The best POD i can think of would be be a successful Mayan rebellion in 1847 in the Caste War of Yucatán.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_War_of_Yucatán
There's a difference between Aztec and Maya, dude. The Maya of Chan Santa Cruz concentrated on the worship of the Cult of the Talking Cross, a religion that was a syncretized mixture of traditional Maya beliefs with a small amount of Roman Catholicism.
The Cult of the Talking Cross actually came about later. If the Maya won in 1848, when they had their best chance, the cult would never have arisen and the Maya would go on practicing their hybrid religion without talking crosses barking orders at them.There's a difference between Aztec and Maya, dude. The Maya of Chan Santa Cruz concentrated on the worship of the Cult of the Talking Cross, a religion that was a syncretized mixture of traditional Maya beliefs with a small amount of Roman Catholicism.
I always thought Santa Muerte was the closest modern equivalent to Aztec beliefs. Other than that, I don't know.
So no chance of rich upperclass folks kidnapping homeless people to sacrifice?A religion espousing human sacrifice rising to prominence is not plausible. Voluntary blood sacrifice ("cutting" as a religious sacrament) would be fairly plausible among an underclass, but isn't going to gain traction among the army or landowners.
So no chance of rich upperclass folks kidnapping homeless people to sacrifice?