«Terruqueo» as a Technology of Power in the Psychopolitical Production of Exclusion in Contemporary Peru

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46476/ra.v7i1.251

Keywords:

psychosocial experiences, social exclusion, symbolic power, political communication, discourse analysis, Peru

Abstract

This article analyzes the phenomenon of terruqueo in contemporary Peru, proposing its understanding as a technology of power rather than merely as a discursive strategy. In a context of growing political polarization and social conflict, terruqueo has become a recurrent practice that delegitimizes actors and constrains public debate. Drawing on a theoretical approach that articulates contributions from Foucault, Byung-Chul Han, and Schmitt, the article argues that terruqueo operates as a dispositif that classifies, hierarchizes, and regulates political participation through the production of subjectivities and the mobilization of affects, particularly fear and suspicion. It further examines its role in the construction of the internal enemy and in the legitimization of a social order that naturalizes exclusion and neutralizes dissent. The analysis demonstrates that its effects are not limited to the discursive plane but extend to the configuration of psychic and social life, fostering dynamics of self-censorship, social fragmentation, and the normalization of stigma. The article concludes that a critical reading of the phenomenon requires problematizing its conditions of production and its structural effects on Peruvian society.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Juan José Soza Herrera, Universidad de San Martín de Porres

    Juan José Soza Herrera was born in Arequipa, Peru, and is a psychologist and business administrator whose academic and professional career has been shaped by international experience and an interdisciplinary engagement with psychology, politics, culture, and education. His academic training includes graduate studies in Peru, Mexico, the United States, Spain, and Italy, experiences that have contributed to a critical and context-sensitive perspective on contemporary social processes in Latin America.

    He has served as a university lecturer, researcher, and academic administrator at various universities and institutions, combining teaching with scholarly research and participation in projects focused on human, organizational, and social development. He is currently pursuing graduate studies in Buenos Aires, where his work explores theoretical questions related to subjectivity, power, psychopolitics, and contemporary forms of social exclusion.

    Alongside his academic career, he has maintained an active cultural and literary practice. He is the author of several books of poetry and essays, viewing writing as a space for critical reflection and political engagement. A passionate film enthusiast—particularly of Latin American cinema—he draws on visual narratives and audiovisual aesthetics as key sources for reflecting on memory, conflict, and everyday life.

    His research interests include critical discourse analysis, psychopolitics, political violence, the production of subjectivities, social exclusion, and the intersections of literature, cinema, and power in Latin America. From an interdisciplinary perspective, he understands knowledge as a situated, dialogic, and socially engaged practice aimed at deepening the understanding of the tensions that shape contemporary societies.

References

Agüero, J. C. (2021). Cómo votan los muertos. La Siniestra Ensayos. Asín, F. A. (2021). Turismo, terrorismo y crisis socioeconómica: El caso de Perú (1980–1992). Turismo y Patrimonio, (16), 89–104. https://doi.org/10.24265/turpatrim.2021.n16.06

Azevedo, V. R. (2025). Elements of Peruvian necropolitics: The death of Abimael Guzmán and the discarding of ‘terrorist’ remains. Human Remains and Violence, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.7227/hrv.11.1.5

Bolo-Varela, O. (2024). Terruqueo y negacionismo histórico: El singular, radical y modélico revisionismo de la ultraderecha peruana. Revista Letras UNMSM, 95(141), 279–303. https://doi.org/10.30920/letras.95.141.17

Campos, M. V. (2020). A influência das empresas de segurança privada para a construção do discurso da segurança [Tesis doctoral, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia]. https://doi.org/10.14393/ufu.di.2020.582

Carnut, L. (2020). Neofascismo como objeto de estudo: Contribuições e caminhos para elucidar este fenômeno. Revista Katálysis, 41(1), 81–92. https://doi.org/10.5433/1679-0383.2020v41n1p81

Chisari, C. (2022). The judicial implementation of the right to the truth. Pravni Zapisi, 13(2), 353–372. https://doi.org/10.5937/pravzap0-39985

Dajes, T. (2020). Peru’s living dead: Spectrality, untimeliness, and the internal armed conflict. Romance Quarterly, 67(3), 181–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/08831157.2020.1807818

Escárzaga, F. (2022). The election of Pedro Castillo: Polarization, racism, and “terruqueo” in the presidential elections. Anuario Latinoamericano – Ciencias Políticas y Relaciones Internacionales, (13), 77–91. https://doi.org/10.17951/al.2022.13.77-91

Fernández García, M. (2023). Evaluación de la política y estrategia nacional para la gestión integrada de recursos hídricos. Cuadernos de Trabajo, (26). https://doi.org/10.58211/cdt.vi26.77

Foucault, M. (2008). The birth of biopolitics: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1978–1979. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230594180

Gutiérrez-Gómez, E., Aronés-Cisneros, A., & González-Ríos, R. C. (2025). Process of evaluation and attention to victims of socio-political violence at the national university. Journal of Ecohumanism, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v4i2.6528

Han, B.-C. (2017). Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and new technologies of power. Verso.

Lazzarato, M. (2020). Capital hates everyone: Fascism or revolution. Semiotext(e).

Lino, L. A., & Machado, B. A. (2022). Imaginários e representações sociais acerca da violência e do crime organizado. Revista Quaestio Iuris, 15(4), 1919–1942. https://doi.org/10.12957/rqi.2022.68686

Loayza, J. (2020). Inmigración venezolana y estigmatización laboral en el Perú. Investigaciones Sociales, 23(43), 153–168. https://doi.org/10.15381/is.v23i43.18492

Mago, B. (2023). La identidad al filo de la palabra: El fenómeno del terruqueo en el ciberespacio, formas y representaciones hegemónicas. Lengua y Sociedad, 22(1), 449–487. https://doi.org/10.15381/lengsoc.v22i1.23139

Méndez, C. (2021). The paths of terrorism in Peru. En C. Méndez (Ed.), The Cambridge history of Peru (pp. 314–338). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108556248.017

Müller, M.-M. (2020). Enter 9/11: Latin America and the global war on terror. Journal of Latin American Studies, 52(3), 545–573. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022216X20000565

Niño de Guzmán, S. X. (2021). De la representación descriptiva a la representación sustantiva en Perú. South American Journal of International Relations, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.51798/sijis.v2i1.80

Pozo Tinoco, J. M., & Aguirre Aroni, V. J. (2024). La democracia en el discurso nacionalista de izquierda en el Perú. ISHRA. Revista del Instituto Seminario de Historia Rural Andina, (12). https://doi.org/10.15381/ishra.n12.19243

Ribul, M. (2020). Il caso peruviano delle sterilizzazioni: La politicizzazione del corpo femminile. Studi Culturali, 17(3), 447–462. https://doi.org/10.13130/2612-6672/13655

Scaramucci, M. (2020). Monumentos precários: Luto (im)possível e memória. Revista Brasileira de Ciências Sociais, 35(102). https://doi.org/10.1590/2316-4018602

Schmitt, C. (2007). The concept of the political (Expanded ed., G. Schwab, Trans.). University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226738925.001.0001

Surrallés, A. (2025). Política «presentativa» contra el Estado en la Alta Amazonía. Revista de Antropologia, 68(1). https://doi.org/10.11606/1678-9857.ra.213234

Trelles Vizquerra, J. (2022). El terrorismo y la gobernabilidad en el Perú. Revista de Ciencia e Investigación en Defensa – CAEN, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.58211/recide.v3i3.81

Ubilluz, J. C., & Bolo-Varela, O. (2024). El enjambre de la ultraderecha latinoamericana. Revista Letras UNMSM, 95(141), 4–11. https://doi.org/10.30920/letras.95.141.1

Villalba, F. V. (2022). De las batallas por la memoria a la marca del conflicto: «Terruqueo», estigmatización y violencia en el Perú reciente. el@tina. Revista Electrónica de Estudios

Latinoamericanos, 20(80).

Downloads

Published

2026-07-22

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2026): General Issue

Section

Artículos

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Juan José Soza Herrera

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

«Terruqueo» as a Technology of Power in the Psychopolitical Production of Exclusion in Contemporary Peru. (2026). Resv, 7(1), 39-55. https://doi.org/10.46476/ra.v7i1.251