Marcas de violencia: biopolítica, enfermedad y discapacidad en Teoría de las catástrofes de Tryno Maldonado

Abstract

Illness and disability are recurring motifs in the novel Teoría de las catástrofes (2012) by the Mexican author Tryno Maldonado. The story, which develops during the Oaxaca protests in 2006, reflects the literary use of bodily insubordination as an allegory of collective political resistance. Taking into account the disability studies theory as well as the concept of biopolitics ­–that has allowed the State to exert violence against the members of the social body under the excuse of safeguarding the common good­– this essay explores the intersection between violence, illness, and disability. I propose that the illnesses and disabilities of the characters have a dual function in the narrative. In the first instance, they are seen as indicators of corporal and social “indiscipline” since they imply the disarticulation and defiance of political control schemes. Secondly, illness and disability as consequences of violence show not only the high degree of impunity with which the authorities acted, but also the political and social deterioration in the Mexican context of the first decade of the 21st century.

Keywords

• biopolitics
• disability
• illness
• violence