Los meandros de la identidad en el Amazonas Colombiano

Abstract

The mining industry, the production of narcotics, and the armed conflict are all part of the Colombian crisis which has been escalating for several decades, in which the indigenous peoples of the Vaupés and of the Amazonas are important protagonists. Formal education seems to offer an opportunity for cultural change (as important as the factors of crisis mentioned above), as illustrated by the history of Hermán’s life, a Makuna and bilingual teacher who has lived through the crisis. Taking Germán as an example, it is possible to trace where his life converges with and diverges from the cultural models of his grandfathers, as well as of those of the economies of exploitation of the jungle, including the interventions of the philanthropic foundations. By the way in which he presents, on all fronts, the positions of the conflicting actors and his own options, a pragmatic example of how one might confront the different challenges opens up, resulting in a strengthening of his political capacity for negotiation.