God, it is said, acts in mysterious ways. Although lately it seems not so much: his interest in Argentina is growing. That is at least the feeling one has if one observes the presidency of Javier Milei, who puts religion at the center of his messianic discourse, although the libertarian is no longer the only one. Dante Gebel, the evangelical entertainer/pastor, has been taking concrete steps in launching his presidential candidacy. His team is expanding: he plans to give a show in River Plate before the end of the year, and his figure is causing people to talk. Especially within the evangelical leadership, from where the first criticisms already came. You have to see which way the celestial balance ends up tipping.
Sparks. Gebel is not a classic evangelical pastor. Because of the capacity he has to attract people – since the nineties he has filled stadiums like Boca or River -, because he has lived in the United States for almost twenty years, because of how he mixes humor and music in his services – while subtly mocking the more traditional pastors -, and also because he stopped having a very fluid relationship with the rest of his peers a long time ago. Gebel is a lone ranger, who was always looked askance by other priests in the community. His flirtation with politics was expected to generate some tension. There were at least two strong voices in the room that raised their voices.
One was the president of Aciera, the institution that brings together a large part of local evangelicals and that has been close to the Government. Its president, Christian Hooft, shared a post on the networks that said: “It will never be Christian to vote, follow or give full power to someone as if they were a messiah.” “Excellent,” was the comment that Hooft added to the publication at the end of last year. At that time, Gebel’s candidacy was at the center of the agenda, to which is added the fact that the president of Aciera rarely uses his social networks.
In that world it was read as a hint. Osvaldo Carníval, on the other hand, was much more forceful. The pastor – in charge of the Cathedral of Faith, perhaps the largest evangelical temple in the City – marked differences with Gebel. “I think it is not the place that a pastor should have,” he said about his candidacy in a note with Romina Manguel, and, in what seemed like an attempt to minimize it, he added: “Perhaps I would put him in the place of an emerging charismatic communicator from the evangelical segment.” Gebel seemed to answer them from the United States, and took the opportunity to send another signal about his candidacy: “The pastors appeared to discredit me. And it was the signal. There I said ‘apa, God could be in the matter’, it is the unmistakable signal if they oppose.”
This year the pastor plans to make a River. And their group is growing, adding references in Buenos Aires – they aim to hold an event in February – and in other provinces. The journalist Nicolás Lucca published a photo that showed this expansion: a small plane on the coast campaigning with its name. It remains to be seen which way God rolls the dice.
