July 23, 2012 issue
Politics befitting a Christian?
By Kathleen Kern Christian Peacemaker TeamsAfter reading about Mennonite pastor Arnoldo Wiens’ run for the presidency of Paraguay last spring — and the Paraguayan Senate’s “coupish” replacement of its democratically elected president at the end of June — I imagined our Anabaptist forebears who wrote the Schleitheim Confession in 1527 paying Mennonites a visit in 2012.
I’m guessing they’d be pleased their movement continued. After learning about the countries in which Anabaptists lived, they’d probably take a particular interest in the places where these believers face persecution.
I imagine myself stammering as I describe and apologize for all the ways I have assimilated to mainstream U.S. society. But it’s when I get to describing the echelons of power that descendants of the Anabaptist movement in Paraguay have attained that I hear our brothers and sisters who were at Schleitheim saying, “See? Articles 4 and 6. What did we tell you?”
Wiens was a candidate for the Paraguayan presidency, as a member of the Colorado Party, until March. Then he abruptly dropped out of the race and threw his support behind fellow party member Horacio Cartes. A confidential State Department cable published by WikiLeaks identified Cartes and his Banco Amambay as being responsible for 80 percent of the money laundering in Paraguay on behalf of drug traffickers.
Cartes was also a ringleader of the Paraguayan Senate’s removal of President Fernando Lugo. The Senate charged Lugo with an inability to govern because of his response to a forced eviction on June 15 of some 100 families from the land of Blas Riquelme — also a member of the Colorado Party. (He had been unsuccessfully sued by farmers who said he had acquired the land illegally in 1975 during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner.) Witnesses said snipers opened fire on the peasants as their leaders were negotiating with the area police commander.
Lugo’s call for an investigation into the massacre was proof, according to Cartes and other members of the Senate, of his being soft on crime. Refusing to give him or his lawyers time to mount a defense, both houses of the Paraguayan Congress brought charges and impeached him within the space of 30 hours.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his government would cut off fuel sales to Paraguay. The South American trade bloc, Mercosur, suspended Paraguay and barred it from taking part in an early July gathering. Argentina, calling the removal of Lugo a coup, recalled its ambassador from Paraguay, as did Brazil, which condemned Lugo’s removal because he was not given a chance to defend himself, “compromising a fundamental pillar of democracy.”
I would be interested in seeing a debate between Wiens and the Anabaptists at Schleitheim over whether Christians can ever seek and then use political power appropriately.
Every election in which I vote, I wrestle with Article 6 of the Schleitheim Confession: “It does not befit a Christian to be a magistrate: The rule of the government is according to the flesh, that of the Christian according to the spirit … Their citizenship is in this world; that of the Christians is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). The weapons of their battle and warfare are carnal and only against the flesh, but the weapons of Christians are spiritual, against the fortification of the devil.”
Kathleen Kern, of Rochester, N.Y., serves with Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Comments
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Hey Kathy, This is an interesting article on a complex issue. Being a German Mennonite, wary of nationalism and with anarchist leanings, spending half a year in Paraguay was very confusing for me. Through my host family who was pastoring a very poor Latino church in the outskirts of Asunción and at the same time related to this circle of powerful people, including Arnoldo Wiens, I met people from very different classes. I agree that the German descendant Mennonites in Paraguay hardly do anything for the welfare of the broader society. The have their cooperative for themselves, where it's hard to enter if you're not a (ethnical) Mennonite and they employ a few indigenous on basically the indigenous own land and that's it. When I was there, there were no thoughts about investing money into creating jobs, or giving up their own wealth for following Jesus. In fact, it seemed to me, that through years of persecution and isolationism in Europe and Russia, for many Anabaptist theology had died and become a sort of dead tradition, a set of principles one followed without understanding. After their empowerment in Paraguay, many were looking for a new theology and they adopted the Evangelical-individualist-capitalist theology of missionaries coming from the US. But they stayed in the isolationist tradition. Until now, where people are going into politics. Are they just trying to get even more powerful, or are they trying to take responsibility for their country in a way that to us seems doomed to fail? In both cases we should be calling them to faithfulness (which you are doing, I believe) but also be in conversation about their context and why they see this as a faithful decision and we don't. And here I feel your article is condescending and not helpful. Do we have any analysis by Paraguayan/South American Mennonite theologians on this? What about Alfred Neufeld, a German-descendant Paraguayan Mennonite and author of "What we believe together" the "confession of faith of MWC", or from Justa Paz a Mennonite organization in Colombia working for justice and nonviolence? I'm sure there are more out there, but those are the ones I know. I hope this will generate a broader debate and I forwarded this article to several Paraguayan Mennonite theologians I respect in order to achieve this goal. Peace in the name of Christ, Benjamin
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I should add that there are Paraguayan Mennonites I respect, Latino, indigenous German-descending and everything in between. Amongst them are people who would criticize the current development and those who would applaud it. I respect them because I feel they struggle to follow Christ amidst of all the corruption in their society and they find different answers for this. Those are the people I forwarded this article to. And now I will sit back and hope to see a fruitful discussion growing.
