Marginal at first, news reports and political analysts have pointed the important weight that theevangelical Christian community has and its impact in electoral politics inLatin America, even helping in the electoral victories of conservative candidates.^[1][2][3][4]

Evangelicalpolitical parties are a particular type of political party in Latin America generally linked or known to advocate for the interests of the evangelical Christian community.^{[1][5][2][6][3][4]}

They are normally associated with certain stances likecultural conservatism, strong opposition tosame-sex marriage andLGBT rights,legalization of abortion,drug liberalization andmarijuana legalization, what they refer to asgender ideology oridentity politics,gun control, andglobalism.^[1][2][4] Although exceptions exist, they tend to be located on theright side of thespectrum due to the associatedprosperity theology,^[3][7] whilst supporting such things as thedeath penalty, "hard hand" on crime,corporal punishment for minors and harsher laws forjuvenile delinquents.^[7]

Protestant missionary groups, mainly from thecharismatic movement originating in theDeep South of the United States, were introduced deliberately as a strategy fromWashington particularly duringRepublican administrations as a way to reduce the influence of left-leaning Roman Catholic social movements, such asliberation theology (which was popular among manyfar-leftpolitical parties andguerrillas), and the more moderateChristian socialist andChristian democratic parties.^[8][9][10] Guatemalan archbishopPróspero Penados also blamed the US for encouraging and sponsoring evangelicalism in Guatemala. According to him, this was for more political than religious reasons: "The diffusion of Protestantism in Guatemala is more part of an economic and political strategy" to oppose the Catholicsocial justice doctrine".^[11] Meanwhile, some conservative Catholics have blamed the widespread prevalence ofliberation theology among the clergy in Latin America for the exodus of believers to evangelical Protestantism and have criticized the proponents of liberation theology for a lack of focus onJesus Christ in favor of left-wing social doctrine.^[12][13]

In recent decades,^{[as of?]} the Catholic Church has suffered a drain of followers, some of whom have becomeirreligious,agnostic oratheist. Some have also converted to other religions likeBuddhism,Islam andnew religious movements; however, a large segment of former Catholics, particularly those of more humble origins and lower classes, have joined evangelical churches, withneo-Pentecostal andcharismatic movements proving popular.^[14]Pentecostalism also became popular among the lower-income classes and the most abandoned sectors of society, especially those of very poor and peripheral areas who see the churches' ideas of economic growth through faith as an opportunity for social mobility.^[14] In any case, the growth of evangelicals was quickly followed by their newly discovered political and electoral weight, with new forms of political activism and even the creation of specific political parties connected to their communities.^[15] Guatemalan dictatorEfraín Ríos Montt was one of the first evangelical Christians to attain power in Latin America's history.^[15][16]

Some examples of these movements include evangelical Christian support ofAlfonso Portillo,^[17]Jorge Serrano andJimmy Morales (the latter two themselves evangelicals) inGuatemala,^[4][18]Juan Orlando Hernández inHonduras,^[4]Mauricio Macri inArgentina, andSebastián Piñera inChile.^[19] Evangelical opposition to theColombian peace agreement referendum is considered by many pivotal in its rejection,^[20] as was the evangelical parties' support of theimpeachment of Dilma Rousseff inBrazil. Countries with notorious conservative right-wing candidates supported by evangelicals include Guatemala, whereManuel Baldizón came close to a victory twice (2011 and2015);^[18]Bolivia, whereChi Hyun Chung came third in2019;^[21]Venezuela, where pastorJavier Bertucci was the nominee with the third-highest vote total;Costa Rica, where preacher andgospel singerFabricio Alvarado went into the electoral run-off;^[4] and Brazil, where evangelical Christians were pivotal in the triumph ofJair Bolsonaro.^{[4][22][23][7]}

However, in some countries the alliance was with the left. Evangelicals supportedHugo Chávez in the1998 election as much as other Venezuelans.^[24][25] TheAuthentic Renewal Organization is a Venezuelan evangelical political party and member of the officialGreat Patriotic Pole of PresidentNicolás Maduro.Daniel Ortega was also supported by evangelical pastors inNicaragua^[26] and his wife and Vice PresidentRosario Murillo has links with evangelical churches.^[27] Ortega'sUnited Alliance Nicaragua Triumphs regularly includes evangelical parties like theChristian Unity Movement or theNicaraguan Party of the Christian Path.^[28] TheSocial Encounter Party inMexico is also unofficially linked to theMexican evangelical community (as theMexican Constitution forbids the existence of confessional parties) and is a member of theJuntos Haremos Historia coalition that endorsed leftistAndrés Manuel López Obrador,^[4] a move that drew criticism as it was a coalition with two left-wing parties.^[29]Agricultural People's Front of Peru is noted to be syncretic and having left-wing influences.^[30][31]Álvaro Colom's running mate in1999 Guatemalan general election Vitalino Similox was a progressive Presbyterian pastor who ran on a different platform compared to the other more right-wing protestant candidates.^[18]

