¿La voz de Pablo, la voz del pueblo? Pablo Escobar y el populismo
This research paper reflects on why certain poor neighborhoods in Medellin decided to back Pablo Escobar in the conflict between him and the Colombian state in the 1980s. This situation has been typically explained using one or a combination of the following factors: Escobar’s capacity to provide poor citizens with goods and services as a material foundation for his support, the coercive power of his criminal organization, and his ability to manipulate his followers.  The analysis presented here, in turn, proposes a novel and complementary approach, as it frames the issue using the concept of populism. Furthermore, given the particular characteristics of the research subject, the discursive perspective on populism has been considered as the most appropriate to carry out this case study.    Along those lines, this thesis focuses not only on the subject’s written discourse, but also on the context in which it was produced and how it was received by his partisans. This study’s findings illustrate the populist nature of Escobar’s discourse and highlight its links to the support he received from poor neighborhoods in his city, allowing for a better understanding of the empathy and backing he succeeded in cultivating in certain areas of his hometown.
Pablo Escobar Discours Populism Colombia Drug trafficking Discourse People