Rurales

Guardia Rural
Rurales in parade uniform during the Diaz era c. 1900.
Active	1861–1914 (first stage) 1920s–1950s (second stage) 1970s–present (modern)
Country	Mexico
Branch	Mexican Army
Type	Gendarmerie
Nickname(s)	Rurales
Engagements	Historic mounted police force: Franco-Mexican War Mexican Indian Wars Skeleton Canyon Massacre Guadalupe Canyon Massacre Garza Revolution Cananea strike Mexican Revolution Modern militia: Cristero War Mexican War on Drugs

In Mexico, the term Rurales (Spanish) is used to refer to two armed government forces. The historic Guardia Rural ('Rural Guard') was a rural mounted police force, founded by President Benito Juárez in 1861 and expanded by President Porfirio Díaz (r. 1876–1911). Under Díaz, it served as an effective force of repression and a counterweight to the Mexican Army during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The rurales were dissolved during the Mexican Revolution.

The modern Cuerpo de Defensa Rural ('Rural Defense Corps') is a modern part-time voluntary militia, generally used to support Federal forces.