The following elements are necessary to an understanding of the context of events in Mexico and the challenges facing the Methodist Church in Mexico.
The "Cristero" War between the Catholic Church and the federal government resulted in a constitution that strictly regulated ecclesiastical affairs. All church properties, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, belong to the federal government. The Vatican later worked out a concordat with the government for some special privileges. Mexico has the second-largest Roman Catholic Church in Latin America, and it has always seen itself as the church in Mexico. In 1992, as part of the preparations for NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), a series of constitutional reforms were made. One of them granted churches the right to own property and enfranchised religious workers. For the first time in Mexican history, the new constitution granted legal equality between the Protestant and Catholic Churches. This has greatly annoyed the Catholic hierarchy, many of whom consider the Protestants to be a "sect or cult." They resent proselytizing among their members by evangelical groups, who in turn are often virulently anti-Catholic.
The Methodist presence in Mexico began in 1873 with the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1930, the two churches combined their work and formed the autonomous Methodist Church of Mexico, several years before the founding churches were united in the United States. Their work has earned them respect within the country, and now even the government is willing to include them in public consultations on necessary policy changes.
Other changes required by NAFTA have greatly affected the society and economy of the country. While the GNP is expected to grow by five percent this year, that level is still insufficient to counteract the widespread poverty and unequal distribution of income. The public debt (both foreign and domestic) is $119.6 billion, or 27.3 percent of the GNP, forcing the government to take austerity measures. This, in turn, is aggravating the tension over immigration issues along the U.S./Mexico border.
As social tensions increase, the government is responding with greater militarization of the country as a whole, not just the southern areas of Chiapas or Guerrero where armed rebellions have formed. The government has suspended peace negotiations with the EZLN and refuses to honor agreements signed last year. The increase in violence, arbitrary detentions, torture, and disappearances and the prevailing impunity for committing such acts are alarming many Human Rights organizations.
With the mounting pressure for democratic reform and political pluralism, many are watching very closely how the governing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) will respond. For the first time in 70 years, the PRI has lost its control over Congress. The July 6 elections gave the combined political opposition in Mexico control of the lower house in Congress, several key state governorships, and even control of Mexico City itself. The PRI has been in power since 1929, but is now under severe attack for corruption and abuse of power. In mid-September, Mexico's former anti-drug chief, General Jesus Gutierrez, was arrested for having protected one of the major drug lords and has in turn accused the secretary of defense and family members of President Ernesto Zedillo of links to drug traffickers. Mexico is the main transit route and warehouse for South American cocaine. The country also produces heroin and is the chief U.S. supplier of methamphetamines.
All of these elements are some of the real challenges facing the Methodist Church of Mexico today as it tries to provide a faithful witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
(10/15/97)
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