Lost for Words?

by Ottmann, Goetz Frank

• ISBN13: 9780822941811
• ISBN10: 0822941813
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Pittsburgh Pr

Summary

Lost for Words? explores the rise, decline, and rebirth of progressive Catholic grassroots activism and its drive for social justice and democratic change in four low-income neighborhoods -- bairros -- in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Based on in-depth interviews and participant observation, and drawing on theoretical insights from recent debates on social movements and the sociology of religion. Goetz Frank Ottmann examines the changing nature of popular politics in Sao Paulo. He focuses on the obstacles faced by the poor who took seriously the claim that the people were to transform the Church and society in Brazil from the bottom up, and follows their travails through periods of democratization, mass unemployment, and conservative backlash within the Church. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, theology-inspired liberationist movements gave voice to the people and Brazilian popular politics was perhaps at its most vibrant and vociferous. The liberationist movement's mobilization efforts centered around symbols such as "the people," "authenticity," and "the struggle." Yet, by the early 1990s, only a handful of local militants still believed these symbols to be authentic political and spiritual forces. Having lost its following, lost its allies, and failed to achieve its core goals, the traditional liberationist movement had come to an end. Liberation theology was pronounced dead. Ottmann argues, however, that reports of the movement's demise have been premature. In recent years, activists have worked to create new, imaginative, and pragmatic forms of religious movements that are altering the sociocultural milieu of the bairros. Ottmann describes the efforts of Catholic feminists who have worked to transform both the Catholic Church and popular politics. To render evident the impact of liberationist messages on contemporary popular politics, he also cites examples of how the hip-hop movement in Sao Paulo has incorporated fragments of liberationist messages and symbols into its performance. After thirty years of grassroots politics, Ottmann raises the question of what will become of liberationism without basismo -- the belief in "the people" as "authentic" agents of social change -- at its core. He projects three scenarios: the rise of a development-oriented yet apolitical liberationism, a postmodern form of liberationism tied to the politics of spectacle, and the emergence of politicized liberationist movements operating outside the institutional boundaries of the Church. However, Ottmann contends that Church-based liberationist projects predicated on the notion of the poor as a spiritual and political force might still survive. Their rejection of an overachieving discourse, a rejection that should not be mistaken for a loss of words, may yet prepare the Church for a truly pluralistic embracing of its diverse communities. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Goetz Frank Ottmann is a research fellow at the Centre of Latin American Studies at LaTrobe University in Melbourne.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(24)
The Voice of the Voiceless: The People, the Struggle, Authenticity, and Popular Culture	25	(23)
Genesis and Crisis of the Liberationist Struggle: 1968--1985	48	(36)
Institutionalization and Death of the Liberationist Struggle: Mid-1980s to Mid-1990s	84	(25)
Dogmatic Liberationism and Pragmatist Responses to Everyday Needs	109	(25)
Resurrecting the Liberationist Spirit	134	(25)
Liberationism at the End of the Millennium	159	(22)
Appendix	181	(4)
Notes	185	(30)
References	215	(8)
Index	223