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Being a life-long Chicagoan, political Obama-lovin' progressive, stories like this make my day. My husband wondered if Cartes made Wiens "an offer he couldn't refuse." I take my giggles where I can get them.
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Thank you for the article. Nice use of Wikileaks. To Mr. Krauss, it seems to me that if the "German descendant Mennonites" would have/or will do more for the general welfare of Paraguayan neighbors, they will get branded as European imperialists. It seems like a lose lose situation for Paraguayan German Mennonites in regards to how north American and European outside journalists, bloggers and critics write about them.
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Strauss writes "I agree that the German descendant Mennonites in Paraguay hardly do anything for the welfare of the broader society ... " That is a strong statement. Please substantiate. By German descendant Mennonites who do you mean? Those that came straight from Germany, and/or also the Kanadier (more Kanadier in PY than those who came from Germany)? How does the work of ASCIM fit into no concern for the indigenous? How does the $1,000,000 that was spent on Yalva Sanga and Campo Largo qualify as "no thoughts to investing money?" Please substantiate your statistics and which "German descendants" you are writing about. Thank you Keppiii for also suggesting that when Paraguayan Mennonites do try to help, they are often labeled as "imperialistic".
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I often spend time reading the 'comments' under articles; although i usually end up being frustrated or down right mad. Some people write stuff they simply don't have a clue about. Krauss, you are one of them. You might have been in Paraguay for six months but you're definitely not informed about what the Mennonites do for the larger community (that includes all the indigenous people and the latin-paraguayan community). I grew up in a Mennonite colony in Paraguay and through my work as editor of a newspaper have traveled to over a hundred Mennonite colonies or communities in the last ten years. Though not all the colonies invest a lot in the larger community the Paraguayan colonies do an unbelievable amount of good for their neighbors. I'll just name a couple: KM 81 was built up and is run by Mennonites and has over the decades helped thousands of Paraguayans; ASCIM and MIM (both organzitions aiming to help the indigenous people with farming, schools, health, etc.) is helping tens of thousands of native people in the Chaco; the Cooperatives are employing hundreds (if not thousands) of indigenous people all over the place. Big factories have been created where natives also find work and income; many farmers have indigenous workers, lead hands, etc.; schools and hospitals have been built by Mennonites for native people; there are a few 'childrens homes' in all of Paraguay meant to help children in need; there is a small group of wealthy Mennonite businesmen in East Paraguay that distribute about two hundred warm meals every day for the "old and needy" Latin Paraguayan people in their surroundings. And this list just goes on and on and on. I don't mean to brag about this i'm just bringing up arguments against what Mr. Krausse was stating. I do agree that some Mennonite politicians have left a bitter taste behind after being corrupt, leading an inmoral lifestyle, etc.
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The list of good deeds Ken G. and T. Rebol raise are true, yet they are classic examples of charity, not changing anything in the relations between rich German descendant Mennonites and the poor in the rest of the country (there are also rich Latinos, obviously). In my time in Paraguay it seemed like there were no substantial investments made in creating an economy where everyone benefits. What is being done, mainly falls into the category of charity and is treating symptoms of poverty, instead of solving poverty.
As to who do I refer to, by German descendant Mennonites, I mean all white Mennonites, who are in Paraguay often referred to as "Mennonita". I dislike this term, because it makes Mennonite be an ethnicity, whereas it's supposed to be an inclusive religious community.
I want to apologize for putting people in boxes and for not pointing out the good the German descendant Mennonites are doing there, but I also don't have the feeling many of the commentators really let themselves be challenged by the points I've tried to raise - even to the point of insulting me.
I forwarded this article to several of my German Paraguayan Mennonite friends and I hope there can be some meaningful dialogue on this.
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I recently spent several weeks in Asuncion, Paraguay. I was intrigued by the silence of the people regarding the rapid departure of the previous president. More than one taxi driver told me, "How it happened was not good, but that it happened was not bad." I was surprised how many German speaking Mennonites agreed agreed wholeheartidly with the second part of this statement, but disagreed with the first part. They found the method justified. This was a bit unsettling. Kern hits the nail on the head regarding the question of faithful politics where more often than not the end justifies the means. Several decades ago MCC developed a Panaroma of Peace Types (a typology of peace theology amongst N. American Mennonites which focused also on political engagement). I wonder if we would find a new type or where the Mennonites of Paraguay would find themselves on the continuum of a Mennonite peace typology. Finally, while Mr. Krauss paints with broad strokes, he does ask poingnant questions. I ask of him, please offer several pragmatic applications of your concern? What would it look like for the Mennonites to do things right?
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Compañia de Desarollo y de Industrialización de Productos Primarios S.A. (CODIPSA) está formada por la Mennonite Economic Development del Paraguay y de Norte América, y más de 190 inversionistas privados comprometidos con pequeños productores buscando dar alternativas empresariales a la situación de pobreza rural del Paraguay. CODIPSA cuenta con tres fábricas de industrialización de almidón o fécula de mandioca, dos en el departamento de Caaguazú y la tercera, recientemente inaugurada, en el departamento de San Pedro. ¿Es esta la caridad, o se esta cambiando las releciones?
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