Christian Socialism in Latin America: Paraguay

In response to the posting on the growth of Christian socialism in Latin America, Ross Rogers calls our attention to the article in the New York Times (26/4/03) by Tony Smith, not be be confused with his homonym, the distinguished Oxford WAISer: "On a continent that has been swept by grass-roots movements against more than a decade of market reforms, the leading opposition candidate in presidential elections scheduled here for Sunday is swimming in the other direction. The candidate, Pedro Fadul, a successful businessman, is running on an anticorruption, pro-reform ticket, and has moved into second place in opinion polls as the head of Beloved Homeland, a movement so new that it still lacks the status of a political party.

Elsewhere in Latin America the leaders of popular movements may protest that the reforms that opened economies and sold off state enterprises failed to benefit the average citizen. But this is Paraguay. Mr. Fadul can campaign in favor of reform because reform never had the chance to fail here. Hidden from view behind its larger neighbors - Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil - this poor landlocked country of six million has been ruled by the Colorado Party since 1947. This gives the Colorados the questionable distinction of having maintained themselves in power longer than any other party in the world, edging out even North Korea's Communists.

"It's amazing that in just 16 months Beloved Homeland has come from nowhere to challenge the most entrenched and corrupt party in power anywhere in the world today," Mr. Fadul said in an interview after his closing campaign rally. He described Beloved Homeland as a Christian social movement of the political center, with a strong bias toward improving the lot of the poor".

RH: The Christian Socialist movement in Latin America has deep roots. We think of the clerical meeting in Medellín, Colombia, of Vatican II and of liberation theology which was born in Brazil. Actually it goes back to Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878 to 1903. He had a great interest in international affairs, having served as nuncio in Belgium. He established good relations with Germany by ending the "Kulturkampf" with Protestantism, but failed in his attempts to improve relations with the anti-Catholic French Third Republic. He is best remembered cor his 1903 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which provided the basis for Christian socialism. He and others would argue that Christ founded Christian socialism. I do not know when the Papacy first realized the importance of Latin America in the Catholic world. See Lillian P. Wallace, Leo XIII and the Rise of Socialism (1966).

Ronald Hilton - 4/26/03