4. How Racial Exclusion Affects Subnational Disparities: The Case of Chocó

For example, I follow authors such as Amsden, DiCaprio, and Robinson (2012), Bivens (2005), Gaventa (1982), Leal (2007), Lukes (1974), Pierson (2004), Tilly (1998), Mahoney and Thelen (2010), Mahoney (2015), Wade (1993a).

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the mechanism is a system of interacting parts (Figure 4.1), in other words, following Beach and Pedersen (2018), it consists of actors and their activities.

E.g., dark skin color, hair, occupation, or income.

AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, tomo 713 sección 1ª folios: 382. (own translation).

AGN: Ministerio de Gobierno Sección 1ª, tomo 712 folio: 299.

Observador (1914). (own translation).

AGN, Ministerio de Gobierno Sección 1ª, tomo 712 folio: 299 (own translation).

Observador (1914).

Ibid.

Ibid (own translation).

Revista de la Instrucción Pública de la Intendencia del Chocó. Quibdó, junio de 1914. Tomo I. Número 10.

AGN, Ministerio de Gobierno Sección 1ª, tomo 712 folio: 299.

AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales. Tomo 713, sección 1ª, folios 381, 382, 422, 423.

Dionisio Echeverry Ferrer was a descendant of the Ferrer family, who originally came from Spain and had been settled in Chocó since colonial times (Martínez Gallo, 2011).

See, for instance, Informe del Intendente Nacional del Chocó al Señor Ministro de Gobierno Quibdó: Imprenta Oficial 1941 p. 7. This is a common pattern in these types of reports.

Ibid, p. 262. This section of the report corresponds to the secretary of public works. Moreover, in the report of 1940, it is described the appropriation of public funding for the same purpose (see Informe del Intendente Nacional del Chocó al Señor Ministro de Gobierno Quibdó: Imprenta Oficial 1940 pp. 24,138). (own translation).

See Gaitán (1994) for a description of the life of César Conto.

Since the non-white component was associated with a lack of civilization (Andrews, 2007; Wade, 1991).

The Chocoana elite strongly defended the city of Quibdó as the birthplace of Jorge Isaacs, the author of the famous 19th-century Colombian novel María. The discussion was over the fact that the city of Cali, in the Department of Valle del Cauca, also claimed the birthplace of Jorge Isaacs, which for the Chocoanos was almost classified as an offense; therefore, they insistently made efforts to make it clear that Chocó was Isaacs’s motherland. For instance, Reinaldo Valencia, a member of the white Chocoana elite and owner of the newspaper ABC, wrote the book La Cuna de Jorge Isaacs (the birthplace of Jorge Isaac), specifically focused on defending the claim that Quibdó was the birthplace of this Colombian author (ABC, 1943o). See also the article “¿El Poeta Jorge Isaacs nació en Cali?” in the ABC newspaper in 1943 (Valencia, 1943). Similarly, other sources show the importance of highlighting whiteness in descendant historical figures of Chocó such as articles describing the family Conto, Mallarino, Carrasquilla, or Jorge Isaacs as the “intellectuality” of Quibdó, or the “illustrious historical figures” of the region (Villa, 1933; X.X., 1943). This action is also observed in members of the Afro-descendant elite that would dominate relations of power after the 1930s, though most of them are associated with the racialized national project. For example, César Conto was exalted as “the most illustrious son of Chocó” by Adán Arriaga Andrade, a member of this mulatto elite, though he was also pointed out for being an ally of the white Chocoana elite (ABC, 1935c; Pisano, 2012).

It is also possible that, despite their non-Chocoano and white status, Miguel Bush and Miguel Montalvo were members of the Patriot army during the independence war; therefore, they are considered heroes of the independence movement in the region (Barragán, 2016; Bustos, 2017).

A monument to the ashes of César Conto has been located in Centenary Park since 1924 (Leal, 2007). The amount in Dionisio Echeverry Ferrer’s budget probably refers to renovation, improvement, or an additional monument to this white individual.

Informe del Intendente Nacional del Chocó al Señor Ministro de Gobierno Quibdó: Imprenta Oficial 1941 p. 264.

Ibid. 10. Informe del Intendente Nacional del Chocó al Señor Ministro de Gobierno Quibdó: Imprenta Oficial 1940 p. 9.

Significantly the report states that schooling constructions are not included in this budget (Informe del Intendente Nacional del Chocó al Señor Ministro de Gobierno Quibdó: Imprenta Oficial, 1941, p. 25).

