From Próximos to Prójimos: Discursive Redlining, Autoconstruction, and Crossing in Estação terminal and Angosta

Abstract

Abstract:Against the backdrop of extreme social and economic inequality exacerbated by discriminatory real estate processes like redlining, many Latin Americans turn to autoconstruction—a long-term process of gradually expanding and improving their homes to boost their standing in society. This article compares the novels Estação terminal (2010), by Brazilian author Sacolinha, and Angosta (2003), by Colombian writer Héctor Abad Faciolince, to examine how redlining and autoconstruction operate on both economic and discursive levels. In the face of stereotypes that vilify socially peripheral groups, Sacolinha and Abad employ discursive autoconstruction—building up positive images of social “others” to countervail marginalization and assert a creative right to the city (Beal). Portraying characters who transgress borders both literal and figurative, the texts bridge the distance between characters and readers, inviting them to become prójimos (metaphorical neighbors) charged with defending the rights of others. Analyzing this process underscores how economic, narrative, and social resistance can interrelate. It also demonstrates that, just as marginalization and oppression compound when the factors on which they are based intersect, resistance is most effective when it too is multifaceted and intersectional, enacted on various fronts to reconfigure attitudes and work toward a more inclusive society.