Hope for a New Society: Sinarquista Colonization in the Borderlands, 1941–44

As the Catholic, anti-communist and Mexican nationalist Unión Nacional Sinarquista (UNS) was at its height in 1941, the organization’s president, Salvador Abascal, envisioned the development of colonies in the Mexican-U.S. borderlands. The UNS rejected the Mexican government’s use of “revolution” and instead pursued a plan based on “organization,” establishing from the ground-up places to live out the movement’s ideals in colonies, obtaining control of regions in the less-populated north of Mexico. As the world delved deeper into war, disciplined sinarquista members emulated the Spanish conquistadores whom they admired by settling and populating the colonies. Colonization allowed for the sinarquistas to develop societies completely from scratch, centered on their Catholic faith as well as ownership of property. The colonies epitomized Abascal’s leadership, putting organization and discipline into practice. Sinarquista members from the U.S. were vital in making colonization a reality. They donated money and materials to make the colonies possible. Sinarquistas in the U.S. even envisioned themselves as returning to Mexico via the colonies. Sinarquista families, with the large majority being upper middle-class families, established and populated the colonies. The largest and most publicized of the colonies was Santa María Auxiliadora in Baja California Sur. The sinarquistas established a secondary colony which they called Villa Kino de Santa María de Guadalupe in Sonora. The UNS established other colonies in the north of Mexico in Durango, Sonora and Tamaulipas. External opposition combined with internal logistical issues eventually led to its demise in 1944.