Social extermination in the El Paraíso neighborhood. A structural constructivist analysis in the period 2010-2021

Abstract

The article explores the results of the project "Social Extermination in the El Paraíso neighborhood: 2010 - 2021", carried out by the seedbed Esperanza en Marcha of the Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios - UNIMINUTO, Bogotá headquarters. The research focused on reflecting on the social representations of young people in the Paraíso neighborhood about the practices of social extermination that have occurred during the last ten years, based on the analysis of the categories, using the approaches of Pierre Bourdieu's structural constructivism and a qualitative methodology of narrative cut, where information gathering techniques related to semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and social cartographies were used. The research revealed the structural components of social extermination, recognizing that it originates from dominance over the youth of the neighborhood through the establishment of practices and thoughts that seek to annihilate what is different, what does not fit into the capitalist, patriarchal, and colonial system, Recognizing that this generates some affectations in the construction of identity of the young people due to the stigmatization of their place of residence and the violation of their human rights, the above is also reflected in the absence of governmental accompaniment, where finally it is the scenarios of youth resistance that make visible the situations and demand protection from community actions.