Mafia del ladrillo y ordenamiento territorial: la geografía del poder urbano en Bello

Abstract

This article analyzes how, since 2000 and with increasing intensity since 2009, territorial planning in the municipality of Bello has been guided by the logic of the reproduction of national and global capital, generating negative economic and socio-spatial impacts. These dynamics are manifested in the loss of quality of life, the increase in multidimensional poverty, and the consolidation of a socially fragmented city. It also explores how this development model has facilitated the strengthening of illegal armed groups, which between 2019 and 2020 engaged in an intense
confrontation for territorial control. Although homicides have decreased in recent years, forms
of structural violence linked to the land market and illegal land occupation persist. Overall, the
article proposes a critical reading of the city model promoted by local authorities, highlighting the
role of the State as a facilitator of the interests of real estate capital and a key actor in the design
of exclusionary urban development.