Religions and Political Elites in Latin America: Analysing Youth Political Elites through Religious Technologies of Government in Mexico

Abstract

Based on findings from empirical research in Mexico, this paper proposes a historically-reflexive governmentality approach for the study of religions and political elites in Latin America. It argues that the ideological frameworks of political elites are not only influenced by political and economic criteria and institutions but also by meta-institutional religious technologies of government that can be traced back to the colonial period and the operation of a Catholic governmental regime in Latin America. The paper discusses the case of the peculiar colonial-era technology of charity, its transformations, and its traces in the political rationality of members of youth political elites in 21 st -century Mexico.