God, they say, works in mysterious ways. Though lately it seems that not so much – clearly the omnipotent one's interest in Argentina has been growing. At least, that's the feeling when observing the progression of Javier Milei’s Presidency, which puts religion in the centre of his messianic discourse.
Argentina's President, however, is no longer the only one highlighting his connection to God. Entertainer and evangelical pastor Dante Gebel has been taking steps towards the launch of a potential presidential candidacy.
Gebel's platform is expanding and his profile is rising: he plans to have a show at River Plate's Monumental stadium by the end of the year and his figure is increasingly being talked about. Especially among other evangelical leaders, who have already began to criticise him.
It remains to be seen towards which side the celestial scales tilt.
Popular pastor
Gebel is not your classic evangelical South American pastor. As well as his capacity to draw in crowds – he has been filling the stadiums of River and Boca Juniors since the 1990s – he has been living in the United States for nearly 20 years. He uses humour and music in his services and subtly mocks the more traditional pastors.
He has not had a very smooth relationship with the rest of his peers for some time. Gebel is a lone ranger, who has always been looked at askance by other leaders in the community. His flirting with politics was expected to generate some tension.
There were at least two strong critical voices raised in the environment have broken out.
One is the president of Alianza Cristiana de Iglesias Evangélicas de la República Argentina (ACIERA), the institution that brings together many local evangelicals leader and which is close to the Milei government.
ACIERA President Christian Hooft shared a post on social networks late last year, which read: “It will never be Christian to vote, follow or give full power to someone as if they were a Messiah.” Hooft added the word "excellent" to the post.
At the time, Gebel’s potential candidacy was gaining ground. Given that the ACIERA president rarely uses his social media accounts, the intervention caught the eye.
Within the evangelical world this was read as a hint. Osvaldo Carníval, on the other hand, was much more decisive. The pastor – who heads the Catedral de la Fe, perhaps the largest evangelical temple in Buenos Aires City – exposed his differences with Gebel.
“I don’t think it’s the place a pastor should have,” Carníval said about a potential candidacy in an interview with journalist Romina Manguel. He added for good measures that Gebel is "an emerging charismatic communicator in the evangelical segment.”
Gebel seemed to answer them from the United States, and he took the chance to send other sign: “The pastors appeared to try and discredit me. And that was the sign. Then I said ‘Whoa, God could be in on it;’ it is an unequivocal sign if they oppose it.”
This year the pastor plans to have another show at River Plate. And his platform is growing, adding leaders in Buenos Aires and across other provinces. Journalist Nicolás Lucca last week posted a photo showing this expansion: a small plane on the Atlantic coast campaigning in his name.
It remains to be seen where God will cast the dice.
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