Territorial Stigmatization: Urban Marginality and Symbolic Borders in Latin America

Abstract

The article analyzes the concept of territorial stigmatization with the aim of developing an analytical framework to better understand this phenomenon from a Latin American perspective. Despite the emerging empirical research on territorial stigmatiza tion in Latin America, it remains incipient when compared to the extensive Anglo-Saxon literature. Therefore, this article addresses this knowledge gap and provides a review of the debates that have taken place in Latin America over the last two decades. Two premises emerge from this analysis. On the one hand, territorial stigmatization is highlighted as an expression of urban marginality under neoliberalism. On the other hand, despite the con text of marginalization, it is proposed that the subjectivities of the stigmatized have become congruent with the neoliberal principles of the economy, generating symbolic boundaries within their neighborhoods.