Necrotopia And Resistance: Historical Memory In The Face Of Statistical Invisibility In The Guacamayal Magdalena District Between 1994-2004

Abstract

This study examines how the Colombian armed conflict profoundly and silently marked the village of Guacamayal, in the Banana Zone, where between 1994 and 2004 the absence of the state allowed armed actors to transform the territory and daily life into scenes of terror. Although official figures record 46 homicides, an exhaustive review of local press and community memory reveals at least 94 murders, demonstrating an underreporting of 109% that reflects a “politics of numbers” that renders victims invisible and distorts the true magnitude of the violence. To understand this reality, the article introduces the notion of “Necrotopia,” understood as a space where death is inscribed on the landscape and reconfigures affective bonds with the environment, generating a tension between topophilia (rootedness) and topophobia (fear and displacement). Using a historical-hermeneutical approach and ethnographic and documentary methods, the research triangulates testimonies from victims with the forensic analysis of 3,600 editions of the newspaper El Informador, revealing significant discrepancies between official records and local experiences. “Narrative reminiscence”—fragmented yet emotionally intense memories—emerges as a form of resistance against institutional amnesia and as the primary resource for reconstructing the territory's history. Overall, the study demonstrates that Guacamayal's struggle was not only for survival but also for the right to their own memory, one that would overturn decades of state-sanctioned silence.