In this document, the conceptual references that inspire the theoretical reflection on the State are exposed; in which it addresses the central category built on the proposal of Fernan Gonzalez of differentiated presence of the State. This proposal draws both from the anthropology of the State and from historical sociology, whose references are also collected. Subsequently the state of the art is exposed with emphasis on the works produced in the country, which already has a tradition of several decades of reflection on these issues. The second chapter presents the municipal reality of Colombia; it addresses the existing regulations and emphasizes the conditions of the department of Magdalena. The chapter ends with the presentation of the two cases chosen. The third chapter examines the actors who participated in the processes of creation of the municipalities in the Magdalena and, in particular, in Banana Zone and Algarrobo, such as citizen groups, political elite and paramilitary groups. The fourth and last chapter describes the relations between the actors in the process of creating new municipalities and, especially, in the period immediately after, when the municipal life of the former corregimientos begins. In this chapter a very general approximation is made to the political networks and the clientelistic practices for each case. Finally, some general conclusions are proposed.