La cultura política de la democracia en Colombia, 2004

"Important contribution to the social history of the New Kingdom and Cartagena de Indias, in particular. Spanish efforts first to comprehend and then control, if not eliminate, indigenous and African forms of alleged magic, whether religious or medical, illustrated imperial imperatives of domination and cultural transformation of subject peoples. First half of book establishes definitions and structures within which confrontation of Spanish and non-Western belief systems clashed. Second half provides a series of illustrative case studies. A glossary and documentary appendices augment the...

"Essays by leading Colombian political economists review various aspects of contemporary Colombia including political parties, the congress, justice system, military, Catholic Church, social movements, and reform policies. Excellent review of the current scene"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.

El antagonismo social durante la violencia : la relación antagónica entre liberales y conservadores - Entre el populismo liberal y el fundamentalismo conservador - La cultura política campesina - El bandolerismo durante la violencia - Los perversos "chuladitas"--El problema de la alteridad - Guerra de símbolos y de signos - Bordes imprecisos entre identidades humanas y animales - Las masacres como síntoma social - Definición y estructura ritual de las masacres - Mutilaciones y cortes. Una ruptura real y simbólica del cuerpo - La imagen del cuerpo entre los campesinos - El síntoma en...

An anthology of columns published in the newspaper, El Espectador, in December 2006. Illustrated with cartoons of Mico.