces that together sustained the Mejican world.
Mejican independence
The peaceful independence of the Kingdom of New Spain in 1788 marked the beginning of a new epoch for the Mejican Inquisition. Under the enlightened rule of Gabriel I, there was a subtle shift in the relationship between the monarchy and the Inquisition. He embraced some of the Enlightenment principles, specifically those that called for reforming institutions to make them more rational and less oppressive. While Gabriel I could not dismantle the Inquisition due to its deep entrenchment in the fabric of Mejican society and its strong support from conservative factions, he enacted reforms that limited its power. During his reign, the frequency of trials and the severity of its punishments began to decline. Efforts were made to curtail the tribunal's ability to conduct autos-da-fé, which by this point had become more of a spectacle than a regular feature of religious life. The Inquisition instead focused on non-lethal forms of punishment and increasingly served as a tool for moral and ideological censorship rather than physical coercion.
However, the House of Bourbon-Iturbide rose to power in 1825 after deposing Gabriel II. King Agustín I and Queen María Carlota were both supported by the Church, which saw their ascent as an opportunity to reassert traditional values and reinstate some of the authority it had lost during the liberal leanings of Gabriel I's reign. The Bourbon-Iturbide alignment with the Church was an attempt to stabilize the kingdom and uphold the sociopolitical order following a period of liberal reforms that had weakened the monarchial authority and emboldened various independence movements.
During this period, the Inquisition found a renewed sense of purpose. It became an instrument for the monarchy to suppress not only heretical religious views but also to monitor and control political dissent. As new ideologies burgeoned, inspired by the revolutions in Europe and the Americas, the Inquisition sought to preserve the monarchy and traditional societal order that began to fray as the ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity permeated the kingdom. The Inquisition faced challenges in the more isolated reaches of Mejico, where Indigenous populations had retained a significant degree of autonomy and at times mixed Catholic practices with pre-Columbian religious traditions. The Yucatán Peninsula, for example, was home to a large Maya population that had long been governed by a complex interplay of indigenous authority and Spanish colonial governance.
When the Yucatán Caste War, often referred to as the Yucatec Crusade in Mejico, erupted in the 1840s, the Church and the Inquisition saw not just a political rebellion but a religious apostasy, as the Maya rebels adopted a syncretic form of Catholicism infused with traditional Maya beliefs - the Cult of the Talking Cross. The Inquisition's intervention in the conflict was an effort to reclaim the souls of the Maya for the Church and the empire. It aimed to root out what it viewed as heretical practices and restore orthodox Catholicism in the region.
The Maya established a short-lived theocractic state in Chan Santa Cruz, which became the spiritual and political center of the rebellion. They followed a syncretic faith centered around the Talking Cross, a religious idol that supposedly communicated the will of God through a concealed priest, including the annihilation of all Whites and Mestizos from Yucatán. This rebellion was fueled by long-standing grievances against the Mejican state and the desire for autonomy, but the religious element of their struggle was a principal concern for the Inquisition. It was during this period that the Inquisition took on a more direct and militarily supportive role. The declared aim was not merely the pacification of a political uprising, but the reconversion of the Indigenous Mayans.
Inquisitional agents, often accompanying national forces, were dispatched to the Yucatan to dismantle the religious infrastructure of the rebellion. They aimed to destroy symbols of the insurgent faith, such as the Talking Cross, and to bring the Maya back into the fold of Catholicism. The campaign was as much about religious reconquest as it was about the reestablishment of Mejican sovereignty over the region. The intervention by the Inquisition was met with fierce resistance, and the complexity of the conflict meant Mejico's forces, both military and spiritual, had to contend with a firmly entrenched and profoundly motivated opponent.
Weakening and dissolution
The beginning of the Liberal Trentennium saw the rise of a positivist, anti-clerical sentiment within the Mejican government. The 1880s marked the beginning of significant liberal reforms, where rationalism and modernization were emphasized over religious orthodoxy. Intellectuals and policymakers, especially those known as "Los Científicos", influenced by positivism, viewed the Church, and by extension the Inquisition, as obstacles to progress and modernity. This period was greatly shaped by the vision of leaders like President Porfirio Díaz, who valued order and progress, but reached an amicable modus vivendi with the Church.
The Porfirist system and the Catholic Church reached an agreement that allowed the Church to retain some degree of traditional influence in exchange for staying out of the political arena. While formal anti-clerical laws were not aggressively enforced during Díaz's or his successors' tenures in office, and the Church retained much of its property and educational roles, the Inquisition's activities were constrained. The tacit compromise meant that although the Inquisition still existed, its role was markedly reduced and its functions largely ceremonial or restricted to religious matters that did not overtly conflict with the state's reformist agenda.