The movement is generally characterized by its staunchcultural conservatism (even for Latin American standards) with very strong opposition tosame-sex marriage,LGBT rights,legalization of abortion,drug liberalization andmarijuana legalization, "gender ideology" andidentity politics,gun control andglobalism.^[2][4] Some may hold stronganti-communist andanti-socialist positions and endorseneoliberal andpro-free marketcapitalist ideas in part due to theprosperity theology that many hold.^[3][7] Someconspiracy theories likeCultural Marxism and theNew World Order have proven popular among its base. South American evangelicals also tend to followChristian Zionism and be supporters ofIsrael, supporting policies such as the moving of theembassies of their countries to Jerusalem.^{[2][32][33][34][35][36]}

Some have been described also as supporters of thedeath penalty, "hard hand" on crime,creationism (and opposition to teaching thescientific theories ofevolution andBig Bang in schools),^[37]corporal punishment for children and harsher laws forjuvenile delinquents.^[7] Their most critical opponents signal them as havingfar-right,religious fundamentalist,theocratic,anti-democratic andauthoritarian ideas wanting to replace democracy with theocracy.^[38][39]

Roman Catholics in Latin America tend to be relatively more left-wing in economics^[40][41] due to the traditional teachings ofCatholic social doctrine and Christian democracy.^[4] Evangelical Christians, on the other hand, are mostly from the neo-Pentecostal movement and thus believers in prosperity theology, which justifies most of their neoliberal economic ideas.^[4]

• Social conservatism: According to thePew Research Center: "Even though the Catholic Church opposes abortion and same-sex marriage, Catholics in Latin America tend to be less conservative than Protestants on these kinds of social issues. On average, Catholics are less morally opposed to abortion, homosexuality, artificial means of birth control, sex outside of marriage, divorce and drinking alcohol than are Protestants."^[14]
• Evolution: Catholics tend to be more accepting of evolution than Protestants.^[42][43]
• Economic liberalism: On the whole, Latin Americans embrace free-market principles,^[44] but Catholics also tend to be moreeconomically progressive, having a tendency to support more left-wing positions and thewelfare state^[40][41] to varying degrees, from far-leftliberation theology, which permeates many left-wing parties, to much more moderateChristian socialist andChristian Democratic postures.^[4] Evangelicals, on the other hand—although exceptions exist—tend to be economically right-wing, staunchlyanti-communist and supportliberal economy andcapitalism.^[4][40][41]
• Class: In Latin America most neo-Pentecostals and other Evangelicals are mostly fromworking class andlower-income groups, whilst Catholicism is still prevalent among themiddle andupper class and among professionals and the political elite.^[14]
• Christian Zionism: The Catholicposition regarding theArab–Israeli conflict may vary greatly; although strong support for Israel among Catholics is not unusual,anti-Zionism is also prevalent among both the far left (especially liberation-theology andChristian-left Catholics) and the far-right (traditionalists,^[45]Sedevacantists,^[46] etc.). The Vaticanestablished relations with Israel in 1993, has itsdiplomatic representation inTel Aviv, andrecognizes the State of Palestine, advocating for atwo-state solution;^[47][48] thus, many centrist Catholics follow these lines. Evangelical Christians, however, tend to be overwhelmingly pro-Israel due to traditional Christian Zionism and support the recognition ofJerusalem as its capital.^{[2][32][49][34][35][36]}

Atheists,agnostics andnon-religious people are the third-largest group of Latin America behind Catholics and Protestants.^[14] Overlap with conservative neo-Pentecostals is scarce. Although exceptions exist, non-religious Latin Americans tend to be stronglyculturally liberal, generally more than the average Latin American,^[14] being much more likely to support such things likesecularism, abortion, same-sex marriage and birth control than their Catholic counterparts, and especially the neo-Pentecostal community.^[14] Non-religious people are also much more supportive of Palestine than Israel and come mostly from the middle and upper class, especially the professional and intellectual camps.^[14] Although economically and politically the non-religious may also supportright-wing libertarian, liberal and economically conservative ideas, it is also slightly more common for secularists to fall towards the left and center-left of the spectrum.^[50][51]

Brazil'sSpiritualist community has criticized the evangelical position on human rights, social justice and economic policies.^[52][53]

The Brazilian Muslim community is split on the issue of supporting or rejecting right-wing figures likeDonald Trump andJair Bolsonaro.^[54] Muslims in the West tend to besocially conservative but economically progressive.

