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Ideas and Leaders in Contentious Politics: One Parish Priest in El Salvador's Popular Movement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2014

PETER M. SANCHEZ
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Abstract

This paper examines the actions of one Salvadorean priest – Padre David Rodríguez – in one parish – Tecoluca – to underscore the importance of religious leadership in the rise of El Salvador's contentious political movement that began in the early 1970s, when the guerrilla organisations were only just beginning to develop. Catholic leaders became engaged in promoting contentious politics, however, only after the Church had experienced an ideological conversion, commonly referred to as liberation theology. A focus on one priest, in one parish, allows for generalisation, since scores of priests, nuns and lay workers in El Salvador followed the same injustice frame and tactics that generated extensive political mobilisation throughout the country. While structural conditions, collective action and resource mobilisation are undoubtedly necessary, the case of religious leaders in El Salvador suggests that ideas and leadership are of vital importance for the rise of contentious politics at a particular historical moment.

Spanish abstract

Este artículo examina las acciones de un sacerdote salvadoreño – padre David Rodríguez – en una parroquia – Tecoluca – para resaltar la importancia de la dirigencia religiosa durante el ascenso del desafiante movimiento político salvadoreño que empezó a comienzos de los años 70, cuando las organizaciones guerrilleras apenas estaban comenzando a desarrollarse. Los dirigentes católicos se involucraron en la promoción de una política crítica aunque sólo hasta que la Iglesia experimentó una conversión ideológica conocida comúnmente como teología de la liberación. El centrarse en un sacerdote ubicado en una parroquia permite hacer generalizaciones, ya que un buen número de sacerdotes, monjas y trabajadores laicos en El Salvador siguieron el mismo cuadro de injusticia y tácticas que generó una extensa movilización política a lo largo del país. Mientras que las condiciones estructurales, las acciones colectivas y la movilización de recursos son indudablemente necesarias, el caso de los líderes religiosos en El Salvador sugiere que las ideas y el liderazgo son de importancia vital para el ascenso de políticas desafiantes en un momento histórico particular.

Portuguese abstract

Este artigo examina as ações de um padre salvadorenho – Padre David Rodríguez – em uma paróquia – Tecoluca – para demonstrar a importância da liderança religiosa no crescimento do movimento político combativo salvadorenho que teve início no início da década de 1970, quando as organizações guerrilheiras estavam apenas começando a se desenvolver. Líderes católicos, no entanto, apenas envolveram-se na promoção de políticas combativas após a conversão ideológica vivenciada pela Igreja, comumente chamada de teologia da libertação. Uma vez que grupos de padres, freiras e leigos em El Salvador seguiram as mesmas linhas táticas e de atuação que geraram uma mobilização política extensiva ao redor do país, o foco em um padre de uma paróquia específica permite que generalizações sejam feitas. Mesmo que condições estruturais, ação coletiva e mobilização de recursos sejam sem dúvida necessários, o caso dos líderes religiosos em El Salvador sugere que ideias e lideranças têm importância vital para o surgimento de políticas combativas em um determinado momento histórico.

Keywords

social movementsCatholic Churchliberation theologycontentious politicsmovimientos socialesIglesia Católicateología de la liberaciónpolíticas contenciosasmovimentos sociaisIgreja Católicateologia da libertaçãopolíticas combativas
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Latin American Studies , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , November 2014 , pp. 637 - 662
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

1 While several types of social movements exist, in this paper I am examining a ‘liberation movement’. See Morris, Aldon and Braine, Naomi, ‘Social Movements and Oppositional Consciousness’, in Mansbridge, Jane and Morris, Aldon (eds.), Oppositional Consciousness: The Subjective Roots of Social Protest (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2001), pp. 20–37Google Scholar.

2 Primary data for this paper are based on over 50 hours of interviews, mostly recorded, with Padre David Rodríguez, conducted between 15 and 25 May 2007; almost 35 hours of recorded interviews with 95 people who have known Padre Rodríguez, conducted in El Salvador between 1 and 13 January 2008; and over 200 documents from the Parish of Tecoluca, covering the years 1972–7.

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37 Padre Barahona was captured and tortured by the National Guard in 1975, and eventually left El Salvador for Guadalajara, Mexico.

38 Quoted in Berryman, The Religious Roots of Rebellion, p. 106.

39 Where no citation is provided, all quotes and information regarding Padre Rodríguez come from the interviews mentioned in note 2 above.

40 My interviews with Padre Rodríguez and many people who know him clearly demonstrate that compassion and social justice were values always present in his childhood home.

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45 Quoted in Harnecker, Marta, Con la mirada en alto: historia de las Fuerzas Populares de Liberación Farabundo Martí a través de entrevistas con sus dirigentes (San Salvador: UCA Editores, 1993), p. 59Google Scholar.

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48 Very soon several politico-military organisations would court Padre Rodríguez, since his leadership and popularity were already legendary.

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53 Numerous individuals that I interviewed recalled that Rodríguez had motivated them to take political action.

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55 Harnecker, Con la mirada en alto, p. 65.

56 Erdozaín, Monseñor Romero, p. 12.

57 In fact, the Church's social doctrine had influenced many revolutionary leaders in El Salvador, particularly in the ERP and FPL, since they had been involved in Catholic organisations or schools. See Harnecker, Con la mirada en alto, p. 128.

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62 Padre Rodríguez worked for the FPL from 1975 until the end of the civil war in 1992, also working for the FMLN when the FPL joined that organisation. Rodríguez did not serve as a combatant, but rather helped to organise CEBs and later raised money for the armed rebellion and for communities in guerrilla-controlled territory, travelling to the United States, Europe and Latin America. At the end of the conflict he made an effort to return to the Church, but the bishop of San Vicente at the time insisted that he issue an apology for the revolutionary and political path he had taken, a condition that he found unacceptable. Eventually Padre Rodríguez continued working with the FMLN, which was transforming itself into a political party, and became a candidate for the Legislative Assembly in 1997. He was elected in 1997 and 2000, and more recently in 2009 and 2012. Thus Padre David Rodríguez, a traditional parish priest, became a liberationist priest, a guerrilla priest and finally a political priest, always retaining close ties to the Salvadorean peasantry.

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