The Central Zone of Magdalena Department (Colombia): from the Begining to the Setting up of Chaos

Abstract

This paper considers the so called Central Zone, one of the political divisions of the Department of Magdalena, Colombia. This area is, no doubt, a sort of epicentre of clashes and disagreements reflecting the instability of the Nation-State. The sistematic supression of the Chimile native population, the breakup of social movements ensuing the Bananeras masacre in 1928, the drainiing and expropiation of Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, the apparition of guerillas and of paramilitarism with its letal effects on the economic, social and cultural spheres all come together to shape a very complex territorial space. Such space is marked by the presence of great landowning families, the abscence of the State, the consistent suppresion of the public. It is a huge territory characterized by impunity and the lack of historical memory.