Are there any examples of localized micro-conflicts in Mexican history that led to small scale wars and intervention from federal forces to stop it?

To get a better idea of what I am talking about, I will provide examples of localized conflicts in American history. One example is the Lincoln County War of 1878, where competing business interests in Lincoln County, New Mexico decided to use partisan
violence to suppress the activities of their rivals,culminating in the battle of Lincoln, which has been featured in the film “Young Guns”. Federal troops intervened to stop the fighting. Another such conflict occurred in Johnson County, Wyoming,
where a large scale cattle grazing interest tried to muscle out the smaller ranchers in the county, leading to two ranch sieges before the US 6th Cavalry intervened to stop the violence.

Another example, this time involving Mexico, was the El Paso Salt War of 1877 in the Guadalupe mountains. That area has extensive salt lakes, which the local Mexican Americans used to extract and either sell in Mexico or use for private purposes. Mexican-
Americans who settled the area would take from the salt lakes as they needed, on a communal basis, since there was no sense of private land ownership around the lakes.

After the region switched to American jurisdiction following the Mexican War, English speaking settlers began discussing private ownership of lands around the lakes. This would effectively block access to the Mexican-Amercians who were using the lake's
resources on a communal basis.

By the 1870's, the issue began to boil over into an ethnically charged dispute about land ownership concepts. Partisan violence between the between those with private and communal land holding beliefs began to escalate. This ultimately culminated in a
siege of twenty Texan Rangers, who were sent to establish peace and order, in the Texas-Mexican border town of San Elizario. The Texan Rangers were overwhelmed by hundreds of Mexicans, who came over the Mexican side of the border to support the siege.

Eventually the Texan Rangers negotiated a peaceful surrender and retreat. It is interesting to note that the Texan Rangers claim this is the only time they have retreated from a battlefield. Next, the US Ninth Cavalry stepped in to establish order. They
were unofficially supported by New Mexican posses coming in to support their fellow Texans. I must wonder if the Ninth Cavalry, who were predominantly African American, had to step in to restrain the hostilities of the New Mexican posses as well? The
residents of San Elizario were punished by losing county seat status.

Were there similar examples of localized micro-conflicts escalating to open warfare in Mexican history?

Brian Ghilliotti

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