Brazil is Heating Up

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/nov/30/exhibition-nudity-brazil-culture-wars-sao-paulo-mam-masp-modern-art

This article makes for a disturbing read and while I don't wish to dwell on the particulars I simply wanted to post something about the changes taking place in Brazil. The Evangelicals are on the rise and it would seem Brazil is headed toward a culture war.

On the one hand Brazil has been very determined to modernise and all but force its populace to embrace 20^th and 21^st century ways of thinking. Sitting atop massive resources, Brazil has the foundations to become the leading power in South America and to surpass its rivals Chile and Argentina. Its history is filled with unfinished chapters and frustrations. Like many Latin America countries it has a long, dark and tangled history with fascist dictatorship. And yet Brazil led the way in breaking with this past and modernising.

Dark clouds hang over Brazil as it would seem outside forces are conspiring to undo the liberal reforms of the Lula and Rousseff eras. Desperate to keep the current flowing, liberal activists are becoming more bold in pursuing a cultural transformation along European and American lines.

And yet at the same time Evangelicalism has risen to become a serious political force.

Unlike the United States there is still great bitterness among the Roman Catholic organisation with regard to Evangelicalism's growing numbers and this has hindered political cooperation. If that changes, the fusion between conservative Catholics and Evangelicals will set the stage for a new Brazil.

Or will it be an old Brazil? That's what many worry about. Brazil was dominated by a fascist dictatorship from the 1960's until the mid-1980's. Fully supported by Washington, the dictatorship enforced traditional morality. Backed by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, many parish priests and the growth of Liberation Theology led to many Catholics opposing the government and set the stage for the Left-wing backlash.

While the sodomite trend in Brazil is disturbing and offensive it would be a shame to see Brazil revert to Right-wing authoritarian government, one that would most certainly be supported by the nation's Evangelicals.

American-style Dominionism is on the march and bearing fruit.