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Paper short abstract

I analyze two Colombian idioms: rebusque, an economic idiom and practice the drive to find opportunities to survive and thrive even beyond state-sanctioned means, and berraquera, a demeanor and future-oriented attitude shaped by liberal and Catholic values, shaped by and against the state.

Paper long abstract

What can popular economic practices tell us about people’s relationship with states? What can they illuminate about possible futures?

This paper analyzes two Colombian idioms. Rebusque refers to economic practices and the drive to find opportunities to survive and thrive, even through means not sanctioned by the state (González, 2008). Berraquera encompasses a demeanor, an attitude, and a future-oriented outlook (DeMaria et al., 2023) shaped by liberal and Catholic values, sometimes aligned with the state and sometimes opposed to it.

I argue that rebusque materializes core ideas of berraquera through economic action. People use it to craft their own version of development, often viewing the state as a hindrance or obstacle to be overcome or circumvented. A central critique is that the state has fallen from divine favor and now blocks people’s economic pursuits, preventing them from thriving. Rebusque becomes both a critique of the state and the enactment of that critique.

The analysis draws on an accidented ethnography (Günel & Watanabe, 2024) conducted during the 2020–2021 pandemic in Colombia and extended through fieldwork up to 2025. I examine participants’ economic practices and the narratives and ideas embedded in them.

I begin by outlining the concepts of rebusque and berraquera and their relationship, examining their moral dimensions, Catholic influences, liberal edges, and potential histories. I then analyze recent shifts affecting rebusque, including state discourses on the digital and platform economy and the ways people adapt or resist these narratives. I conclude by considering the futures these transformations make imaginable.