The Mothers and Grandmothers
of Plaza de Mayo, SONS (HIJOS)
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A military coup on March 24th 1976 took power
out of the hands of Isabel Peron. This day marked the beginning
of one of Argentina’s darkest periods although a trend
toward repression had begun even before the military assumed
power. Already, by 1975, a repressive criminal organization,
the Anticommunist Alliance of Argentina, better known as the
Triple “A”, had been terrorizing the people in Argentina
under the leadership of Lopez Rega. The overthrow of the government
by the military increased the scope of terror, as it became
increasingly a part of the state. The military dictatorship
promised a national reorganization that only served to increase
suffering and repression. The dictatorship was responsible for
one of the bloodiest periods in the history of Argentina. During
these years, thousands were assassinated and thousands more
were kidnapped and placed in concentration camps where they
were viciously tortured and killed. The living conditions were
inhumane and a large percentage of the 30,000 “desaparecidos”
or missing persons had their lives brutally terminated in these
camps (the government, refusing to admit what everybody knew,
called the people “desaparecidos”).
This terrible period in Argentina has left a huge scar on the
people and has cost the country an immeasurable amount. The
families of the “missing” still live in a state
of agony today as many still do not know what happened to their
loved ones. They continue the fight for human rights in this
country while demanding information regarding their missing
sons and daughters. Many organizations are prevalent in Argentina,
fighting an uphill battle to improve Human Rights and to shed
greater light on the dirty years of military rule.
Ones of the most well known organizations are the associations
of The Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. More generally,
the Mothers are fighting against human rights violations and
seek truth and justice. The mothers untiringly lobby the government,
embassies, hospitals, prisons and international tribunals for
answers.
The Mothers formed together to present a united voice against
the military regime. In April of 1977 they began their now famous
meetings in the Plaza de Mayo, where they met to share information
and also as a form of silent protest. As is the case in most
military regimes, protesting was illegal and rules were in place
that disallowed meetings between more than 3 people. In order
to continue their protest, the Mothers began their now famous
ritual of continuously circling the plaza and in this manner,
they were able to deny that they were a group but instead just
different women walking around the Plaza. The mothers continue
this protest and it can be witnessed every Thursday at 3:00pm.
The circling of the plaza has become a ritual and has been compared
to a communion.
The mothers can be recognized by the white handkerchiefs that
they wear on their heads, which they originally made out of
baby diapers. The mothers exchanged information with each other
and little by little were able to find out information about
their lost loved ones.
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One of the most impressive strength of the
Mothers, in a society that has privatized almost everything
and where individualism is predominant, comes form the idea
to “socialize maternity”: which means that each
one shares beyond her own personal maternity, the condition
of being mothers and the consequences of the atrocities suffered
by the state terror and violence.
The changing socio-economic system in Argentina has made the
“Mothers” broaden the scope of their agenda. They
now fight for the creation of jobs, to stop hunger and exploitation
and also against the economic policies of the IMF. This broader
scope has become increasingly necessary, as conditions for the
average person in Argentina have steadily worsened. As is the
case in many social movements, the mothers have become divided
over many issues and are now separated into two groups. The
”Asociacion de Madres de Plaza de Mayo” is led by
Hebe Bonafini while the “Madres de Plaza de Mayo Linea
Fundadora” is led by Nora Cortinas.
Over the last few years the “Mothers Linea Fundadora”
have succeeded in opening a university “La Universidad
de las Madres”, located in front of Congress Plaza. The
University strives to educate professional critics and to improve
the people and the country for future generations. While the
“Mothers” grow older everyday, they continue to
fight for the lives of their children and justice and dignity
with an energy usually only found in youth.
We visit the “Mothers” with Ricardo Aguilar, a person
dedicated to the fight for human rights himself and very informed
in manners regarding the “Mothers”. The Grandmothers
of Plaza de Mayo Many, whose leader is Estela de Carloto, has
worked for years in search of the grandchildren born while their
mothers were in prison and taken away by the military and their
accomplices. They were able to create a DNA bank for testing
to identify children suspected of having being removed from
their real mothers and given to military families. As of today,
the “Grandmothers” have been able to inform over
70 of these grandchildren about their true identity. This identification
process has led to discover persons directly involved in the
kidnapping and to bring them to justice.
One of the more recent groups the “Children for the Identity
and Justice Against Forgetting and Silence” consists of
children of the “missing” who have achieved an international
status. This group has developed a new form of expressing its
anger and demands for justice by protesting in front of the
houses of the criminals responsible for the terrible genocide.
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Detention Centers
Investigations into the former military
regime have led experts to conclude that 400 secret detention
centers existed to facilitate the torturing and killing that
was so prevalent during this era.
-The Museum of Memory – ESMA:
In the Mechanical School of the Navy, more commonly known as
ESMA, there existed between 1977 and 1983, one of the principle
secret centers of detention and torture. In 2004, on the 24th
of March, the anniversary of the military coup of 1976, President
Nestor Kirchner declared that the 17 hectares occupied by the
navy would be converted into a Memory Museum, in remembrance
of the 30,000 “disappeared” persons in the country.
Kirchner and his functionaries who accompanied him at the ESMA
became the first democratic government to enter the grounds
of the infamous complex.
-“Club Atletico”:
The “Club Atletico” was one of the principle concentration
camps in the city of Buenos Aires during the military dictatorship.
