Manifestations Of Inclusion In Voices Of Power In Colombia

Abstract

This research examines how the notion of inclusion has been configured in Colombia's presidential discourses between 1991 and 2025. The purpose of this examination is to identify the associated symbols that are mobilized in these official interventions and the cartographies of citizenship that are woven into them. The study was supported by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) tools, with a hermeneutic approach and a longitudinal qualitative textual analysis design, applied to a corpus of 145 presidential speeches corresponding to the different periods of the temporal reference. The selection of open access texts was conducted with a focus on texts that comprehensively address all mandates, thereby emphasizing their public nature, textual stability, and institutional relevance. The analysis was conducted using a multifaceted approach, encompassing six distinct moments. These moments included the following: the initial socio-historical contextualization; an examination of thematic macrostructures and discursive formats; the identification of argumentative logic and enunciation strategies; a microtextual analysis; the tracing of ideological veins and interdiscursivity; and the profiling of social actors along with the mechanisms of symbolic discrimination. The findings indicate that the phenomenon of inclusion functions as a presidential legitimation technology, thereby absorbing demands, expanding symbols of participation, and projecting cohesion. However, this process does not result in alterations to the structures that sustain inequality and reinforce a center of power.