Teología de la Liberación como historia, presencia y práctica urbana
The following report is a preliminary result of an explorative case study (drawing on ethnographic as well as photographic methods) of the Theology of Liberation as urban memory and practice in two of Latin America’s megalopolises: Mexico City and Buenos Aires. It was realized with the financial support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation (Cono Sur, Mexico City).
The exploration was guided by two questions: What remains today of the mobilizing spirit of a liberating Christianity - referred to as Theology of Liberation since the late 1960s – that supported urban struggles and movements as well as the "villa culture" in the 1970s? And how does it relate to popular religiosity and the new spiritual demand and beliefs of the urban poor in the precarious neighbourhoods of these megacities?
The sociologist Micaela Cuesta, local researcher in the Buenos Aires area, reflects on some findings for the Argentine capital.