“It Takes Two to Tango”: The Religious and the Secular in Argentina’s Political Dance, 1860–1960

Abstract

When one thinks about church/state relationships in Latin America, one tends to concentrate on the efforts the Catholic Church makes to maintain its influence over public affairs, facing a state apparatus aimed at restricting it. In Argentina’s case, the competition for relevancy in the public arena, more than a struggle, can be likened to a dance. The Catholic point of view in the Argentine political scenario cannot be fully understood unless we consider its dancing partner—the state, or national government. Tango is a dance meant for two. These two protagonists wheel artistically over the stage in a complex and varying relationship that becomes imbued with tension and undergoes transformations, in step with the beat of the music.