Neoliberalism and Neocolonialism in Nadia Prado’s ©Copyright (2003): Towards a Decolonial Reading

Abstract

This paper reads Nadia Prado’s poetry collection ©Copyright (2003) from a decolonial perspective, based on Walter Mignolo’s conceptualization of history as heterogeneous and decentred, aspects that I argue also permeate subjectivity and poetic expression. The poem delves into criticism of both Chilean neoliberal reality and a wider Latin American context in which the US has become a new economic and cultural hegemonic entity to be resisted from the margins. As a follow-up from the poetry/performance work Poesía es + (2002), co-authored with Malú Urriola, ©Copyright explores expression or its lack thereof within a profit-driven Chilean democratic transitional moment. Prado’s poetry opens up space that paves the way for a deep critique of neo-colonialism and neoliberalism. At the same time, this poem becomes part of a larger corpus of poetic, narrative and critical work that has compiled concerns and discontents since neoliberalism was imposed in Chile.