Adaptation is different from adoption in that mid-aggrieved actors are affected by the exclusionary institution. Therefore, they have to “adjust” to the ambivalences that the exclusionary institution entails. Some insights from Robinson (2012), Pierson (2004), Leal (2007), Wade (1993a), or Tilly (1998) inspired these ideas.

E.g., Pisano (2012).

The literature and archival material indicate that the Abadías are a traditional Chocoana family from the province of San Juan with economic and social prestige due to the accumulation of resources from mining activities and later the accumulation of human capital through education (see, for instance, Ardila and Corredor [2013] or Gaitán [1994)].

See Informe del Intendente Nacional del Chocó al Señor Ministro de Gobierno Quibdó: Imprenta Oficial, 1941, p. 76) and Reporte al Ministro de Gobierno, Quibdó 21 de junio de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 66.

Ibid, p. 65, DANE (1985), República de Colombia Departamento de Contraloría (1935), and República de Colombia Departamento de Contraloría (1936).

Own translation.

Informe del Intendente Nacional del Chocó al Señor Ministro de Gobierno 1941.

Memorándum sobre el Chocó, Bogotá agosto 10 de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, p. 99.

Intendencia Nacional del Chocó Dirección de Educación Pública Quibdó 23 de octubre 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 131. Also Quibdó octubre 1 de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 131–133.

For an analysis of the data, see Departamento de Contraloría (1935), República de Colombia Departamento de Contraloría (1935, 1936).

For example, the position of “supervisor” for new public works or revenue collector are described. See Reporte al Ministro de Gobierno, Quibdó 21 de junio de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 67. Intendencia del Chocó Bogotá 12 de julio de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 94–96.

Colonization was also required in his work as intendant, as expressed in the article “For the next year” (Para año entrante) in the ABC newspaper. This article suggests that Adán Arriaga Andrade should work (and it was also in his interest to do so) on the colonization of the Pacific coast and the city of Baudó (ABC, 1934q).

Memorándum sobre el Chocó, Bogotá agosto 10 de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 100–103 [own translation].

Ibid.

Similarly he seems to show interest in knowing the areas to be potentially colonized and visited these territories in expeditions conducted with his secretaries of the treasury Dionisio Echeverry Ferrer and his secretary of health and sanitation José Rodriguez R. to the Pacific coast of Chocó (See for example ABC, 1934i).

E.g., the high incidences of certain illnesses: pian, anemia, and malaria.

Memorial a Senadores Andrade y Garner diciembre 27 de 1934 hoja No 3 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 140–144.

Ibid. (own translation).

This initiative was conducted in conjunction with the Chocoano congressmen Sergio Abadía Arango. Anales de la Cámara de Representantes lunes julio 25 de 1938 No. 3 p. 15.

Decree 450 of 1937 an initiative also achieved in conjunction with the legislative labors of Diego Luís Córdoba (Rausch, 2014). See also Arriaga Andrade (1944c) for Law 4 of 1941.

In 1933, for instance, representatives of Chocó presented a project to the national congress to lift this territory’s state of exclusion by demanding the removal of the constitutional barriers so that Chocó became a Department, i.e., with a minimum population and own revenues.

In 1943, for instance, he presented the proposal to turn Chocó into a department with Diego Luís Córdoba (Córdoba & Arriaga Andrade, 1943).

Anales de la Cámara de Representantes viernes 4 de marzo de 1938 No. 27.

Ibid, p. 278.

Ibid, p. 278.

Sofonías Yacup was a member of the commission studying the project of the special statute for Chocó. The report of this commission for instance states that the special statute could make more effective the administration (benefit) while at the same time mentioning the “aberrations of the intendencial regime” (disadvantage). Ibid, pp. 276–279.

Ibid. Anales de la Cámara de Representantes Bogotá, martes julio 20 de 1937 No. 1 p. 5–7 shows the list of representatives and respective electoral jurisdictions.

This regulation was controversial since it established that for the election of the upper camera of the national congress, the National Territories should be delegated to the neighboring departments and this was a source of lack of representation, as it will be described in the following sections (Arriaga Andrade, 1944d). For more details on complaints about the Law see Arriaga Andrade (1944d, 1944a, 1944b, 1944c).

Palacios (2014) also mentions how this law caused protests in Chocó.