The government introduced laws to reduce the power of the Church in civil affairs too, including the transfer of education to the state, the secularization of cemeteries, and the enacting of civil marriage laws. Throughout the turn of the century, the Inquisition's role in society waned. Its methods were increasingly viewed as outdated and incompatible with contemporary jurisprudence, and its purpose was questioned in a society moving towards secularization.
The beginning of the Mejican Civil War in 1910 saw the rise of more anti-clerical leaders who aimed to further weaken the influence of the Church and dismantle the Inquisition. Revolutionary factions and various regional powers vying for control often viewed the Church as an ally of the old regime and an impediment to the revolutionary change they were seeking. As the conflict wore on, varying degrees of anti-clericalism emerged, from moderate politicians who advocated for the separation of church and state to radical leaders who wished to eradicate the Church's presence in the public sphere altogether.
During this tumultuous period, the Inquisition became a target for revolutionaries and reformists looking to secularize Mejican society and curtail ecclesiastical power. The Inquisition, already weakened by the liberal reforms of the Liberal Trentennium, found little ground to stand on as the war unfolded. Legislators used the upheaval as an opportunity to introduce laws that would lead to the formal disbandment of the Inquisition. The 1917 Constitution of Mejico, established following the Civil War, declared freedom of religion and removed the state's recognition of the Catholic Church as the official religion, effectively severing the ties between the government and the Inquisition. This Constitution drastically limited the Church's role in public life by banning political activity by religious organizations, ordering land redistributions that would affect Church buildings, and placing restrictions on religious orders and public worship. The powers of the Inquisition suffered greatly under these new laws, as the government sough to eliminate its influence over civil matters entirely and restrict its jurisdiction to the internal affairs of the Church.
The institutional church and the Inquisition struggled to navigate the post-revolutionary secular state, as the new laws severely restricted public religious expressions and led to the expropriation of church properties. Moreover, religious education was banished from public schools, and all religious orders were dissolved. This environment left the Inquisition with no legal standing or function, leading to its eventual dissolution during this period. Although the precise year of its disbandment was not universally marked, by 1924, under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles, who implemented even more stringent anti-clerical policies, the Mejican Inquisition had effectively ceased to exist as an institution.
The Christiad and re-establishment
Calles' enforcement of the so-called Calles Law, together with other policies that suppressed Catholicism in Mejico, saw the outbreak of the Cristero War, also known as the Christiad, a widespread struggle between government forces and militant Catholic rebels. The government's increasingly harsh measures aimed to eradicate the Church's influence over Mejican politics and society, including the strict enforcement of the 1917 constitutional provisions that imposed severe restrictions on the clergy and the practice of the Catholic faith. These measures included the expulsion of foreign priests, the requirement for the registration of clergy, limitations on religious orders and the prohibition of worship outside of church buildings.
In response, large segments of the Mejican populace, fiercely devoted to their Catholic faith and incensed by what they viewed as an attack on their religious freedom, rose in armed rebellion. The Cristeros, as the rebels were known, employed guerrilla warfare against federal troops and held that the laws enforced by Calles contravened freedom of worship. They fought under the rallying cry of "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" (Long live Christ the King!) and "¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!" (Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!), making the war as much a religious crusade as a civil conflict.
The conflict was brutal and bloody, seeing acts of wanton violence committed by both sides that deeply scarred the Mejican countryside and society. Churches were desecrated, priests were martyred, nuns were raped, many lay Catholics were persecuted, and Socialist rural teachers were brutalized. Despite the earlier dissolution of the Inquisition as a formal body, the Christiad was a clear indication that religious fervor and the desire for a Catholic identity remained potent forces within portions of the Mejican population.
President Calles was assassinated in 1928 by José de León Toral, effectively marking the end of the war and the victory of the Cristeros. After the interim presidency of Emilio Portés Gil, Octaviano Larrazolo was elected as President of Mejico in November 1928. Larrazolo sought to establish a more harmonious relationship with the Church and its followers, who were the overwhelming majority of the Mejican population. He signed Los Arreglos ("The Agreements"), which were a series of measures aimed to bring a peaceful resolution to the religious conflict that had consumed the nation.
These agreements included concessions to revise the Calles Law, allowing for a more lenient interpretation and application of the anti-clerical provisions in the 1917 Constitution. Among the compromises was the reinstatement of public worship, the return of some properties to the Catholic Church, and the government's tolerance for religious education in private schools. Furthermore, clergy would no longer be required to register with the government, and restrictions on foreign priests were relaxed.
While these agreements did not lead to a complete restoration of the Church's former power, they represented a significant retreat from the secularization policies that had precipitated the Christiad. The Church's status in Mejican society gradually recovered, although it continued to face certain limitations on its role in public life. The remnants of the Mejican Inquisition, no longer an official institution, had by this time been submerged into relative obscurity.
