Modern-colonial inheritances in present discourses on the Colombian Orinoquia

Abstract

Three representational discourses about Orinoquia region of Colombia and are shaping the present and future of this area. The first views it as an immense and empty space Í€” hegemonic discourse Í€”; the second, as an area for conservation; and the third, as an intercultural place. We defend the thesis that these contemporary perspectives about the Colombian Orinoquia have a modern-colonial heritage, that is to say, they are structured by multiple relations of domination, which have been settled and transformed in time. Methodologically, this paper prioritizes a qualitative standpoint for the identification of the discourses; through an analysis of historical and contemporary documents, and of interviews and departmental forums. It highlights the social challenge of promoting means for plural relations that might help make visible and recognize as legitimate, the knowledge, subjectivities and dominions which have been, in many cases, denied, violated or subsumed by hegemonic logics of significance.

Í