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RELIGION AND POLITICS IN MEXICO.
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses political/ religious conflicts. The secularization of Mexican politics and economics. Separation of church and state policy. Influence of the Roman Catholic Church and religious institutions in Mexico. Concerns expressed by religious leaders over issues of poverty, inequality, globalization, and economic development. Impact of Vicente Fox's election as President.
Paper Introduction:
Religion and Politics in Contemporary Mexico
Addison De Witt (1998) has suggested that if Northern Ireland presents a case of religious fanaticism dominating politics, Mexico presents one of politics dominating religious fanaticism. Mexico’s popular culture is Roman Catholic, but its politics and its state are largely secular, with vast majorities demonstrating both immense respect for the Catholic Church and firm opposition to the political involvement of religious leaders or symbols (Mexican Protestants & politics, 2001). In the past ten years or so, despite Mexico’s expressed desires to keep church and state separate, the two institutions have become more and more inextricably tied together in Mexico’s traditional or indigenous communities. Recently, with the election of Vicente Fox as Mexico’s first non-Institutional Revolutionary
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Fox was more than willing to position himselfduring his election as a stalwart Catholic, announcing his campaignstanding in front of a flag of Our Lady, the Virgin of Guadalupe. Crossing swords. (1994). The challenge that any Mexican president, regardless of hisreligious beliefs, must face is a challenge centered upon fosteringeconomic development and creating economic markets and infrastructure thatwill prohibit yet another major Mexican financial crisis. (1999). (1998). Though he is a practicing Catholic, he is also apolitical figure who has struggled to achieve power for himself and hispolitical party (Zarembo, 2 1). Mexico has committed itself to participation in the emerging globaleconomic order through such mechanisms as the North American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA) and through its involvement with the World Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund. After winning the election and again on the morning of hisinauguration celebrated mass, in public, on television. America, 174(3), 4-6. If I stop, push me! Like their Jesuit brethren elsewhere in Central and LatinAmerica, the Mexican Jesuits strongly criticized the Mexican government forengaging in economic activities that they believed were detrimental to themasses and beneficial only to the elites. His Coadjutor Bishop,Vera Lopez, was reassigned by the Vatican to a new See (Coleman & Coleman,2 ). (2 ). (2 1). Exploiting religion in Chiapas: The PRI aspuppetmaster. Torrens, J. He oftenended his political rallies with the battle cry of the Christeros: "If Iadvance, follow me! As Smith (1999) notes, the activist role thatthe Church is now seeking in Mexico may well run head-on into theseconflicting imperatives. The defeat of the PRI, which long saw itself as the custodian ofchurch-state separation is seen as giving new hope that the Catholic Churchmay once again play an important role in shaping government action inMexico (Zarembo, 2 1). The situation was viewed as critical by Jesuit Superior General forMexico, Father Mario Lopez Barrio, who rebuked the Mexican government forsponsoring untrammeled privatization and free trade while doing nothing tohelp alleviate the poverty that these economic shifts these endangered(Torrens, 1996). The bishops went on to state directly that the PRI government wasinsisting on preventing any kind of restriction or control over theinternational flow of capital. Among the faithful, polarization was also apparent; wealthylandowners, financiers and industrialists in Mexico who benefit fromglobalization tend to support the more conservative elements within theChurch, with the poor and indigenous peoples supporting the more liberalelements. Fox is thefirst declared Roman Catholic who actively participates in the Church to beelected to Mexico's highest office in more than 7 years. Zarembo, A. It is possible that his personal faithand his public obligations will conflict as he attempts to move Mexicoforward economically as well as socially. Heis seen as a vehicle that the Church can employ to assert its influence ona broad range of issues, from instituting prayer in public schools, tokeeping abortion illegal, to