Border necropolitics in Latin America: resistance from popular religiosity

Abstract

This essay examines the relationship between «border necropolitics» and religiosity as a sphere of resistance to that regime. Its aim is to explore the extent to which popular religiosity can constitute a sphere of resistance to the multiple deadly effects associated with migration. To this end, I analyze three practices of popular religiosity carried out by migrants from the Global South: la Carrera de la Antorcha Guadalupana (Mexico-USA), the Virgin of Cochabamba’s festivities organized by the Bolivian community in Argentina, and the cult of San Simón in the Mexico-Guatemala border zone. I intend to show that these practices assume multiple forms and levels of public visibility according to the migratory conditions of those who carry them out, and according to their link with the Catholic Church.