Red Shirts (Mexico)
| Red Shirts | |
|---|---|
| Camisas Rojas | |
| Leader(s) | Governor Tomás Garrido Canabal |
| Dates of operation | 1931-1935 |
| Motives | anti-Catholic church |
| Active region(s) | Tabasco, Mexico |
| Ideology | Communist |
| Status | Inactive |
The Red Shirts (Spanish: Camisas Rojas) were a paramilitary organization, existing in the 1930s, founded by the atheist and anti-Catholic anticlerical Governor of Tabasco, Mexico, Tomás Garrido Canabal during his second term. As part of their attempt to destroy the Church, they systematically destroyed church buildings. The group, created to carry out the governor's orders, takes its name from its uniform of red shirts, black pants, and black and red military caps and it consisted of men aged 15 to 30.
Apart from religion, the Red Shirts also attacked other things they considered to be detrimental to progress, most notably alcohol. They have been described as "fascist", however, the anthem of the Red Shirts was the Internationale, widely considered to be the socialist anthem, and Garrido named one of his sons after Vladimir Lenin, a Marxist and anti-fascist and also considered himself a Marxist Bolshevik.
Some scholars have argued that Garrido's authoritarian policies were more akin to European right-wing dictatorships, though he wished to turn the traditionally conservative state of Tabasco into a socialist model and fought for socialist causes. Tabasco has been called a "socialist tyranny" by Martin C. Needler, Dean of the School of International Studies at the University of the Pacific in California. Garrido also invited the First Congress of Socialist Students to meet in the state of Tabasco and created a form of socialist education which he termed "Rationalist".
The Red Shirts have been described as "shock troops of indoctrination for the intense campaign against 'God and religion.'" The Red Shirts were also used against the Cristeros revolt, an uprising against the persecution of Catholics by the government of Plutarco Calles. The Red Shirts practice socialist marriages, and two Red Shirt members, José Correa and Victoria Ley, pronounced their own vows:
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