Abstract

SANTAMARIA CHAVARRO, Ángela. Lorenzo Muelas and Indigenous Constitutionalism "From Below": A Critical Perspective on the Constitutional Process of 1991. colomb.int. [online]. 2013, n.79, pp.77-120. ISSN 0121-5612.

This paper focuses on indigenous newcomers to the political field in the 1990's. Drawing on the repertoire of human rights and the principle of self-determination, they have tried to penetrate such field in order to subvert the hierarchy of political competition. These representatives, initially dominated, managed to be part of the constitutional drafting. Although their social position in that stage was far from ideal, they were able to generate interactions with traditional and nontraditional elites, using a scenario of "political opportunity structure", which made it possible for agents such as Lorenzo Muelas to initiate partnerships and negotiate projects for a new unprecedented political agreement. In that way, indigenous people managed to turn around the ancient ethnic capital stigma.

Keywords : Constitution; indigenous people; Lorenzo Muelas; 1991 Colombian constitution.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )