Creating networks in Latin American “sacrifice zones”: an analysis of two short stories by Liliana Colanzi

Abstract

This article analyses two short stories by Bolivian author Liliana Colanzi from the collection Ustedes brillan en lo oscuro, both set in ‘sacrifice zones’, places where there is an accumulation of organic and inorganic waste and where subjects who are themselves rejected in various ways live, as they are marginalised by the system’s imposition of cleanliness. The aim is to demonstrate how Latin America can be considered the starting point to redefine the condition of ‘waste’, highlighting how it produces alternative forms of social aggregation and reaction to the capitalist system.