University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository History ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 1-31-2013 Contested Spaces: Protestantism in Oaxaca, 1920-1995 Kathleen McIntyre Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds Recommended Citation McIntyre, Kathleen. "Contested Spaces: Protestantism in Oaxaca, 1920-1995." (2013). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds/ 54 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in History ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Kathleen Mary McIntyre Candidate Department of History Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Linda Hall, Chairperson Manuel García y Griego Elizabeth Hutchison Cynthia Radding Les W. Field i CONTESTED SPACES: PROTESTANTISM IN OAXACA, 1920-1995 by KATHLEEN MARY MCINTYRE B.A., History and Hispanic Studies, Vassar College, 2001 M.A., Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico, 2005 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy History The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December, 2012 ii DEDICATION To my mother, Cassie Tuohy McIntyre, for always believing in me. Many thanks. Do mo mháthair dhílis, Cassie Tuohy McIntyre, a chreid ionamsa ó thús. Míle buíochas. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It truly takes a pueblo to complete a dissertation. I am indebted to a long list of individuals and institutions in the United States and Mexico for supporting me throughout my investigation of religious conflict in Oaxaca. At the University of New Mexico I was generously funded by a two-year doctoral research fellowship from the Latin American and Iberian Institute. I also received short-term grants from the History Graduate Student Association, the Feminist Research Institute, and the Graduate Professional Student Association. I studied the Mixtec language in Oaxaca through the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship program. A 2010 dissertation completion fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) allowed me to dedicate a year to solely finishing research and writing the final draft. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my dissertation chair, Linda B. Hall, and committee members Cynthia Radding and Elizabeth Hutchison who encouraged this project since its earliest phase and provided invaluable feedback for the final draft. I particularly thank my advisor, Professor Hall, for her constant support and enthusiasm. My warm appreciation is also extended to committee members Manuel García y Griego and Les W. Field for pushing me to think about my work in new and challenging ways. From 2008-2009, the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS-Pacífico Sur) sponsored me as a visiting researcher. Presenting an early chapter of this dissertation in the semenario interno gave me the opportunity to share my work with an incredible coterie of scholars including Margarita Dalton, Sergio Navarrette, Salvador Sigüenza, Daniela Traffano, and Jutta Blauert who all strengthened my approach to indigenous identity, the state, and religious conflict in important ways. In particular, I thank former CIESAS director Dr. Salomón Nahmad Sittón who permitted me to explore his personal papers from his years as Director of Indigenous Education and as Director of the National Indigenist Institute. CIESAS Librarian Ramiro Pablo Velasco did just about everything he could to make my research in Oaxaca go smoothly. From informing me of new works on religion in Mexico to helping me interpret census data and introducing me to other researchers, Ramiro was a good friend and a vast wealth of information that profoundly shaped my dissertation. Also at CIESAS, Maestro Raúl G. Alvarez Chávez accompanied me on several interviews and provided background for me on Mixtec Pentecostalism. Maestro Juan Julián Caballero helped me set up my initial research trips to the Summer Institute of Linguistics library in Mitla. Xicohténcatl Luna Ruiz was a loyal research partner during long days at the Centro de Coordinación Indígena (CCI) in Tlaxiaco. Also in Oaxaca, Sergio Osorio Carrizosa and Laura Olachea Magriñá helped me with transcriptions and invited me for family meals and outings. Catechist Nacho Franco took me hiking in the Sierra Norte and helped set up my research in Oaxaca City’s archdiocese archive. Nacho also made sure my translations of interviews did not lose any of their original meaning. iv I would also like to thank the staff of the Biblioteca Francisco de Burgoa, the Archivo General del Poder Ejecutivo del Estado de Oaxaca (AGEPEO), and the Archivo del Poder Judicial de Oaxaca (APJO) for