This article presents an outlook to the Colombian policies of public communication of science and technology (pcst), between 1990 and 2004. The first part examines country’s general science and technology policies in the light of pcst prevailing models. The second part presents an analysis of the activities materializing these policies, by examining the communication paradigms as well as the possibilities of participation offered by them. The last part presents some critical reflections on the limitations of the democratic model -that prevails in the political discourse- as well as possible research agendas related to these issues.