9 - The End of Rebel Autonomy

Summary

The armed forces that fought against the Caste War rebels were a heterogeneous mix, including regular government units. The majority of those who fought against Caste War rebels, however, were drafted to the militia (or National Guard) battalions established in major Yucatecan towns. Furthermore, local vecino or Indian men waged their own war against the rebels. The coexistence of a variety of armed forces, the strong reliance on draftees, the presence of volunteers in military units and the participation of people who fought the rebels on their own led to several problems and became an obstacle to central strategic planning and the enforcement of military discipline. The role of Indians in the struggle against Caste War rebels has been consistently neglected or played down in much of the literature, possibly for its potential to question interpretations of the conflict as a racial or ethnic struggle. However, as the chapter shows, Indians, identified by their Maya surname, made up a substantial part of the army and National Guard units. Indian participation in the war was not limited to individual regions or a specific point in time.