The Conflict of the Indicators: A Case Study on the Implementation of the Victims' and Land Restitution Law in Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Abstract

This text presents a critique of the version of the Colombian conflict constructed by Law 1448 of 2011 and the indicators designed to evaluate its implementation. The principal argument is that the text of the law and the indicators used have produced, consolidated and normalized an exclusionary vision of the armed conflict and created an exotic idea of the conflict, centred on the rural and the distant, ignoring its nearby, everyday nature. This exotic concept of the conflict is linked to the way in which the model of transitional justice has been constructed and globalized. The text is based on a case study carried out in Cali, the capital of the Department of Valle del Cauca, and currently the most violent urban centre in the country. The conclusion of the paper is that indicators are not only measures - they shape reality and profoundly impact people's live