allowing the various religious orders to ownradio and television networks. Tensionsbetween elements of the Church's hierarchy (including Bishops from Ecatepecand the Yucatan, on the left, and the Cardinals from Mexico City andGuadalajara on the right) escalated as the 199 s came to an end (Coleman &Coleman, 2 ). Jones(1993) claims that with 9 percent of the Mexican population nominallyidentified as Catholic, enormous discrepancies between the officialclerical response to Mexico's problems and the actions of parish priestsbecame commonplace. National CatholicReporter, 31(19), 1 -11. Additionally, the economic realities that President Fox must confrontinclude the advancing tide of free trade and globalization, along withdemands for privatization of many of Mexico's economic sectors (Zarembo,2 1). Inthe past ten years or so, despite Mexico's expressed desires to keep churchand state separate, the two institutions have become more and moreinextricably tied together in Mexico's traditional or indigenouscommunities. National Catholic Reporter,3 (11), 6-8. Mexican Protestants & politics. Gap between rich, poor expands in Mexico.National Catholic Reporter, 29(36), 1-3. Ruiz served, untilhis recent retirement, as a mediator between the Mexican government and therebel EZLN, or Zapatista National Liberation Army, that has taken overareas of the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. National Catholic Reporter, 36(11), 11. In Mexico, as the 199 s unfoldedand globalization began to become an important indicator of economicshifts, the gap between the rich and the poor accelerated rapidly. American Political ScienceReview, 93(4), 989. Jones, A. The New Leader, 81(9), 7-1 . If I retreat, kill me"(Zarembo,2 1, p. Revolution in the Chiapas and elsewhere has been fed by poverty(Coleman & Coleman, 1994). In 1998, Bishop Ruiz and Coadjutor Bishop Raul Vera Lopez jointlychallenged the government of the PRI for its withdrawal from the peacetalks with the Zapatistas. Mexico is an enormously poor country with equally enormous gapsbetween the standard of living enjoyed by the masses and that enjoyed bythe elites. With the election of Vicente Fox as Mexico's president, a new degreeof accommodation between the Mexican government and the Catholic Churchappears to be emerging (Mexican Protestants & politics, 2 1). Smith, B. The document stated that "we see the insanity of aneconomic model which inexorably devours the wealth of nations,concentrating it in a few hands through the multinational corporations andshielding itself in the idol of the free market" (Chiapas bishops call...,1999, p. As Brian Smith (1999) has commented, these problems are not readilyresolved. Religion and Politics in Contemporary Mexico Addison De Witt (1998) has suggested that if Northern Irelandpresents a case of religious fanaticism dominating politics, Mexicopresents one of politics dominating religious fanaticism. The Christian Century,118(7), 23. Even within the Catholic Church there are sharp differences ofopinions on how Mexico as a country should respond to globalization and theproblems of the poor and the indigenous peoples. The bishops also charged that the PRI wasusing terror, violence, and economic oppression to further their own endsand to ensure that power and control over the Mexican state would not beshared by indigenous peoples and the poor (Chiapas bishops call..., 1999).While the views of Ruiz and others sympathetic to the Zapatista cause (andthe plight of many poor Mexicans from the Roman Church and the smallerProtestant sects in Mexico's rural regions) represent a sector of theChurch, they were not then and are not now necessarily representative ofthe more conservative elements of the Church hierarchy. Coleman, B., & Coleman, P. Second coming. Zarembo (2 1)also suggests, however, that it is important to realize that Fox is himselfa conservative Catholic whose views on homosexuality, abortion, theseparation of church and state, and reproductive choice will notnecessarily resonate with the views of the Jesuits and the liberationtheologians. While it would be incorrect to argue that the secularization ofMexican politics and economics is about to end, it is true that during thepast ten years, religious institutions in Mexico have begun to expresstheir views and act more publicly with respect to the critical issues ofpoverty, inequality, globalization, and economic development. The Mexican government petitioned the Vatican to appoint a newBishop for the Chiapas who would not echo the anti-government, anti-freetrade and anti-globalization views of