El Quimbo, paisaje del despojo y desterritorialización: el caso de las familias de Escalereta

Abstract

The hydroelectric plants in Colombia have generated different social and economic impacts in the territories of their influence; the unleashed processes of dispossession and deterritorialization are part of their effects. In the media, the results of the visible and exuberant infrastructure and the megawatts generated by the dam are usually known. However, there is no clarity about the voice of what is not heard, this is, what those directly affected feel and think, because once the construction phase is concluded, oblivion begins. This work was carried out in Nueva Escalereta, a village that was configured with families relocated by the company Emgesa, in charge of the El Quimbo dam. The work method was based on in-depth interviews, and, for the analysis, semiotics was used as a methodological framework. Among the main results, it was found that Escalereta families are still struggling between overcoming dispossession and deterritorialization, which does not allow them to advance in the conception of their new way of life, their dreams and desires. Unfortunately, the power struggles between the government and the social struggle have always been resolved with the support of the public force. When a multinational project reaches a territory, there is little that can be done.