Law 70 of 1993 and the political participation of Afro-descendant communities

Abstract

The paper discusses the context of the two decades of promulgation of the 1991 Constitution, which enunciates the multicultural and pluriethnic character of the Colombian nation. The Colombian Constitution can be linked to the the wave of multiculturalism which was institutionalized in this decade as the hegemonic form to think about the cultural differences. The paper examines the practices of political participation of Afro-Colombian groups and compares them with what has been prescribed by the 1991 Constitution and Law No. 70 of 1993. The paper is structured in three parts. The first briefly reviews the theoretical foundations of multiculturalism, political action and the context of modernity in which the former emerge. The second part offers background information with regards to the political participation of these communities. And the third part refers to the current conditions of participation by highlighting the problems and difficulties experienced by the communities.