Battles in the Desert, or Las batallas en el desierto, is a short story written by Mexican author José Emilio Pacheco. The short story was first published in the Saturday edition of the Uno Más Uno, a Mexican newspaper, on June 7, 1980, but was published as a short story by Era the following year. The short story is narrated by Carlos, as an adult, recounting his memories as a boy growing up in Mexico City in the late 1940s and 1950s. In particular, his experiences and the events that unfolded after falling in love with one of his classmate's mother comprise the central narrative of the short novel.