Gender Ideology, Religious Conservatism, and the Transnational Dynamics of Anti-Gender Mobilization in Latin American Comparison

Since the 2010s, anti-gender actors in Latin America have formed new alliances, making substantial inroads across the region and influencing legislative and public discourse. Focusing on Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, this chapter dissects how these movements leverage religiosity, neoliberal ideologies, and strategic alliances to frame gender diversity as an existential threat. Combining contentious episodes analysis (CEA) and a comparative case study approach, it traces the escalation of moral panics across three dimensions: actors (e.g., Catholic hierarchies, Evangelical lobbies), targets (gender identity laws, abortion rights), and events (mass protests, legislative battles). The analysis reveals how anti-gender coalitions adapt strategies to local contexts, while demonstrating religion’s enduring role in politicising morality, amplified by transnational networks that diffuse shared narratives of ‘cultural decay’. Overall, this chapter sheds light on the complex mechanisms through which anti-gender movements adapt to and exploit regional contexts and contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolving gender politics in Latin America and the transnational forces that shape them.