•  
  •  
 

Psychology from the Margins

Abstract

This article presents a review of the colonial past that has marked Peruvian society and has managed to remain in it through the neocolonialism. The purpose of this article is to account for how instrumental political use of psychology, and sometimes psychiatry, has been and continues to be used to favor the people who exercise power and to perpetuation the current system. For this, some examples of how this work has been carried out are described. Specifically, mention is made of how "ethnic hierarchies" were supported with the eugenic model, the "normal" was up justifying the subjugation of the indigenous population both throughout history and to the present day. Regarding this, some examples are also mentioned that exemplify the vulnerability to which this population is exposed, and it is mentioned how this is detrimental to their mental health like the use of forced sterilizations against indigenous women’s bodies in the late 90s. Finally, it is described how community psychology can bet on changing these structures and aim for a true social transformation.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.