Redes transnacionales antiderechos: movilización contra la eutanasia en España y en América Latina

This study contributes to the literature on far-right social movements by examining an actor that has been little explored but holds significant international relevance in shaping positions and discourses against moral policies—from divorce and abortion to assisted reproduction and the rights of LGTBIQ+ communities. It analyzes the transnational anti-rights networks formed between secular organizations of Catholic inspiration and neoconservative ideology (OLIC-N) in Spain and Latin America. The focus is on anti-euthanasia mobilization, a practice legalized in 15 of 195 countries, including Spain, Colombia, and Ecuador. Despite broad social support, euthanasia remains subject to a clear “political blockade” worldwide; its legalization is thus the “new frontier” for progressive governments and organizations advocating for the right to die with dignity. Drawing on a theoretical framework that combines sociology of religion and social movement studies, and based on a multi-method qualitative design integrating netnographic and secondary data analysis, the article examines the repertoires and interpretive frames of moderate and radical Spanish OLIC-N actors; the roles of religious and anti-rights political organizations in opposing Spain’s Euthanasia Law; and the diffusion and reappropriation of behavioral and ideational elements by OLIC-N in Latin America, where social and parliamentary debates on legalization are beginning to emerge. This is the first study to analyze transnational anti-rights networks, providing empirical evidence on their configuration and their capacity for strategic adaptation across diverse yet interconnected sociopolitical contexts.