Bishops Ruiz and Vera Lopez. In the early 199 s, Arthur Jones (1993) asserted that Roman Catholicofficials in Mexico were reluctant to protest economic inequality andpoverty because of the prominence of the PRI that was beginning to moveaway from its anti-clerical past as a means of keeping the Church quietabout government corruption and poverty. In 1994, for example, Bishop Don Samuel RuizGarcia, whose apostolic See is located in the perpetually troubled Chiapasregion, began to speak out on behalf of the peasants and the indigenouspeoples and even began to praise the Zapatista uprising (Mexico'sconscience..., 1994). De Witt, A. The position taken by Bishop Ruiz is seen by many as exemplifying theconflict that divides rich and poor Catholics as well as members of theChurch hierarchy (Catholic fractures widen..., 1995). 4). S. Alan Zarembo(2 1) says that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church - including its top-ranking officials, its liberation theologians and pastors, and its small,but growing group of seminarians - have great hopes for President Fox. 49)! The official Roman Catholic Church accepted the resumption ofdiplomatic relations between Mexico and the Vatican that occurred in 1992.Simultaneously, members of the Mexican Bishops' Conference released apastoral letter that spoke out against violence that referred to theinvolvement of elements of the military and the Mexican government in narco-trafficking (Jones, 1993). Further, the Mexican Jesuitscastigated the PRI-led government of then-President Ernesto Zedillo forallowing the military to exert an untoward degree of autonomy, facilitatingthe privatization of utilities, and permitting a resurgence of rule by thelocal bosses or caciques (Torrens, 1996). H. Sharp divisionsbetween the rich and poor - manifested not only in terms of the populationas a whole, but also manifested by the members of the Catholic Churchitself - have continued to polarize Mexico's Church hierarchy and itselectorate. Mexico's popularculture is Roman Catholic, but its politics and its state are largelysecular, with vast majorities demonstrating both immense respect for theCatholic Church and firm opposition to the political involvement ofreligious leaders or symbols (Mexican Protestants & politics, 2 1). (1993). These activist bishops, in a pastoral letterthat was issued December 24, 1998, rejected the global economic modelimposed on Mexico because of its negative local impact (Chiapas bishopscall..., 1999). National Catholic Reporter,3 (26), 1-3. Strong words for Mexico. Bishop Ruiz, an outspoken (if sometimes soft-spoken) critic of thePRI, was removed from his position in late 1999. References Catholic fractures widen in Mexico. Any number of Roman Catholic priests havejoined, overtly or covertly, with the rebels - at least to the degree ofproviding verbal support for the rebels' cause, offering to mediate betweenthe rebels and the government, and helping to establish lines ofcommunication between the rebels and the government. Government blames church forChiapas: Mexican uprising fed on poverty. Recently, with the election of Vicente Fox as Mexico's firstnon-Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) president in more than 7 years, a degree of "quasi-official" approval for Roman Catholic policiesand concerns has begun to emerge in Mexico (Mexican Protestants & politics,2 1). Catholic social doctrinemay well come into conflict with the economic realities that any Mexicanpresident must address. America,18 (2), 4-5. Bishop's transfer protectsinterests of powerful. President Fox remains a somewhat unknown quantity at this juncture(Zarembo, 2 1). Chiapas bishops call for peaceful settlement. (1995). (1999). (1996). Newsweek International, January8, 48-5 . (1994). Mexico's conscience: Ruiz takes his place in a long procession ofprophets, some of them martyrs. Bishop Ruiz has consistently raised his voice onbehalf of indigenous peoples and the poor, arguing at times that onlythrough organizations such as those of the Zapatistas will the most poorand oppressed Mexicans gain a voice in the governance of their country. (2 1). Coleman, B., & Coleman, P. Though the Mexican Church hierarchy islargely conservative, Jones (1993) maintains that the same cannot be saidof its pastoral clergy. The association betweenBishop Ruiz and other members of the Catholic clergy and groups like theZapatistas may well be evidence of the prevalence of liberation theology inselected sectors in both the Mexican Catholic Church and the Mexican state.
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