Rackets and the Markets of Violence: A Case Study of Altavista, Medellín, Colombia

• Author: Mary Luz Alzate-Zuluaga,Williams Gilberto Jiménez-García
• Date: 01 January 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/0094582X20975012
• Published date: 01 January 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X20975012

LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 236, Vol. 48 No. 1, January 2021, 28–41

DOI: 10.1177/0094582X20975012

© 2020 Latin American Perspectives

28

Rackets and the Markets of Violence

A Case Study of Altavista, Medellín, Colombia

by

Mary Luz Alzate-Zuluaga and Williams Gilberto Jiménez-García

Translated by Victoria Furio

An analysis of violence using data from 2018 to 2019 in the village of Altavista in

Medellín, Colombia, concludes that economic globalization and a crisis of the social state

have led to an increase in inequality and structural violence. This phenomenon, cultur-

ally reinforced by the acceptance and normalization of these events, constitutes a window

of opportunity for the entrenchment ofviolent entrepreneurship using extortive economic

activities to accumulate capital, resulting in increased precarity for the inhabitants of the

village.

Un análisis de la violencia en la aldea de Altavista en Medellín, Colombia, utilizando

los datos de 2018 a 2019 concluye que la globalización económica y una crisis del estado

social han dado lugar a un aumento en la desigualdad y la violencia estructural. Este

fenómeno, culturalmente reforzado por la aceptación y normalización de dichos aconte-

cimientos, constituye una ventana de oportunidad para el afianzamiento de una violenta

cultura económica basada en la acumulación de capital a partir de la extorsión, lo cual

exacerba la presencia de la precariedad en las vidas de los habitantes del pueblo.

Keywords: Violence, Violent entrepreneurship, State deregulation, Rackets, Altavista-

Medellín

The dismantling of policies promoting the social welfare of Colombians has

been a gradual process amidst the armed conflict that has strengthened secu-

rity forces, insurgencies, paramilitary groups, and drug traffickers. Government

Mary Luz Alzate-Zuluaga is a postdoctoral fellow at the Universidad Nacional Autonóma de

Mexico and an associate professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Williams Gilberto

Jiménez-García is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Universidad Técnológica de Pereira and the

director of its knowledge network on violence and criminality. This article presents part of a research

project entitled “Strategies for Community Participation and Conflict Resolution in the Post-Accord

Context Based on an Understanding of the Harm Suffered by Social Groups in the City of Medellín,

2018–2019” carried out by both authors with the participation of members of the Semillero de

Investigación Acción Colectiva, Ciudadanía y Problemas Públicas, to whom they are grateful for

their work and dedication: Laura Bonilla, Mariana Rojas, Alejándro Patiño, Carolina Villa, Miguel

García, and Gerardo Parra of the political science program of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia

at Medellín. The authors are also grateful to those who facilitated the progress of the research, the

educational community of the Débora Arango de Altavista Educational Institution, and the public

servants, village residents, and former members of criminal organizations interviewed. They thank

the LAP evaluators and Gerardo Parra for their suggestions and critical and conscientious readings.

Victoria Furio is a conference interpreter and translator located in Yonkers, NY.

975012LAPXXX10.1177/0094582X20975012Latin American PerspectivesAlzate-Zuluaga and Jiménez-García / Rackets and Markets of Violence

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