Following a wave of nationalist rhetoric, José Vasconcelos was elected in 1930 after the sudden death of President Larrazolo. Vasconcelos, a highly influential philosopher and politician who had previously served as the Secretary of Public Education, was well-known for his nationalism and his vision for a unified Mejican identity. His election marked the beginning of a dramatic shift in Mejico’s civil-religious dynamics. With a passionate commitment to the cultural and spiritual rebirth of Mejico, Vasconcelos was sympathetic to the Church and saw value in its role as a unifying and moral force in society. He promoted a form of cultural nationalism that celebrated Mejico's Hispanic and indigenous heritage, arguing for a synthesis that would forge a distinct national identity, known as Castizaje. This platform resonated with those who felt marginalized by the anti-clerical policies of previous administrations and yearned for a renewed sense of national and religious pride.
Taking advantage of the regained good will towards the Church, while also leveraging his nationalist platform, Vasconcelos encouraged a renaissance of religious and philosophical thought that was rooted in the idea of la Raza Cósmica, the Cosmic Race; a concept he coined to denote a future Mejican race, harmonizing the various ethnic elements in Mejico into a new, spiritually vigorous civilization. In this context, he advocated for the re-establishment of the Inquisition, not as a tribunal of punishment and repression, but as an institution aimed at the spiritual defense of this cultural project. The idea was not to recreate the old fearsome body but to build an organization that would foster the religious unity and moral purity he deemed necessary for the advancement of the Mejican nation.
During his dictatorship, ten years after its dissolution by Calles, Vasconcelos re-established the Mejican Inquisition on 16 October 1934 as part of his broader effort to instill moral and spiritual coherence in line with his nationalist ideals. However, under his tenure, the reincarnated Inquisition was framed as an intellectual and moral inquisition rather than one of physical coercion. It was designed to align with Vasconcelos's vision of a Mejican national identity deeply rooted in cultural and religious unity.
The new Inquisition took on a role that was more educational and ideological, seeking to promote and defend Catholic values while also fostering a sense of patriotism and national pride. While it retained the authority to censure and scrutinize, its implementation was largely through cultural and educational means. The body was intended to identify and counteract perceived threats to the social fabric, including stark secularism, moral relativism, and foreign ideological influences, particularly from socialist and communist movements.
Vasconcelos's revival of the Mejican Inquisition was a controversial move, criticized by many as an attempt to suppress intellectual freedom and dissent. Yet, for his supporters, it was a step towards the moral reinvigoration and preservation of Mejican traditions and values. The new Inquisition, unlike its colonial predecessor, was inextricably linked to the government, thereby serving as a state apparatus to promote Vasconcelos's brand of cultural nationalism.
The powers of the Inquisition were increased under the tenure of Salvador Abascal, who became the dictator of Mejico following José Vasconcelos's rule. Abascal, known for his Synarchist, Conservative and ultra-Catholic views, leveraged the Inquisition as a tool to enforce Synarchism—a political ideology that espouses corporatist governance guided by Catholic principles and the rejection of secularism, liberalism, socialism, and communism.
Convinced that Mejico's identity and traditional values were under threat from modernist influences, Abascal sought to imbue the Inquisition with greater authority to defend the empire's religious purity and national integrity. Under his direction, the Inquisition not only maintained its educational and ideological roles but also took on more enforcement powers, harking back to an earlier era of overt ecclesiastical control. While not returning to the modus operandi of its early history, the Inquisition under Abascal could mete out various punishments to individuals and groups seen as subversive to the moral order or threatening to the Synarchist vision. These could include public sanctions, fines, and restrictions on participation in civic life.
Abascal's more aggressive use of the Inquisition was part of a broader campaign to instill a comprehensive Synarchist policy within Mejico, which sought to permeate all levels of society and government. This campaign addressed cultural and educational content, labor organization, and even aspects of the economy, with the intention of creating a Mejico that was cohesive in its Catholicism and resistant to what he perceived as the moral decay offered by liberal democracy and socialism. However, this escalation of the Inquisition's power also led to increased resistance and criticism, both domestically and abroad, as fears of a return to ecclesiastical control and the suppression of personal freedoms grew. The Inquisition under Abascal stood as a symbol of reactionary forces seeking to hold back the tide of modern socio-political changes sweeping across the globe.
Absolutist Octennium to the present
Enshrining the position of the Inquisition in the 1966 Constitution was indicative of the influence Abascal had on shaping Mejican society during his tenure. He sought to ensure the enduring presence of the Church and its moral authority within the governmental system. Nevertheless, witnessing the changing tides around the world and perhaps recognizing the impracticalities of maintaining a rigid authoritarian rule indefinitely, Abascal stepped down from power in 1970, leading to a period of transition for Mejico.