Prominent Pentecostal politicians in Brazil have been involved in cases of corruption and law violations. Since 2007 Federal deputy PastorMagno Malta was in involved in many scandals including embezzlement, nepotism, bribing and issuance of fake bill of goods.^{[55][56][57][58][59]}

In 2012, PastorEveraldo Pereira was convicted and ordered to pay his ex-wife, Katia Maia, an indemnity ofR$ 85,000 (US$ 26,350) for material and moral damage. Pastor Everaldo asked the Justice Court of Rio de Janeiro (TJ-RJ) to overturn the decision and was acquitted by theSupreme Federal Court.^[60] In 2013, Pereira's ex-wife initiated a new judicial process in theSuperior Court of Justice (STJ), alleging that the pastor committed physical violence, followed by death threats. Katia Maia said that during the aggression there were "kicks and punches, that caused a puncture in [her]eardrum". Pereira, however, said he acted in legitimate self-defense after a car pursuit in the streets ofRio de Janeiro.^[61]

Federal deputy PastorMarco Feliciano, one of the most prominent names of theSocial Christian Party (Partido Social Cristão, PSC), stated that Africans werecursed by Noah,^[62] leading to accusations ofracism.^[63]

The deputy was falsely accused of attempted rape and assault by 22-year-old Patricia Lelis, a PSC activist who attended the same church as the pastor.^[64] The deputy chief of staff, Talma Bauer, was arrested for initially being suspected of kidnapping the young woman and forcing her to record videos defending the deputy in order to dismiss the initial complaint.^[65] After a police inquiry, Bauer was released and the São Paulo Civil Police concluded that there was no kidnapping or aggression,^[66] and requested the arrest of Lélis for the crimes of slanderous denunciation and extortion against Bauer.^[67]

In January 2017, Samuel "Sammy" Morales, the older brother and close adviser ofGuatemalan PresidentJimmy Morales, whose campaign slogan was, "neither corrupt, nor a crook", as well as one of Morales' sons, José Manuel Morales, were arrested on corruption and money laundering charges.^[68][69] According to media reports, the arrests prompted several large protests of up to 15,000 people demanding President Morales' removal.^[70][71][72]

Jimmy Morales ordered the expulsion of ColombianIván Velásquez, commissioner of theInternational Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), after it began "investigating claims that his party took illegal donations, including from drug-traffickers" and asked "congress to strip him of immunity from prosecution."^[73][74] AfterMinister of foreign affairsCarlos Raul Morales refused to sign the executive order, he was removed from office along with viceminister Carlos Ramiro Martínez.^[75] TheConstitutional Court of Guatemala finally blocked the move.^[74]

Furthermore, former cabinet minister Édgar Gutiérrez accused Jimmy Morales of having sexually abused young female public workers with complicity of other government officials.^[76]

Some parties and candidates are criticized for being supporters of creationism over thescientific theories ofevolution and theBig Bang.^[77][37]

They are also often accused^{[by whom?]} offar-right,religious fundamentalist,theocratic,anti-democratic andauthoritarian ideologies,^[38] or for planning to replacedemocracy withtheocracy.^[39]

Country	Party
Brazil	Social Christian Party (factions)
	Patriota
	Republicanos (factions)
	Liberal Party (1985) (factions)
Chile	Christian Conservative Party
	Christian Social Party
	New Time
Colombia	Independent Movement of Absolute Renovation
	Fair and Free Colombia
	Christian National Party[78]
	Christian Union Movement[78]
	Civic and Christian Commitment for the Community[78]
Costa Rica	National Restoration Party[78]
	Costa Rican Renewal Party[78]
	Christian Democratic Alliance[78]
	New Republic Party
Guatemala	Cambio
	Institutional Republican Party (factions) (previouslyGuatemalan Republican Front)[17]
	National Advancement Party (factions)
	National Convergence Front
	Renewed Democratic Liberty
	Solidarity Action Movement (later Democratic Renewal Action Party)
	Vision with Values[78]
	Valor
Mexico	Social Encounter Party[78]
	Solidarity Encounter Party
Nicaragua	Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path
	Christian Unity Movement[78]
	Alternative for Change
Panama	Independent Social Alternative Party
Peru	Agricultural People's Front of Peru
	Popular Force (factions)[79] (previouslyCambio 90)[80]
	National Restoration (historically)[78]
Puerto Rico	Proyecto Dignidad (factions;[81] including its leader)[82]
Venezuela	Authentic Renewal Organization
	Esperanza por El Cambio

• Pink Tide
• Conservative wave
• Catholic social teaching
• Christian libertarianism
• Christianity and politics
• Political Catholicism
• Rerum novarum
• Social justice

• Colbi, Gerald. Dennett, Charlotte. (1996),Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil
• Freston, Paul (2008).Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Latin America. PrintISBN 9780195174762. Oxford Publishing.
• Robbins, Joel (October 2004).Brenneis, Don;Strier, Karen B. (eds.). "The Globalization of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity".Annual Review of Anthropology.33.Annual Reviews:117–143.doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.32.061002.093421.ISSN 1545-4290.JSTOR 25064848.S2CID 145722188.

• Evangelicalism in South America
• Christianity and political ideologies
• Politics of South America
• Conservatism in South America
• Conservatism in North America
• History of South America
• United States–South American relations
• United States–Central American relations
• Christian political parties
• Protestant political parties

• CS1 Brazilian Portuguese-language sources (pt-br)
• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• CS1 Portuguese-language sources (pt)
• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• All articles with vague or ambiguous time
• Vague or ambiguous time from April 2025
• Articles containing Portuguese-language text
• Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from October 2025