The Quest for Indigenous Autonomy: Communication Media, Internal Conflicts, and Policy Reform in Colombia

Abstract

AbstractIn 2013, the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) and the national government signed Agreement No. 547, which commissioned to the five main national indigenous organizations of the country the drafting of a bill to propel the strengthening of the indigenous media in Colombia. This political reform would represent a significant advance in the democratization of the historically monopolized and exclusive Colombian media landscape, thus fulfilling one of the mandates of the 1991 Colombian multicultural Constitution. However, due to internal conflicts within the indigenous leadership, these five organizations failed to present any bill to the Congress of the Republic of Colombia, wasting this historic opportunity. Based on this case, the discussion on “radical” Zapatista autonomy, and the concept of “indigenous utopias” proposed by Rappaport (2005) (rather than impossible dreams, objectives to strive for), this article argues that a robust autonomous indigenous governance depends on the constant search for a “utopian balance” between legal protections (centripetal forces) and de facto practices (centrifugal actions).