Pisano (2012) indeed describes how Adán Arriaga Andrade was assimilated by Chocoanos as white despite his phenotypical Afro-descendant characteristics because of his affinity with the dominant class and in contrast to Diego Luís Córdoba, another liberal, but more closely related to the people of Chocó as a representative of the popular and black class.

He referred to the control of the national government and the existence of different administrative regimes (Departments and National Territories) (ABC, 1943l; Arriaga Andrade, 1944a). Moreover, he argued that, in the case of Chocó, it would last just twelve months until the constitutional reform transformed Chocó into a Department (Arriaga Andrade 1944a).

In the Colombian tradition any professional with a degree, especially in the field of law, is called ‘Doctor’. However, Mosquera (2015) suggests that considering Diego Luís Córdoba as the first Chocoano lawyer is incorrect, according to the author, it being more precise to think about Córdoba as one of the first black lawyers.

According to Pisano (2012), Acción Democrática had two goals: introducing mass schooling for the blacker sectors of the population, and increasing their participation in the public administration.

The elite nevertheless pointed out Diego Luís Córdoba and his movement for fostering an unnecessary racial struggle in the region. His political opponents repeatedly claimed that the racial question was behind his political career, stating for instance that the success of (his) campaign had consisted of evoking the racial struggle to the point that, despite Córdoba being a liberal, he received the support of conservatives due, some argued, to the “racial flag” (see Flórez (2023, p. 286)).

For example, in the early twentieth century, the local white Chocoano Heliodoro Rodríguez started a project in the national congress in favor of departmentalization. This project began in the lower House of Representatives and reached the Senate, but it was strongly opposed by the “conservative hegemony”, so that this attempt by the Chocoanos failed on this occasion (ABC, 1934n). In an article of 1930, the local journalist Reinaldo Valencia stated that, at the time Heliodoro Rodríguez presented the project, Chocó had the revenues required to be a department and just lacked the minimum population. Nevertheless, according to the journalist, the truth behind the failure of the project was that the Intendancy had a traditional affiliation to the Liberal party, for which upgrading Chocó to a department would have implications in respect of their representation in the assemblies and the Senate, an advantage the Conservative Party was not willing to concede (Valencia, 1930).

The Carrasquilla generation refers to a group of Afro-descendant alumni of the secondary School Carrasquilla of Quibdó during the first decades of the twentieth century who rose up the social hierarchy due to their education in this school and later in different universities in Colombia (Hernández Maldonado, 2010). The members of this group include Diego Luís Córdoba, Adán Arriaga Andrade, Osías Lozano Quintana, Daniel Valois Arce, or Ramón Lozano Garcés (González Escobar, 2003).

It is also notable that, revising the different proposals of Diego Luís Córdoba, he also presented projects to the national congress to correct Chocó’s lack of autonomy by proposing the creation of an intendencial assembly with the same functions as the departmental assemblies that had been democratically elected to replace the limited intendencial council (Cámara de Representantes, 1935, pp. 68–70).

Anales de la Cámara de Representantes. Bogotá, jueves 1 de agosto de 1935 No. 10. The budget should include 70,000 COPS of additional revenues for a total of 300,832.58 (national aid not included). Later, the constitutional reform of 1936 (legislative act number 1 of August 5 of 1936) established for conformation as a Department a minimum population of 250,000 inhabitants and its own revenues of 500,000 COPS (Hernández Maldonado, 2010; Rausch, 2003).

Córdoba and Arriaga Andrade (1943).

ABC (1943n).

Historically, the main barriers to the departmentalization project were both the national government and the neighboring departments, i.e., those actors who were maintaining the national exclusionary geo-racialized project. As arguments opposing the departmentalization they cited the lack of constitutional requirements, i.e., the required number of inhabitants, the minimum level of Chocó’s own revenues, and the availability of human resources for a departmental administration.

In 1935.

Anales of the Congress shows that he was representative of the biennium 1943–1945.

That is, the sources show other players simultaneously emerging, such as Vicente Barrios Ferrer in his role in transforming secondary education in Chocó.

Similarly, there is evidence of other actions to revise racially exclusionary policies by Vicente Barrios Ferrer. The sources show that he took part in the conference of educational directors, where he led the proposal to reform the explicit exclusionary policy for indigenous populations, i.e., the Catholic missions. In this conference, Vicente Barrios Ferrer redacted a resolution that stated that the results of the missions were unsatisfactory and that the national government had evidence of this fact. He also stated that the provision of education for this non-white population should be readdressed with the supply of health personnel, specialists in tropical illness, agronomic engineers, and specialists in pedagogy (although national priest included) (ABC, 1935d).

