Abstract

This article analyses the validity conditions of “testimony” as a methodological tool in Latin American social sciences. The principal advantage of testimony is that it enables the construction of research and analysis of subjectivity, particularly with popular sectors. This has facilitated the incorporation of their discourses and representations into the social sciences. Notwithstanding, this incorporation has occurred within a highly empiricist perspective, whereby testimony is an immediate representation of the individual. The mediation of the social scientist, which is particularly significant in interviews, remains hidden. The concept of testimony, therefore, as the “voice of the voiceless” disguises the dialogue between the researcher and the individual. This dialogue could be further developed as an instrument of hermeneutical research, whereby the researcher no longer monopolizes interpretations.