Love and Despair: How Catholic Activism Shaped Politics and the Counterculture in Modern Mexico.

"Love and Despair: How Catholic Activism Shaped Politics and the Counterculture in Modern Mexico" by Jaime M. Pensado explores the impact of Mexican Catholics on local, regional, and global changes during the Cold War era. The book highlights the activism of conservative and progressive Catholics, including students, intellectuals, filmmakers, journalists, and priests, who embraced a language of "love" to promote social justice and inclusivity. The author argues that Mexican Catholics adopted both conservative and liberal discourses, becoming radicalized by the progressive turn within global Catholicism and the revolutionary upheaval of the 1960s. The book also examines the rise of progressive Catholicism, the changing political context of Mexico in the 1960s, and the interaction of Mexican Catholics with the counterculture movement known as "La Onda." Overall, "Love and Despair" provides a nuanced understanding of how Mexican society engaged with modernity during the Cold War, emphasizing the diverse and multifaceted nature of Catholicism in Mexico. [Extracted from the article]