Week Four: Introductions to Globalization, Mesoamerican Spirituality, and Theologies of Liberation and Domination

By Amanda Sneed

Our topics for this week focused on globalization, NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), gender in Mesoamerican religions, and an introduction to theologies of liberation and domination.

For this week, we read John Perkins’ Confessions of an Economic Hit Man in which Perkins (a former economic hit man or EHM) describes his work for the international development corporation, MAIN.1 His job title, chief economist, seems innocent enough. Perkins, however, soon learns that his job entails convincing countries in the global south to take out huge loans with the World Bank for development projects they did not really need in order to insure dependence on the United States. Perkins writes, “The unspoken aspect of every one of these projects was that they were intended to create large profits for the contractors, and make a handful of wealthy and influential families in the receiving countries very happy, while assuring the long-term financial dependence and therefore the political loyalty of governments around the world; the larger the loan, the better. The fact that the debt burden placed on a country would deprive its poorest citizens of health, education, and other social services for decades to come was not taken into consideration”.2 Confessions of an Economic Hit Man offered a solid, engaging foundation for understanding the complexities and impacts of globalization. Throughout the week, we discussed the many pros and cons of globalization as well the ways in which we, personally, contribute to globalization and cultural imperialism. The general consensus among students concerning globalization is that, in theory, globalization has much to offer and, if correctly implemented, could produce positive results. Unfortunately, globalization, in the hands of a few powerful people, has lost its potential for good.

On Tuesday night, we met with Bernardo Garduño for a discussion about the history and effects of NAFTA. Garduño has studied international relations and economics and currently works for a pharmaceutical company named, Hospina.3 He provided us with an overview of Mexico’s many trade agreements (including NAFTA) and discussed how Mexico’s economic situation has changed since NAFTA first went into effect in 1994. Garduño explained that Mexico’s economy has increased significantly as a result of NAFTA. Despite the increased economy, Garduño explained that many Mexican citizens were still living in poverty. Overall, Garduño supported NAFTA. In his concluding remarks, he said, “The free trade agreement [NAFTA] was the right thing to do. But, was it the right time? [to initiate NAFTA] No.”.4

Our class discussions in “Latin American Liberation Theologies” this week focused on Mesoamerican indigenous societies and spiritualities. On Monday, we had the opportunity to meet with a leading researcher and author in the area of gender and Mesoamerican religions, Dr. Sylvia Marcos.5 Prior to our meeting with Dr. Marcos, we read two of her published works: “Clergy, Goddesses, and Eroticism”6 and “Bodies and Gender in Mesoamerican Religions”7. After reading some of her work, it was a pleasure to meet Dr. Marcos in person. In her talk, she focused on the differences existing between the Mesoamerican “permeable corporality” concept of the body versus the Western concept of the body being “in opposition to mind”. “Permeable corporality” refers to the belief that the “exterior and interior are not separated by the hermetic barrier of the skin”.8 I was surprised to learn that though the western view of the body is, worldwide, the most dominant, it is not the most common. Three-fourths of the world’s population believes, like Mesoamerican religions, in the fluidity and permeability of the human body.9 Prior to this semester, I had not studied societies’ concepts of the body. I find this area of study fascinating and hope to learn more as the semester continues.

This week marks our first ventures into the area of theologies of domination and liberation, an area of study we will continue to learn more about through the duration of the semester. As an introduction to liberation theology, we met with Alejandro Castillo on Wednesday. Castillo is a former Franciscan priest who left the priesthood after being accused of breaking cannon law.10 He is currently still working within the Catholic Church as layperson, advocating the gospel of liberation and “the preferential option for the poor”. Castillo began his talk with a discussion on colonization and euro-centrism as a basis for understanding the many social problems existing today within the Church and in the larger society. He explained that in order to hear the voices of the poor (of those in the periphery), we must “decolonize our minds and get away from the idea that all good knowledge comes from the center” (the center being the dominant culture, history, philosophy, and worldview).11 Castillo emphasized that liberation theology is about “evangelizing” (in this sense meaning, “pastoral action” which “works to dignify life) the true Gospel which advocates for the poor and “least of these”. This is what is meant by the “preferential option for the poor” which came out of the Second General Assembly of CELAM held in Medellin in 1968. Castillo explained that western socialization teaches us to ignore the hunger of the poor and focus on ourselves. “We cannot talk about a person as an abstraction,” said Catillo, “we must talk about the body. We talk about the body that feels hunger. When a person says to you ‘I’m hungry,’ you cannot ignore the hungry person before you.”12 Castillo also shared with us a brief history of the Catholic Church since Vatican II, explaining that the current leadership is very much allied with U.S. political and economic agendas and has lost sight of the preferential option for the poor. He explained that many people today refer to Pope Benedict as Bishop Ratzinger (his name before becoming Pope) in order to remember his role in “persecution” while serving as chair of the Commission for the Doctrine of Faith (formerly named “Commission of the Holy Inquisition”). In his closing remarks, Castillo said that liberation theology is “the hope for all of humanity, for all, not just for Christianity”.13


Endnotes__________________________________

Perkins, J. (2004). Confessions of an economic hit man. San Francisco, CA: Penguin.
From, Perkins J. (2004). (p. 18).
Garduño, B. Center for Global Education lecture. “NAFTA”. Cuernavaca. 12 Sept. 2007.
From, Garduño, B. 12 Sept. 2007.
Marcos, S. Center for Global Education lecture. “Gender and Mesoamerica Indigenous Spirituality”. Cuernavaca. 10 Sept. 2007
Marcos, S. (1991). “Clergy, Goddesses, and Eroticism: Excerpts of an Essay on Catholicism’s Confrontation with Mesoamerica”. (p. 11-13).
Marcos, S. (2002). “Bodies and Gender in Mesoamerican Religions”. (pp. 102-110). London: SCM Press.
From, Marcos, S. (2002). (p. 105).
From, Marcos, S. 10 Sept. 2007.
Castillo, A. Center for Global Education lecture. “Liberation Theology”. Cuernavaca. 11 Sept. 2007. Castillo is a former Franciscan priest who recently left the priesthood after being accused of breaking cannon law. He currently works within the Church as a layperson.
From, Castillo, A. 11 Sept. 2007.
From, Castillo, A. 11 Sept. 2007.
From, Castillo, A. 11 Sept. 2007.


I created the following illustration and poem in response to Alejandro Castillo’s discussion on Liberation Theology.

Gotta make up for centuries of
Oppression each morning
Putting on my shoes,
Undoing the past, to create the
Past I think should have been
Brushing my teeth I dream
Of a justice, not just for me
Read more, I say
There I will find the answers
In these pages I can
Lose my place on this page
In history
Scrub hard, I say
Wash away white to know
Color
Raised colorblind, I can see
Nothing at all
Give it up, I say
The comfort, stomach full
Hunger will eat my guilt
Reconciling myself to myself
Eyes shut tightly
All I see are my eyelids
Kaleidoscoped veins
I see my insides only
Heart, lungs, spine
Ovaries
Open your eyes, I say
To discover this
Is not about me
Waking each morning still
Wondering when I will know what
I cannot know
Even if I can see