The school in Istmina was closed in 1928 (Carrasco 1933). The report of the officer of education also mentions the school of Santa Teresa in the municipality of El Carmén. Intendencia Nacional del Chocó Dirección de Instrucción Pública, Quibdó 12 de junio de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 16.

The report states that there were three secondary schools: the Carrasquilla School for men and the two schools of La Presentación with a total of 150 students. These numbers support the conclusion that the intendancy was funding at least 10 percent of the supply of secondary instruction in these private institutions of La Presentación in 1919. Memoria del Intendente Nacional del Chocó al señor Ministro de Gobierno 1919, p. 43 [own translation]. Imprenta Oficial. Quibdó.

Intendencia Nacional del Chocó Dirección de Instrucción Pública, Quibdó 12 de junio de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 17.

Memoria del Intendente Nacional del Chocó al señor Ministro de Gobierno 1919, p. 45. Imprenta Oficial. Quibdó. Similarly, González Escobar (2003) states that these schools were pointed out for their exclusionary and racist practices.

Intendencia Nacional del Chocó Dirección de Instrucción Pública, Quibdó 12 de junio de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 17.

ABC (1934g).

The municipalities of Condoto and Tadó did not initially accept the responsibility for funding the school at Istmina. Istmina had to provide 500 COPS, Condoto 400 COPS, and Tadó 300 COPS to fund the school. Faced with this inconvenient fact, Vicente Barrios Ferrer argued that he was “very optimist” and committed himself to constructing this school because (among other things) there was a need for public education (ABC, 1934k).

Intendencia Nacional del Chocó Dirección de Instrucción Pública, Quibdó 12 de junio de 1934 in AGN: sección: Archivo Anexos, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarías, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 002, Folio: 18.

The statistical yearbooks show 22 female students enrolled in secondary official establishments in 1933 and 84 in the yearbook for 1936.

For the authors, other initiatives were also coupled with similar objectives, such as those for a normal school for males in Quibdó and scholarships for secondary and tertiary education in other Colombian cities.

The literature also suggests that, with the appointment of Vicente Barrios Ferrer as director of education, the elite of Chocó pretended to maintain the status quo and discrimination, though in fact this was not the situation (Caicedo, 1992).

E.g., on January 10 an article in the ABC newspaper explained the proposed reductions of schooling by Adán Arriaga Andrade (ABC, 1934b). Juan J. Carrasco was also the director of public instruction of Chocó who, as Sect. 3.5 shows, justified the existence of hierarchies as “natural…because the contrary would be communism” (Educational Report, 1933, p. 452).

The source also mentions Adán Arriaga, nevertheless, highlights the efforts of Córdoba and Barrios Ferrer.

See Bivens (2005), Gaventa (1982), Lukes (1974), Wade (1993a), National Research Council (2004); Quillian (2006).

Antonescu (1943) own translation.

Pisano (2012) also reports the creation of a Black Club in the city of Bogotá in 1943 led by renowned Colombian Afro-descendants such as Marino A. Viveros, Manuel Zapata Olivella, and Delia Zapata Olivella. The article in ABC nevertheless does not make explicit reference to the connection between the Black Club in Bogotá and the Black Club in Medellín. I refer to TOUT as an Afro-descendant person because the photograph in the article shows an individual with Afro-descendant phenotypical characteristics.

TOUT (1943) own translation.

X.X. (1944) own translation.

Pro-populo de Nóvita (1944) own translation.

Sergio Abadía Arango presented the project of two commissaries as congressman (Rhenals Doria & Flórez Bolívar, 2019).

Pro-populo de Nóvita (1944).

See for instance ABC (1943m,  1944a), Arriaga Andrade (1944a). For example, National Law 2 of 1943, despite offering more concessions to the intendancy than during previous decades, still legitimized the implicit exclusion experienced by Chocoanos regarding their rights to self-government, self-determination, and political representation as Colombian citizens.

ABC (1943b, 1943c, 1943e).

Orozco Echeverry (1943).

Ibid. (own translation).

Ibid.

Antonio A. Asprilla Arango, Sergio Abadía Arango, Marino Abadía Valencia, Américo Abadía, and Antonio Chamat Abadía (ABC, 1943c, 1943d, 1943e). (ABC, 1943).

