Political ecologies of urban nature in Bogotá, Colombia

by Germán A. Quimbayo Ruiz In Bogotá, urban nature suffers from pressures for urban development, profit-making and corruption. But it has also been mobilised as a legitime vehicle in pursuit of a more just city-region. Bogotá is facing several environmental challenges, from air pollution and public transport to continuous pushes for profit-driven urban development, contested …

Who can say? Reflections on the unknown in Valle de Cauca, Colombia

By Emma Lord* On December 1st, 2016, headlines marked the formal end of Colombia´s prolonged war. Emma Lord shares some reflections on the contextual complexity of the conflict based on fieldwork in the department of Valle del Cauca in 2015. Sitting in the kitchen of a caleño guitarist –a research informant and friend– we chat …

The comptroller Sandra Morelli

by Joan Martinez Alier* The Colombian attorney Sandra Morelli, a woman with a strong personality, is a member of the Colombian establishment. Since September 2014, she doesn't know whether she's living a sabbatical or a political exile in Rome. Sandra Morelli is a habitual protagonist in the Colombian press after having been the state Comptroller for …