COLONIALITY OF POWER OR INTERNAL COLONIALISM? A LATIN AMERICAN DEBATE; ¿COLONIALIDAD DEL PODER O COLONIALISMO INTERNO? UN DEBATELATINOAMERICANO

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to critically compare the concepts of internal colonialism and coloniality of power, putting them up for debate in order to evaluate their analytical relevance. To do this, we use the works of five exponents of Latin American sociology: Pablo González Casanova, Rodolfo Stavenhagen (Mexico), Aníbal Quijano (Peru), Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, and Luis Tapia (Bolivia). Our argument is that internal colonialism represents a classic concept that remains valid to understand the continuity of colonial domination in Latin America today, in comparison with a coloniality of power that, although fashionable, presents theoretical formulation problems. This contrast is illustrated in contemporary Bolivian sociology, which contributes to the redefinition and updating of internal colonialism, not only as a mode of domination but also from the social struggles that oppose anticolonial resistance.