From "toad" to exemplary citizen. the commercialization of citizen practices and the nationalization of the soul in the government of Uribe Vélez

Main Article Content

Milton Danilo Morales Herrera
Pedro Juan Peláez
Vladimir Velásquez Cañas

Abstract

The present work proposes a psychosocial exploration, from a qualitative content analysis perspective, to the way in which the Colombian written press put into circulation versions of orientation, both positive (ideal citizen, hero) and negative (disconnector of social ties, new victim), of the figure of the informant, during the first year of government (2002-2003) of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, understood as the central axis of his democratic security strategy. It is argued that said discursive practice, which traditionally Colombian society has judged as a sign of community disloyalty and moral weakness and has been categorized with the term "toad", now comes to be claimed by the government as a desirable and necessary civil practice, as the great supportive contribution of the citizens to the construction of a peaceful society. The Informants Network is proposed as part of a great general government strategy aimed not only at exercising control over citizen security, but also at controlling the forms of community organization, participation and mobilization, as well as the colonization of subjectivity and citizen behavior

Keywords:
Content analysis Social representations Informant Subjetivity Social control

Article Details