Classic Marxism and the Characterization of “The Indigenous” in Colombia

Luis Guillermo Vasco Uribe
luguiva@cable.net.co
Independent researcher (Colombia)

Abstract:

This article, written in 1975, exposes the classic Marxist position towards the so-called “national problem”, and its development from Marx and Engels to Lenin and Stalin, based on the emergent imperialism and the October Revolution in Russia. The text also presents some of the changes that occurred to this concept due to the anti-colonial liberation fights, especially in Vietnam. Finally, the article presents several expositions made about the subject of classic Marxism by more recent authors, among them the Colombian Ignacio Torres Giraldo. This first reflection provided the basis for the later concept of “indigenous nationalities” developed by the same author, which was used to characterize indigenous societies in Colombia and to explain the character of their fight.

KeyWords: Classic Marxism, national problem, national minorities, liberation fights.