page_title: Federales
section_title: Military
hierarchical_section_title: Federales / Military
caption_attribution_description: Tropas Federales en Torreón
context_page_description: Federales is a Spanglish word used in an informal context to denote security forces operating under a federal political system. The term gained widespread usage by English speakers due to popularization in such films as The Wild Bunch, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Blue Streak. The term is a cognate and counterpart to the slang "Feds" in the United States.
context_section_description: Historically, "Federales" was also the common term used for the regular Mexican Army (or Federal Army), especially during the 34-year rule of Porfirio Díaz until 1911. In part the expression served the purpose of distinguishing centrally controlled military units from provincial militias or rural mounted police  (rurales). Following Díaz's overthrow by rebel forces led by Francisco Madero, the Federal Army remained in existence. The Federales were eventually disbanded in July and August 1914, after Madero's successor Victoriano Huerta was in turn defeated by an alliance of revolutionary forces. The formal dissolution of the Federal Army was decreed by the Teoloyucan Treaties, signed on August 13.
caption: Federales in Torreón, Coahuila c. 1914, during the presidency of Victoriano Huerta.
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