providing a pleasant atmosphere for research and never tiring of my questions or requests for more document boxes. At the Department of Religious Affairs, Edgar López took an early interest in this project and helped me set up some of my initial interviews. At the Welte Institute for Oaxacan Studies, librarian Gudrun Dohrmann went out of her way on several occasions to help me locate sources and set up meetings with local scholars. Fellow researcher Holly Worthen was a great companion at Welte. I also thank San Diego State anthropologist Ramona Pérez for her enthusiasm for my work while I was a student in her Mixtec summer program in Oaxaca City. SIL administrator Stephen Butler offered a welcoming environment and full use of the organization’s library in Mitla. Finally, a special thanks to the municipal officials and families in Santiago Yosondúa and San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya who shared their experiences and welcomed me into their homes. My friends at the University of New Mexico provided immeasurable support throughout graduate school. Wendy Cervantes, María José Bosanko García, Yann Kerevel, Wendy Courtemanche, Brandon Morgan, Will Veeder, Brandi Townsend, Leah Sneider, Char Peery, Hilda Gutierrez, Marcial Martínez, Siobhán McLoughlin, Sandra Lara, Joseph Lenti, Colin Snider, Lucy Grinnell, Sue Taylor, and Erik Loomis made living in Albuquerque incredibly enjoyable. Special thanks to MJ for her input on my translations, Leah for editing and formatting the final manuscript, and Siobhan for feedback on earlier chapters. Sue read countless drafts and kept me on track throughout the entire writing process. In Poughkeepsie, my former advisor at Vassar College, Leslie S. Offutt, still provides constant support and interest in my academic and professional goals. Long-time friend and former classmate Andy Albertson continues to read my work and promptly address last minute editing questions. My family has also provided incredible support throughout this project. I thank my parents, Bill and Cassie McIntyre, and my siblings, William, Kevin, Siobhán, and Seán, for reading parts of the manuscript, purchasing airline tickets so I could come home, and never asking me when I would finally finish. Nephews and nieces Patrick, Anne, Maggie, Luke, Nora, Ryan, Griffin, Declan, Maeve, Ciara, and Aine bring me incredible joy and remind me why I love teaching. My younger sister Tara passed away before I entered graduate school, but her creativity, humor, and passion for life imparted in me a strength I never knew I had. Most of all, I thank my husband Erik for his support along every stage of this project. I truly could not have finished without his love and encouragement. Te amo. v CONTESTED SPACES: PROTESTANTISM IN OAXACA, 1920-1995 By Kathleen Mary McIntyre B.A., History and Hispanic Studies, Vassar College, 2001 M.A., Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico, 2005 PhD., History, University of New Mexico, 2012 ABSTRACT This study focuses on intra-village religious conflict stemming from Protestant conversion in Oaxaca. Protestant expansion is nowhere more visible than in southern Mexico. Of the southern states, Oaxaca has the highest growth rate of Protestantism, increasing 531% between 1970 and 2000. From 2000 to 2010, it grew another 65%. Such rapid change brought serious conflicts in closely-knit indigenous villages. Asserting that “en el pueblo, la costumbre es ley” (“in the town, custom is law”), some communities argued that Protestant expansion created divisions and jeopardized communalism. Religious competition challenged collective identity in indigenous villages and led to competing conceptualizations of tradition and ritual. Indigenous leaders, evangélicos, bilingual teachers, government mediators, U.S. missionaries, and the Catholic Church fought over who had the authority to determine the expression of legal culture and local variations in the exercise of power. Framed by the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the Zapatista uprising in 1994—revolutions with very different conceptualizations of indigenous citizenship—I examine how Protestantism impacted social organization, political authority, and identities in native communities. Protestant vi conversion in these communities fueled broad discussions of indigenous rights, autonomy, and local citizenship. Three-quarters of Oaxaca’s 570 municipalities rule by a traditional governance system known as usos y costumbres (uses and customs). Due to such localized political allegiances, religious rituals play an important role in community adhesion. Converting to Protestantism is an individual religious choice and