This article aims to (re)visit the concept of dependency as a category of investigation of (and from) Latin America, by means of a decolonial critical historical perspective, in order to increase space for debates on organization studies and promote alternatives to the neoliberal order. This essay will focus on dependency studies conducted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) during the 1950s and early 1960s. The decolonial perspective is a theoretical construction by Latin American authors who deem themselves as heirs of the long-standing tradition of critical social thought in the region, where the dependency theory is situated. The proposals of dependency authors challenged the main orthodox theories from the North produced at that time. Through the concept of center-periphery, the denunciation of asymmetries in the relations between these regions, and the recognition of interdependency between development and underdevelopment, the concept of dependency was (re)elaborated along the 1950s and 1960s by many Latin American authors as a category of investigation of the reality of (and from) the region. These investigations aimed not only to formulate theoretical constructions, but also to transform reality by creating various organizations and institutions that might serve the purpose of overcoming underdevelopment. Denunciating the historicity of the underdevelopment situation has unveiled the neutrality nature of the economism of theories produced in the North and promoted a theoretical encounter between economics and politics that has much to contribute to the field of organization studies.
Epistemic Coloniality; Decoloniality; Dependency; Development.