The 23rd of September Communist League in the mountains of southern Sonora. A history of the Comando Guerrillero Óscar González (1973-1975)

Abstract

The 23rd of September Communist League (LC23S or “la Liga”) was the largest guerrilla movement in Mexico in the 1970s. Practically at the same time of its foundation, the creation of rural commandos in the northwest of the country was agreed upon. One of them was the Comando Guerrillero Óscar González, which acted in the mountains of southern Sonora and had broad support bases among the Guarijío Indians, who live in the area. With a Social History approach, the article argues that the experience of this rural guerrilla command is useful to do more complex three interpretations of “la Liga” and the armed struggle of the sixties and seventies in Mexico: 1) that it was an exclusively urban organization, 2) that it was a response to the repression of October 2 in Mexico City, and 3) that it had no social support base.