Church, Society and Politics in Recent Argentina, 1976–2001

Abstract

This article offers an overview of Argentina’s recent political history, focusing on the role played by the Catholic Church, especially its hierarchy. The period under consideration runs from the military Coup d’état of March 1976 to the political and social crisis that led to the outbreak of December 2001. The text begins by considering that the Church occupied a central place in the political life of Argentina throughout the twentieth century and analyses how its prominence changed in a period marked by tensions and disputes. The main argument is that the dynamics of relations between society, politics and the Church in recent decades show a complex panorama, where significant changes coexist, but also continuities that are no less important. In this sense, although it has been suggested that the return of democracy in 1983 should be seen as the beginning of a new stage, it is not defined as a linear or cumulative path leading to a horizon of absolute ruptures with the historically sedimented forms of intervention of the Catholic Church in the political sphere.