HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL MEMORY FORGOTTEN IN THE TRIUMPH OF THE “NO” IN COLOMBIA DUE TO POLITICAL POLARIZATION AND MEDIA MANIPULATION

Abstract

This essay presents a critical analysis of the triumph of the “No” in Colombia’s October 2, 2016 plebiscite, understood not merely as an electoral event but as a symbolic occurrence that relegated historical and social memory and exposed the fragility of democracy in the face of media manipulation, political polarization, disinformation, and geographic disconnection. The central objective is to examine how these dynamics contributed to the invisibilization of the victims’ memory of the conflict, undermining their rights to truth, reparation, and justice. The analysis is framed within a critical perspective that conceives memory as a social process in dispute, crossed by official narratives, politics of oblivion, and collective resistance. From this standpoint, it is shown how the media and political actors instrumentalized memory during the campaign, mobilizing emotions of fear and rejection towards the Peace Agreement while displacing the voices of the communities most affected by war. The findings demonstrate that the triumph of the “No” was not the result of an informed citizen deliberation, but rather of strategies that combined manipulation, disinformation, and territorial and social fractures, weakening democratic consensus and marginalizing historical and social memory as a resource for reconciliation. It concludes that peacebuilding in Colombia requires a critical citizenry capable of resisting hegemonic discourses and placing victims at the center of the collective narrative, thus guaranteeing justice, reparation, and non-repetition.