Challenging Power Logics in Legal Education

Abstract

This article examines the role of Latin American academia in reproducing modern colonialism and the implications of its paradigms in legal education. It questions how the Eurocentric notion of knowledge is perpetuated in contrast to other epistemologies and how subaltern voices are excluded from higher education. The first section analyzes how Latin American academia, under a hegemonic paradigm, legitimizes Western knowledge while marginalizing other forms of wisdom and legal systems. It critiques the presumed objectivity of the researcher and the persistence of a mindset that denies epistemic equality. The second section focuses on the justice demands of Indigenous women, who resist patriarchal power structures and revitalize Indigenous law through perspectives grounded in autonomy and recognition. The third section addresses contemporary challenges in legal education, proposing an intercultural approach that acknowledges and values diverse forms of knowledge, thus promoting a more inclusive and socially engaged education. The article concludes that Latin American academia must move toward a more ethical and socially committed educational practice, empowering social actors in the construction and reconstruction of their own knowledge.

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