Silences, Confessions, and Taboos: The Petite Bourgeoisie’s Memories of Radicalization in Bogotá

As part of a transnational politicization of everyday life during the 1960s and 1970s in Colombia, many professionals and white-collar employees experienced a radical political change and social awakening in their lives. Although connected with developmental programs such as the Alliance for Progress, they began to question their political identifications as middle-class in an effort to redefine what they thought their role should be in a revolutionary society. This presentation discusses these experiences as a question of memory. It shows how professionals and white-collar workers sought—consciously and unconsciously—to remember a radicalized past in order to define themselves as a gendered petit bourgeoisie in the present. It also traces a political genealogy for those memories within the Left to show how such a genealogy played a pivotal yet forgotten role in the political execution of José Raquel Mercado, a working-class Black leader, by the guerrilla M-19 in 1976. 

All welcome – This event is free, but booking is required.

Details on how to join this session will be sent to all registered attendees 24 hours in advance.  Booking will therefore close the day before the scheduled date.

UCL Institute of the Americas is delighted to collaborate with the Institute of Historical Research (School of Advanced Study, University of London) and other leading institutions in the organisation of this series