For example, in 1943 members of the Regionalist movement sent a statement in the name of the Pro-Interests Board of San Juan (Junta Pro-intereses de San Juan). The statement was signed by, among others, Antonio Asprilla A., Manuel Abadía V, and Pastor Morales with arguments against the Arriaga-Córdoba axis. The signatories claimed that this alliance intended to “monopolize for them (Arriaga and Córdoba) the seats of the House of Representatives (Cámara) for Chocó… (in turn), affect(ing) Chocoana unity” (ABC, 1943a; Orozco Echeverry, 1943).

ABC (1943c), Directorio Liberal Territorial (1943).

ABC (1943c).

People in Chocó argued that this relation between Chocó and the Department of Bolívar had subjected Chocó to abuses of traders and made commerce more expensive for the city and the intendancy (Villa, 1933).

Others made racialized arguments. Once opened, it was said, the road from Quibdó to Bolívar and the links with Antioquia would be strengthened, with more trade and people from Antioquia who will work in Chocó introducing “Antioqueña blood, of major convenience for the ethnology of the Chocoana region.” “Quibdó could be considered…(an) Antioqueña… city” (Sanín Villa, 1934). (own translation).

This was a cause of worry for the national government because of the potential annexation of more Colombian territory to the new country (ABC, 1934l; Rhenals Doria & Flórez Bolívar, 2019).

This involved the routes such as Pueblo Rico via Tadó, Istmina, Nóvita to Cartago, and Istmina to Bogotá.

Own translation.

It also caused protests in each province against the other. For example, the people of Atrato protested against this objection to this public construction (ABC, 1934m).

The proposal was to divide the territory into two intendencies or commissaries (Atrato and San Juan) or to incorporate them into the neighboring departments ABC (1933a, 1933c) and (Cámara de Representantes, 1935).

In the justification (motive exposition) of the project, Abadía Arango mentions the antagonisms between the two provinces, indicating that the proposed separation would end “the regionalist discontent” between Quibdó and Istmina (ABC, 1933c; Cámara de Representantes, 1935).

The author also states that the regionalism was “more intense (in Chocó) than in other zones of the country” arguing the lack of communication as a cause. Septiembre 29 de 1933 carta de M. Vargas Vásquez in AGN: Archivo Anexo, Entidad Productora: Ministerio de Gobierno sección Intendencias y Comisarias, Serie Documental: Intendencias Informes Generales, Caja: 001, Carpeta: 001, Folio: 32–34 [own translation].

As previously discussed, the special regime greatly offended this racialized Afro-descendant territory and its people by implicitly limiting their full access to social services, political rights, and participation in self-governing processes.

Republicano (1914). own translation.

The source specifically states that Chocó deserved a “different treatment” relative to other National Territories and the National Government knew that (Córdoba and Arriaga Andrade, 1943).

At least people in Chocó considered this. See also Echeverry Ferrer (1943), García O (1943), ABC (1943g, 1943k).

Ibid.

Córdoba (1943), ABC (1943h).

Ibid, own translation.

Córdoba (1943), ABC (1943i).

Córdoba (1943).

Guerrero Velásquez (1943).

ABC, (1943g). own translation.

Ibid.

Alberto Lleras Camargo was a national well-known liberal politician (ABC, 1943f).

Ibid, own translation.

Antioquia Vs. Chocó Tello Gómez (1943).

Acandí protesta García O (1943).

ABC (1943g)

Córdoba (1943), own translation.

Guerrero Velásquez (1943).

ABC (1943j) Convención de Municipalidades.

Ibid. See also Flórez (2023); Pisano (2012), Wade (1993a).

Other revisions were Article 2 of Law 13 of 1947 which gave access to public services by creating the judicial district of Quibdó with dependencies in the Chocoana cities of Istmina and Nuquí, as well as an administrative court, which eliminated the differential treatment of being assigned to neighboring departments to obtain access to some of these services.

In other scenarios, the mentioned actors may or may not conduct beneficial initiatives for the population. As previously mentioned, Adán Arriaga Andrade is, for instance, acknowledged as an advocate of reforms that produced worker’s rights as well as a politician who conducted initiatives for the welfare of Chocó. In this respect, it would also be valid to explore further why the educational actions of revisionist mid-aggrieved actors were not strictly focused on the expansion of primary or rural education which may be, according to authors like Lindert (2004, 2010), more oriented to the masses.