Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the participation of black Colombians in national politics since reforms in the 1990s, and will argue that the State must urgently seek to redress centuries of inequality to make Colombia's democracy stronger and more representative.

Paper long abstract:

'I am a representative of la comunidad afrodescendiente. I represent my community and feel very proud'.

Paula Moreno Zapata, following her appointment as Minister of Culture in 2007

In this paper I will analyse the participation of black Colombians in national politics, and argue that the State must urgently seek to redress centuries of inequality. Despite Afro-Colombians making up over 10% of the population, they have only had one cabinet-level minister and remain politically under-represented and disenfranchised.

I will analyse the significant steps taken in the 1990s to enhance the role of blacks in public life, but argue that further action is necessary to make Colombia's democracy representative and equal. Moreover, for public policy progression to surpass mere tokenism requires the acquiescence and collaboration of the hegemonic white/mestizo elite.

Although they would profit from greater organisation and structure, for black politicians to enact change by themselves would be near impossible. On the one hand, to get their message across, Afro-Colombians need to be vocal and undercut structural discrimination. On the other, overplaying black issues leads to them being typecast as politicians concerned exclusively with race, and subsequently to an augmentation of the frictions they seek to overcome.

The paper will highlight the urgent necessity and the potential successes that root-and-branch affirmative action policies in favour of the black population could bring to Colombia, and argue that their implementation is long overdue in a democracy that often claims to be the oldest and strongest in South America.