Maria,

My un-educated guess would say that an insurgente or insurgent could be either side, the Cristeros or the federales. In some or many cases it was hard to tell what side they were on and in some instances they may not have had a side but their own agenda. Could have been anyone avenging a wrong done to their loved ones, their neighbors or themselves.
I heard stories of insurgentes taking advantage of the Church/Federal situation by robbing, pillaging, raping and murdering, this was a case of common lawlessness.
I don't know if this helps you any.

Alicia

Subject: [Nuestros Ranchos] Insurgente

Another question I have is during the religious wars in Mexico during the 1920 through 1927, they referred to some of the people fighting as insurgentes. Who were the insurgentes? Where they the people fighting for Catholicism or were they the people that were for the government?

Maria Gutierrez-Uhlenburg