Colombias Christian Alt-Right
05.13.2017
COLOMBIA
ANDRÉS GONZÁLEZ
In Colombia, Internet personalities and religious leaders mobilize opposition to the peace process by drumming-up fears of sexual diversity and “gender ideology.”
. . .
In Colombia, ideological vestiges of the Cold War have been refashioned to direct fear and anger towards a fictional “gender ideology” that supposedly poses a spiritual threat to Christian values. In the lead-up to the peace referendum, right-wing groups were able mobilize the imaginary threat of a queer, communist conspiracy to generate panic and turn it into political capital.
It’s time we grappled with the gruesome consequences of a political conjuncture in which online media figures, conservative religious movements, and a generalized politics of fear all intersect to shore up support for the Right, even in a country poised to overcome a persistent conflict that has raged for more than fifty years.
. . .
The anti-peace right targeted high- and middle-income Colombians by telling them that they would be responsible for the economic burden of the agreement — “the cost of peace.” Meanwhile, among low-income voters, the Right stirred fears about possible reductions to social welfare as the national budget changed to prioritize the reintegration of ex-combatants. But inflecting everything was an angry hysteria about sexual diversity — a specter of creeping cultural deviance which the Colombian right successfully associated with the proposed peace agreement.
In Vélez’s words, “We were looking for people to go out to vote while pissed off.” In this, Vélez and his collaborators were clearly successful. But to understand why this tactic was so effective, it’s necessary to go back months before the referendum.
More:
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/05/colombia-christian-right-homophobia-peace-referendum-bigotry
[center]
Juan Carlos Vélez Uribe, left, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, right, former right-wing president.
