Evangelical Churches in Panama: Analysis of the Emergence of a New Political Actor

Abstract

In 2016, signs of greater interference of the Evangelical Churches in politics arose in Panama, especially because of their mobilization in opposition to bill 61 that promoted sex education in schools. This mobilization managed to restrain the project, and in following months, a number of public policy projects aimed at gender equality were also stopped. In this context, this research seeks to determine whether we are facing a new political actor, and if so, to study its characteristics. To do so, we begin with a brief historical account of the presence of evangelicals in Panama and of their previous attempts to enter politics. Next, we study the current incorporation of evangelicals into Panamanian politics. Finally, we try to characterize this new actor and determine the meaning of their emergence for the Panamanian democracy.