Meanings
parapolitics1
- uncountablepolitical sciencePolitical practices and arrangements that are unacknowledged and that intend to misinform or obfuscate a hidden agenda.
parapolitics2
- uncountableCollusion or collaboration between politicians and paramilitary groups (referring to the 2006 Colombian parapolitics scandal).
And parapolitics risks weakening Mr [Álvaro] Uribe's grip on Congress. A tax reform that would have raised government revenues has been watered down.
2007 March 22, “The perils of "parapolitics"”, in The Economist, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Mar 20232 more examples
Domestically President [Álvaro] Uribe enjoys an 84% approval rating. Most Colombians support him for bringing the country from the brink of becoming a failed state and though the parapolitics scandal is important, "the sense of regaining control trumps everything," said [Michael] Shifter.
2008 April 23, Sibylla Brodzinsky, “Colombia's 'parapolitics' scandal casts shadow over president”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Sep 2022Right-wing paramilitaries still terrorize rural areas, and political corruption is rife; about one-third of Congress, including many allies of the president, is either accused of or in jail for engaging in "parapolitics" with the death squads.
2010 April 5, “Colombia after Uribe”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, L.A.: Los Angeles Times Communications LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 Oct 2020
Origin
parapolitics · noun
- Spanishparapolítica
- Englishparapolitics
Borrowed from Spanish parapolítica, from paramilitar (“paramilitary”) + política (“politics”).
More words from Spanish
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
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Cite this entry
parapolitics. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parapolitics
“parapolitics.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parapolitics. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parapolitics,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parapolitics.
Source: parapolitics on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.