Resumen

HERRERA HENAO, Simón et al. Construction of Fear as a Weapon of Political Delegitimization in Colombia. Ágora U.S.B. [online]. 2025, vol.25, n.1, pp.13-41.  Epub 01-Ene-2025. ISSN 1657-8031.  https://doi.org/10.21500/16578031.7391.

The use of fear as a strategy of social and political control in the Colombian context is examined, especially after the arrival of the first progressive government headed by Gustavo Petro Urrego (2022-2026) in the history of the country. Through the qualitative method and a phenomenological- hermeneutic approach, by using semi-structured interviews with 30

participants from different social strata in the Aburrá Valley, the perceptions of fear related to the political situation generated during that government are explored. The categorical content analysis, at descriptive and hermeneutic levels, revealed that fears were centered on the turn to what they called the left, generated by multiple rhetorical and communicational devices, which evoke prefabricated fears, such as the association of socialism with absolute evil, with economic crisis, dictatorship, poverty, overflowing armed violence, among others. It was identified that these fears are amplified by the media, social networks, and closed conversations that generate echo chambers, by reproducing and crystallizing fear. The results suggest that these emotional climates favor polarization, delegitimize institutions, and represent a threat to democracy in Colombia.

Palabras clave : Collective Emotional Orientations; Fear; Democracy; Delegitimization of the Adversary; Affective Polarization; Media; Political Subjectivities.

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