complicarcomplicar

Complicarcomplicar is a neologism used in contemporary discourse to describe a process in which efforts to solve a problem by simplifying a system instead produce additional layers of complexity, often through iterative changes or layered approvals. The term combines the Spanish and Portuguese verb complicar meaning to complicate with reduplication to emphasize intensification and recursion.

Origin and attestation: The phrase emerged in online discussions and analytic blogs in the late 2010s and early 2020s, primarily within Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities. It is not an established technical term, and usage remains informal and context-dependent.

Definition and usage: Complicarcomplicar is applied to situations in management, information technology, policy, and organizational design where modifications intended to streamline a process inadvertently add steps, gates, or dependencies. Examples include a company introducing multiple layers of approval after a policy reform, or a software project where adding a feature triggers new compliance checks, UI flows, and data handling requirements, leading to a net increase in complexity rather than speed.

Linguistic notes: As a verb or noun, speakers may use it in variations such as “se complica-complica” or “la complicación complica,” reflecting its flexible, colloquial status. It remains primarily a descriptive term in informal discourse rather than a formal concept.

Relation to other concepts: The term is related to bureaucracy and red tape, feature creep, scope creep, and theories of organizational inertia. Critics argue that it can oversimplify nuanced design challenges, while proponents use it to pinpoint a repeatable pattern of escalation in processes and systems.