Jeff Abbott has written a piece in The Progressive, for the “Other Americans” series, reflecting on the rise of right-wing evangelical forces in the once-Catholic majority nation which is reshaping its culture—and politics.
As Christian nationalism rises within the Republican party in the United States, politics in Guatemala are falling under a similar influence. The far right continues to advance in the largely conservative Central American country, seeking to maintain impunity, corruption, and promoting religion-influenced policies, all the while maintaining relationships with drug traffickers.
Guatemala was once a Catholic-majority nation, but in the last several decades evangelical churches have gained more of a presence in the country. Today around 40 percent of Guatemalans identify as evangelical Christians, according to a July 2022 Gallup poll—one of the largest such populations in Latin America.
The influence of religion in Guatemalan society runs deep. Today it is common to see street preachers in towns across the country, preachers on buses, in municipal governments, and religious influence in congress, and in the presidency.
“Christian language and discourse are now normalized,” Iduvina Hernández, the director of the Guatemalan organization Security in Democracy, tells The Progressive. This presence of religious influence has led to the performance of public prayer by state security forces, including the National Civilian Police, and by municipal governments, as well as within the country’s congress, which has pursued legislation to establish a national day of prayer.
You can read the full article, including links and photos, here, The Other Americans: Guatemala is Constructing a Religious Narco-State
The article is part of ‘The Other Americans’, a series the writer does for The Progressive, on the theme of human migration in North and Central America. You can read his columns here, The Other Americans.
Categories: Corruption, Human Rights, Impunity, Indigenous peoples, Poverty
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
Post comments here