Participation and the Poor: Liberation Theology

Abstract

Liberation theology will remain, for many years to come, an element of the ethico-political field in Latin America. It has not died. Although it is no longer able to broaden mobilization at the base (Burdick, 1993; Comblin et al., 1993; Valle and Pitta, 1994), and although it is no longer the effervescent movement it once was, it remains one of the essential components of social movements. Ana Maria Doimo (1995) distinguishes the ethico-political field from the other trait of social movements: direct action. The ethico-political field is at once a dense network of organizations (including NGOs) and a framework of collective memories and values.