This article examines participation in the adoption of the Reglamentary Decrees of Colombia's 2011 Victim's Law (Law 1448): Decrees 4633 (for indigenous peoples), Decree 4635 (afrocolombians) and general Decree 4800.The article proposes a typology of participation to better understand the tensions at work in this process.It defines three different concepts: participation as governance, participation as a right, and participation as a process of social change.It argues these concepts, and the tensions between them, explain the many difficulties of participation in rulemaking, development and public policy consultation.Diálogo sin debate: la participación en los decretos de la Ley de Víctimas *