Populism and the evangelical church in Latin America: how anti-LGBTI forces tried to stop the Colombian peace agreement

Abstract

The present paper explores the relationship between right-wing populism and the neo-Pentecostal Evangelical churches in Latin America, focusing on the anti-LGBT discourse emanating from this relationship. It argues that right-wing populists have been antagonizing the “people” against an imaginary LGBTI foe and using religious jargon and support to mobilize the masses against gender identity and sexual orientation achievements in the region. This argument is illustrated by a case study on one of the most emblematic moments of anti-LGBTI rhetoric in the last decade: the 2016 peace agreement referendum in Colombia. After more than fifty years of war between the FARC-EP and the government, a religious-populist movement claimed the Colombian peace agreement was tainted by “gender ideology”, which would threaten Colombian traditions and institutions. The 2016 referendum became a platform for advancing and repudiating LGBTI rights, and the subsequent rejection of the Colombian peace agreement is a case in point of the sharp opposition and "us vs them" narrative of right-populists and the neo-Pentecostal church against the LGBTI agenda.