With the assassination of President Nixon in 1976, massive social unrest followed. Under Emperor Fernando II, Mejico entered the Absolutist Octennium, an era characterized by the Emperor's unchallengeable authority. Fernando II began to use the Inquisition to fortify his rule and solidify the empire's social order along the lines of Synarchist principles, which remained influential in certain segments of the Mejican political establishment.
Under Fernando II, the Inquisition was seen as a state mechanism to monitor, influence, and at times control religious and moral life in Mejico. It operated as a kind of moral surveillance, ensuring that arts, media, education, and even private life adhered to the standards deemed appropriate by the empire. The Inquisition, aligned with the emperor's absolutist vision, could suppress dissent and critique that were seen as threats to the stability and unity of Mejico. In this way, the institution transitioned from a primarily ecclesiastical organ to an imperial tool used for broader social governance.
Given the violence and tumult of the Absolutist Octennium, with the rise of dissident groups, crime syndicates, and violent uprisings from contrarian ideological groups, Inquisitors began to act in conjunction with the Mejican secret police. The empire's consolidation of power required a network that could integrate intelligence-gathering with ideological enforcement, and the Inquisition's expertise in the investigation and monitoring of the public's adherence to orthodoxy made it a valuable ally to state security forces.
Inquisitors, now part of a system that blurred the lines between ecclesiastical authority and state power, assumed roles akin to that of intelligence analysts or internal affairs investigators. They worked discreetly alongside the secret police to identify subversive elements within society, focusing on threats not only to the religious institution but also to the stability of the empire and the authority of Fernando II. This cooperation between the Inquisition and the secret police gave rise to a climate of broad surveillance and control, where citizens could be reported for any behavior that was deemed contrary to the moral and political ethos espoused by the government. Any and all dissidents, including critics of Fernando II, liberation theologians advocating for social justice, republicans, independentists, and even intellectuals promoting secularism could become subjects of the Inquisition's reach.
Following the end of the Octennium and the pacification of Mejican territory, the nation began a wave of democratic reforms, with Mejico witnessing its first elections in more than 10 years in 1985. The rigid structures imposed by Fernando II were gradually dismantled to pave the way for a more pluralistic and less autocratic society. Consequently, the influence of the Inquisition was also diminished, with it taking on a more symbolic and less interventionist role.
The Inquisition had been a tool for enforcing compliance and orthodoxy under the guise of protecting national identity and religious morality. However, with the push for democratization, calls for freedom of speech became increasingly powerful. The Inquisition's methods and existence became points of contention and debate in the public sphere as Mejico worked to reconcile its traditional values with democratic principles. In its reduced capacity, the Inquisition transformed into a body focused more on the preservation and study of religious doctrine and the enforcement of ecclesiastical law within the Church, which was more in line with how similar bodies operated in other nations. However, it retained some investigative and punitive powers, still holding the prerogative to censor content contrary to the faith, as long as it didn't meet constitutional stipulations that would protect it as free speech, such as blasphemy or slander.
While the Mejican Inquisition's presence in political matters has waned since the democratic reforms, it has continued to carry out autos-da-fé and even executions, which, though legally sanctioned, are exceptional and carry significant weight when enacted. With only 20 registered instances since the end of the Absolutist Octennium, these acts serve as a stark reminder of the Inquisition's power within the ecclesiastical domain, albeit significantly restrained compared to its historical operations.
The majority of the Inquisition’s trials have been centered on clergy within the Mejican Church. Administrative attention has been particularly focused on issues of conduct and orthodoxy among the clergy, including the enforcement of celibacy vows. The Inquisition famously tried Mejican priest Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ, on multiple counts of moral misconduct including sexual abuse. His case, which gained significant public and international attention, highlighted the complexities of the Inquisition's functioning in contemporary times. Maciel was subject to a canonical investigation, and the trial conducted by the Inquisition brought to light both the gravity of his misdeeds and the Church's intent to address such grievances within its ranks.
The Inquisition also tried Subcomandante Insurgente Lucas, the leader of the Neo-Zapatist Movement during the Chiapas Conflict. The secular trial was the most widely televised in history, with a peak audience of over 200 million people worldwide. The auto-da-fé carried out by the Inquisition in March 2003 was emblematic of the power the institution still held in Mejico. This auto-da-fé involved a formal denunciation of Lucas' ideology and actions as heretical and antithetical to the moral and religious values upheld by the State. He was charged with heresy, sedition, and a litany of other offenses against the Church and Mejico. The verdict was excommunication and a pronouncement that all of Lucas' religious acts were null and void. The Inquisition imposed heavy fines and mandated public penance as well, before the insurgents' execution months later. Their death penalty was sentenced by a secular judge.