The unexpected legacy of the Theology of the People in Argentinean social movements

FORNI, PABLO

Conferencia; Political Theology Network, 2022 Conference; 2022

Arizona State University

The purpose is to analyze the legacy of the Theology of the People incontemporary social movements of the poor and unemployed. Its emerged at the end of thelast century in opposition to neoliberal policies. Of diverse ideological origins, theyremained fragmented for many years. From the presidency of Mauricio Macri(2016-2019), there was an unprecedented unity of most of these heterogeneous movementsunder the slogan of ?Land, Roof and Work? disseminated in the world meetings of PopeFrancis with social movements. On August 7, 2016, on the festivity of Saint Cayetano(Patron of Work in Argentine Popular Religiosity), movements held their first unified rally. At the front of the march, militants carried in canopies the statues of the saint and VirginMary, as in religious pilgrimages. From here on, the statues of popular Catholic religiosity are present in the main rallies and public events of these social movements.What explains the irruption of statues of the Virgin Mary and saints and sometimesexplicitly religious discourses in social movements is on the one hand the Papacy of Francis, who maintained relations with several of them since he was bishop of BuenosAires. However, it is fundamentally due to the diffusion of repertoires, values and mystiquefrom an almost underground movement of popular pastoral that have been active in poorareas of Greater Buenos Aires for more than forty years. This movement recovers thelegacy of the theology of the people, which emerged at the reception of the Second VaticanCouncil in Argentina. Considered by some as an Argentine branch of liberation theology, itactually presents substantive differences with it. The pastoral inspired by the theology ofthe People seeks to strengthen Latin-American popular culture by reviving traditionaldevotions, making pilgrimages, restoring or building chapels and wayside shrines. Theoverlapping of inter-personal networks involving leaders and activists of the theology of thepeople and different social movements explains the diffusion from the first to the second.Based on years of extensive ethnographic fieldwork, secondary sources as well asinterviews with key informants on theology of the people and social movements, this paperexamines the diffusion from the theology and the pastoral of the people to socialmovements of contentious repertoires, doctrine and a renovated and invigorating ?popularmystic?.