Martina L. Weisz

From Pillar of Colonialism to Beacon of Human Rights?

In the Southern Cone and Brazil the democratization processes that began in the mid-1980s led to numerous investigations into the most complex and dire episodes in the region’s history. This process followed the dismantling of brutal dictatorial regimes and was aided by the declassification of new documents, opening new paths for historians to understand the recent past. The role played by the Catholic Church in this period is crucial, given the fact that since the 15th century, when it stood as one of the pillars of the colonial order in Latin America, it remained a key player in Latin American culture and politics, through a successful adaptation to the spirit of the times. Hence, its study is key to assess the impact that the values of democratization and human rights had in this part of the world during the Cold War, and to understand the continuities in the patterns of inequality, violence and racism inherited from colonial times. In this volume, we seek to shed light on the challenges and dilemmas faced by the Catholic Church in the Southern Cone and Brazil between ca. 1964 and 1990, using new archival work. The year 1964 is the year where the dictatorial wave in the region began in Brazil, and 1990 is the year that sealed the period, with the fall of the Pinochet government in Chile.