Between snakes and other prejudices: The discourse of land grabbers in the Bribri indigenous territory of Cabagra, Costa Rica
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| Forfatter: | |
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| Format: | artículo original |
| Status: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2026 |
| Beskrivelse: | This article analyzes the discourses of non-Indigenous people who usurp lands in the Bribri Indigenous Territory of Cabagra, Costa Rica, to identify the discursive mechanisms they use to justify the invasion and describe the Indigenous population. The research is based on ethnographic work conducted between 2015 and 2023, employing qualitative techniques such as interviews with usurpers and Bribri community members, and participant observation. The analysis is framed within social anthropology and critical discourse analysis according to Van Dijk. The study identifies a coherent "usurping gaze," structured around four interconnected pillars: 1) The construction of legitimacy through the narrative of "good faith" and inherited rights; 2) The extractivist logic that dehumanizes the Bribri, calling them "snakes" and accusing them of wasting the land; 3) The denial of Indigenous identity through a criterion of authenticity that imposes language as a requirement for having rights; and 4) The reversal of victimization, which portrays Indigenous people as savage and violent in order to criminalize their resistance. It is concluded that these discourses are not isolated ideas, but rather a system of justification that operates tautologically, naturalizing dispossession and hindering intercultural dialogue. The solution transcends mere physical demarcation; it demands a critical pedagogy that dismantles this discursive regime and establishes an ethical boundary against structural racism, the only path toward sustainable intercultural peace. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Institution: | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Sprog: | Español |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:portal.revistas.ucr.ac.cr:article/2764 |
| Online adgang: | https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rantropologia/article/view/2764 |
| Palabra clave: | indigenous peoples land conflicts racism discourse Bribri pueblos indígenas conflictos de tierra racismo discurso bribri |