This panel explores the intersection of religious practice and political governance in South America, focusing on how believers navigate nationalism, transition, and instability. Across three distinct national contexts, panelists examine the resilience of faith as a tool for both political advocacy and cultural preservation. In mid-twentieth-century Argentina, Baptist pastors leveraged transnational networks to redefine citizenship and religious freedom under Peronism. In contemporary Brazil, "allegorical ways of seeing" persist beyond the Bolsonaro era, revealing deep-seated political ambivalence through perceptions of divine influence. Finally, in Peru, the enduring traditions of religious brotherhoods like El Señor de los Milagros provide a stable framework of memory and resistance amidst systemic political decay. Collectively, this panel shows how religion does not merely react to political change but actively shapes concepts of sovereignty and communal identity.
In the aftermath of the global reorganization of the Second World War, Protestants found themselves in a precarious place. In this paper, through archival letters and memoirs of key interlocutors such as Santiago Canclini, in his efforts, who, during a period of hostility towards Protestants in the first Peron government, tried to establish themselves not only as active members in the political, religious and social life of the country. Through letters and internal documents, we will see how Baptist pastors lobbied for new notions of citizenry and religious freedom that transcended national borders. This work of advocacy can be conceptualized into three areas, which I have denominated: external and internal advocacy, the circulation of publications, and strategic coalition building.
In this paper, I show that in post-Bolsonaro Brazil, where Bolsonarismo continues to affect communities despite Bolsonaro’s 2022 electoral defeat, we can find continuities within the sense of change. Specifically, both senses of persistence and senses of change can be found in the recurrence of an allegorical way of seeing used to orient action: a temporal, spatial, and Christian reckoning (but not only Christian) that looks out for how God, the devil, and evil entities operate in human time. What is unique about Post-Bolsonaro Brazil, at least for the settler Amazonians I work with, is that many feel that others are interpreting the allegorical signs in inappropriate ways. While the discussion of allegory builds on my recent book, I extend that discussion with new ethnography about allegorical reversals under Bolsonaro, which offer insight into the new times animated by age-old temporal and spatial practices and political ambivalences.
In the last decade, Peru has seen vast political turmoil amidst religious stability, if not growth of practitioners too. As the country politically crumbles, is faith a prevailing factor for those residing within and outside of the country? Through the observations and celebrations of El Señor de los Milagros, Peruvian practitioner show resilience, and the importance of preserving traditions over highlighting political turmoil.