The history of Revista Controversia is closely tied to the institution that founded it and maintains it as one of its flagship publications, even though other entities have long participated in its production. Indeed, when the Society of Jesus promoted the establishment of centers for understanding social reality in Latin America during the 1960s, Centro de Investigación y Acción Social (CIAS, for its initials in Spanish) was founded in Colombia, gaining legal status in 1972. However, at that time, dissatisfaction with the center's name grew among its researchers, particularly some Jesuits returning from Europe after completing studies in various social and human sciences. Thus, from 1973, the center began to be referred to as Cinep (Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular), though the legal name change was only finalized in 1976. A few years ago, the words “Programa por la Paz” were included into the center’s original legal name.

These name changes explain why the predecessor of Revista Controversia was called —precisely—Anali-CIAS. This was a short, mimeographed publication, intended to be monthly, offering in-depth analyses of current issues. Each issue concluded with a chronology of recent social and political events in the country. It seemed to serve the function of fostering debates within the group of researchers, who at the time numbered fewer than twenty, and reaching out to close contacts, particularly those involved in the work of the Society of Jesus. Thus, 31 issues were published between April 1972 and February 1975.

With issue 32, the journal decided to change its name (meanwhile, the institution's name was being changed), calling for debates of all kinds, but with academic rigor and deep respect for divergent opinions. In its early days, Controversia intended to continue publishing monthly, but with the desire to study in depth a topic of national or international relevance, without abandoning the analysis of the current situation. As time went by, this monographic approach was further developed, but the monthly periodicity was gradually lost. Aesthetically, it became a more formal journal, with a cover, logo, and a small format, resembling a book. Although there were some issues in which several authors participated in discussing various topics, over time it became an eminently monographic publication, with a length similar to that of medium-sized books. Meanwhile, the analyses of the current situation were published in other, more timely publications until Cien Días vistos por Cinep was released in the 1980s, which weakened Controversia as a journal on current issues. Furthermore, the publication of the Documentos Ocasionales series meant that the journal also gradually lost its focus on provisional academic studies. Finally, the staff of the Center preferred to publish regular books over a journal with a somewhat diluted identity. Nevertheless, in its early years, the journal was undoubtedly a platform for disseminating the Center's research on the topics that were central to its institutional mission. Thus, for example, several issues were dedicated to the analysis of presidential candidates or the development plans of the elected candidate. There were also issues on human rights violations in Colombia, a problem that affected the social sectors with which Cinep worked and affected several of its staff in the late 1970s. Likewise, it included debates on urban issues, economic growth, educational reforms, and student movements; the agrarian problem and peasant or indigenous responses; as well as discussions on critical theory and Marxism. However, in the early 1990s, its publication became increasingly irregular and was practically suspended until 1995, when the journal was relaunched in its second stage.

In October 1995, with the publication of issue number 167, Controversia underwent a “revolution,” in line with the country’s situation. The format changed to that of a large journal, similar to the one published by Foro por Colombia and IEPRI of the Bogotá campus of Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Controversia re-emerged with a clearer profile as a periodical publication covering diverse topics related to Cinep’s areas of research, although it still included some specialized dossiers. Accordingly, short articles were published on theoretical, conceptual, or methodological elements developed by the Center's researchers and some related scholars.

In formal terms, the journal began to be published semiannually, and an institutional publishing system was set up, including an editor, an editorial team, and a scientific advisory committee. It seemed that the support Colciencias was providing to national journals, within a rigid format supposedly in accordance with 'international' guidelines, was welcomed by the Center. As a result, it began pursuing indexation, which was achieved a few issues after the second stage began. This stage continued until issue number 186, published in June 2006.

The third stage of Controversia commenced in December of that year with issue 187. This period marked the journal's shortest phase, lasting only 10 issues. The changes were no longer structural, as they had been in previous stages. The journal reverted to the small format and focused on publishing dossiers on key topics related to the research of Cinep/PPP or the NGOs that joined the editorial project. Indeed, at the initiative of Corporación Región and with the support of the IPC (Instituto Popular de Capacitación), the ENS (Escuela Nacional Sindical), and Foro por Colombia, an alliance was formed to produce an indexed journal from several NGOs, which would serve as an academic platform for their research groups. The partnership lasted for a few years, although the partners changed due to the financial situation of the partner NGOs. Currently, Controversia is published in partnership with Cooperativa Confiar, which joined the collaboration a few issues after it began, and the Institute of Intercultural Studies (IEI) of Universidad Javeriana, Cali campus.

In fact, the IEI's involvement has set the direction for the fourth stage of Controversia, which began in June 2012 with issue 198. This time, the change was primarily aesthetic, although it led to a renewal of the editorial and scientific committees and a shift in the direction of the journal. Due to institutional circumstances that are difficult to explain, the publication was interrupted in the middle of the decade, resulting in the temporary loss of indexation by Publindex. After resuming the publication pace, we formally established a partnership with the IEI in 2016, with which we closely collaborate—not only because the graphic design of the covers has been done in Cali since issue 207, but also because we alternate biannual editions, with one coordinated by the IEI and the other by Cinep/PPP. The dossier topics have focused on the research areas of each institution, addressing societal issues such as the construction of stable and lasting peace. An additional element we have sought to include is the voice of grassroots social actors, in a section dedicated to them. In late 2018, we decided to formally join virtual academic networks and appear in international indexes, renewing and updating our section on the Cinep/PPP website, as readers will notice.

Despite the vicissitudes of an academic journal, Controversia has achieved undeniable success, starting with its status as a long-standing serial publication, since 1972 or 1975, depending on one's perspective. Not many academic journals are as long-lived and continuous. Publishing over 200 issues is a remarkable achievement in itself. But its greatest achievement lies in the mission it has fulfilled: transcending the circle of NGO researchers to engage in debates and controversies within the broader academic world and among social organizations across the country and the continent. On its pages, we have published various critical analyses of Colombian and international issues, ranging from interdisciplinary approaches by a diverse group of researchers from Cinep/PPP, other NGOs, and academic institutions, to contributions from the social organizations with whom we have collaborated. We dare say that Controversia is not only the oldest academic journal originating from NGOs, but it has also been—and continues to be—a benchmark in national debates of all kinds. For this reason, we will continue to publish it, seeking wide audiences, new voices and more plural readings of our reality.

Mauricio Archila Neira
Director