Evangelical wings and governance in Argentina

Abstract

The first evangelical wings emerged in Argentina during the 1980s. Since then, its number multiplied. This phenomenon has an increasing complexity and acquires a peculiar importance in terms of the articulations it generates with regard to prison governance. This chapter approaches the question about this governmental dynamics. The first section briefly addresses the process of multiplication of evangelical wings in men´s prisons in certain Argentine jurisdictions. Then, we describe the characteristics of the prisoners’ hierarchy within an evangelical wing. In the third section, we analyze in detail the different strategies and practices of order maintenance. Finally, the last part of this chapter addresses different crucial dimensions of power dynamics in and around the evangelical wings, as a scheme of co-governance: the dislocation of the exercise of power from state agents to non-state agents, negotiation practices and collaborative and confrontational relationships between these two types of agents.