Borderlands Religion: Space, Memory, and Politics in Nineteenth Century Mexico

In this paper, I argue Mexico underwent a religious awakening in the late nineteenth century fueled by borderlands capitalism. I define this as the transnational economic project by which Mexico and the United States melded the cultural flow of ideological imaginaries and commerce to produce the Mexico-US borderlands. With Southern California entrepreneurs leading the way, Mexico experienced drastic changes when Angelino boosters and capitalists profited from investments south of the border. Capitalist formulations in the borderlands negatively impacted Mexicans, inspiring progressives in Mexico to revolt against the state and ignite the Mexican Revolution. My intervention examines the radical religious dimension that contributed to this uprising. I argue liberal Mexican Christians reoriented space in the borderlands to reflect populist priorities. By appealing to cultural memory, progressive Christians combatted the state capitalist project by remapping economic, political, and religious space.