Monthly Archives: March 2013

Colombia’s Peace Talks: Independent Republics or Peasant Territories?

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Teo Ballvé

After five months, the Colombian government peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Havana are still on the first—and most complicated—item of their five-point negotiating agenda: the restructuring of rural development. Things are moving slowly but … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Development, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Peace, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Security, Sovereignty, Spatiality, Territory, The State | 4 Comments

Interweb Motley # 18

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Teo Ballvé

Building the new surveillance state. And guess what? You’re doing it right now. Scary when it’s all laid out for you. God-tricking super-max prisons in the U.S.? Or visually representing how prison design and architecture “reflect political discourse, economic priorities, … Continue reading →

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Bureaucracy is Beautiful? Or Death by Papelismo

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Teo Ballvé

Kyle Grayson’s Chasing Dragons pointed me to this extraordinary gallery of photographs called “Bureaucratics” by photographer Jan Banning. I recognized one of them (left): it graces the cover of Akhil Gupta’s new book Red Tape: Bureaucracy, Structural Violence, and Poverty in … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Critique, Everyday Life, Law, Power, The State, Violence | Comments Off on Bureaucracy is Beautiful? Or Death by Papelismo

Hugo Chávez’s legacy: A more independent Latin America

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Teo Ballvé

My column on Chávez’s death published in McClatchy-Tribune newspapers: Hugo Chavez proved that Venezuela and the rest of Latin America could chart an independent path in the world. The Venezuelan leader, who died on March 5, often assumed the role … Continue reading →

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Medellín: Who’s Afraid of Hip-Hop?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Teo Ballvé

My article on hip-hop and violence in Medellín is now out: Héctor Pacheco walked down the steep hillsides of his barrio in Medellín, Colombia to wish his aunt a happy birthday. Pacheco—a local rapper nicknamed “Kolacho”—had spoken at a public … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Boundaries, City, Drugs, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Security, Spatiality, Territory, Terror, The State, Violence | Comments Off on Medellín: Who’s Afraid of Hip-Hop?