It was used between February and December of 1977 by the military
and was located in the basement of a three-story building on
the Avenue Paseo Colon in between Cochabamba and San Juan, next
to Plaza de Mayo. Above the detention center was an administrative
division of the Federal Police. The building was conveniently
demolished at the end of the 1970’s for the construction
of the highway 25 de Mayo, part of the infrastructure was removed
before the demolition and used in the construction of the “El
Olimpo” concentration camp.
According to testimonies from many of the survivors, the people
sent to this camp arrived in private cars with their eyes blindfolded.
Upon arrival, they were taken out of the cars and violently
transported down a small staircase to an unventilated basement
area. Their personal affects were confiscated; they were hung
in shackles and then were given a number and a letter for identification
purposes. The interrogation method was quite simply put, torture.
The camp was divided into two sections of cells, located across
from each other and separated by a very narrow aisle. The camp
also had two torture chambers, bathrooms, an infirmary, a guardroom
and three individual cells. The center had the capacity to detain
200 people at any given time and during its existence, housed
more than 1,500 people. This number has been deduced from the
numbers and letters given to each prisoner. Approximately once
or twice a month twenty of the prisoners were transferred to
an unknown destination. “Transferred” was the euphemism
used by the repressors to disguise the fact that the people
were actually being sent to their death. The group responsible
for this secret camp operated throughout the Grand Buenos Aires
area. The personnel were composed of security forces, especially
from the Federal Police and an integrated network existed between
the other detention centres like the ESMA, Campo de Mayo and
“El Vesubio”.
We visit the “Project of Recuperation of the Memory of
the Secret Centre of Detention Club Atletico”. The initiative
to restore the area where the “Club Atletico” existed
has come from a group of survivors of this detention center
and also from various Human Rights groups. On April 13, 2002,
the Government of the City of Buenos Aires began excavating
the sight, marking the first time that urban archaeological
excavation had been undertaken with the goal of insuring that
the criminal acts committed by the state during the dictatorship,
never be forgotten. The project itself, is an archaeological
one that aims to recuperate and restore documents, testimonies
and the buildings themselves, in order to provide a place to
remember the atrocities and to teach those too young to remember
what exactly occurred here. The archaeological excavation team
has been successful in finding the structures of the original
building and the modifications that were made in order to convert
it into a secret detention center. At the same time, the team
is investigating documents in order to identify the “missing”
persons who were detained here. This work allows them to identify
survivors and also those who are still missing. The work has
so far uncovered 208 “missing” while also helping
them to identify 105 people who survived this ordeal. Another
important aspect is that they are able to gather data giving
them information regarding the names and current status of the
people responsible for torturing and killing in the “Club
Atletico”.
-Park
of the Memory
The Commission for a Monument to the Victims of State Terrorism::
This project involves representatives from a number of Human
Rights organizations like “Mothers” and “Grandmothers”
of Plaza de Mayo, Jewish associations and legislators, representatives
of the University of Buenos Aires and members of the Government
of the city of Buenos Aires and a multitude of others. The goal
is to create a public space located on a strip of land in the
northern coastal area of Buenos Aires known as the “Costanera
Norte” closed to the University City. In this new public
space three monuments are housed: The Monument to the Victims
of State Terrorism, the Monument to the Victims of the AMIA
bombings and the Monument to Justness Between Nations. The main
objective is to preserve the memory and respect for those who
were detained and assassinated during the years of the military
dictatorship and to all who have suffered terror and violence
from the state. To complement these monuments and to integrate
the sense of humanity and renovation a new natural park is being
created where the local citizens who visit, while being enriched
by the sentimental value of the monuments, can find themselves
in a natural surrounding. This park represents an important
intervention on a deteriorated area and reintroduces and preserves
the proper species of the area that once existed here.
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The National Movement
of Business Reclamation- MNER
The Neo-Liberal policies implemented in Argentina in the middle
of the 1970’s created a crisis situation in the country
that worsened over the last number of years. This crisis caused
the rise of a number of social phenomena produced by popular
reaction to the crisis. One such example is the “National
Movement of Business Reclamation”, an initiative created
by workers who lost their jobs when many businesses decided
to shut their doors.
Faced with the paradoxical situation of finding
themselves in the street without work while seeing their old
factories closed with the machines abandoned, the workers began
to occupy and reclaim the factories and began producing goods
again. This process was by no means an easy one as they faced
resistance and had to fight against police repression, criminal
and economic charges and occasional social rejection. “Occupy,
resist, and produce” are the premises of this movement
which accounts for 100 of the 180 businesses that have been
recuperated in the country and that employ more than 10,000
people. Today they proudly state that none of these “recuperated
businesses” has closed or ceased producing.
In the city of Buenos Aires, the MNER succeeded in obtaining
a law giving them control over the bankrupt factories they occupy
for a period of two years. On the other hand the MNER gives
support and guidance to those beginning their own projects of
business reclamation by sharing their experience and expertise.
In general the profits of the reclaimed businesses are distributed
in equal parts amongst the workers. When it is possible, they
use surplus earnings to aid other workers in new attempts of
business reclamation. Luis Aravena of the MNER states, “There
is an honor agreement between the new businesses that are being
created because we also received help when we needed it in the
past”.
One of the problems these businesses face is Human Resources
related. Briefly put, it is difficult to incorporate qualified
workers, as they are the ones who most rapidly find other jobs.
Due to this fact, the MNER has signed an agreement with the
University of Buenos Aires in order to train employees in required
subjects such as administration, marketing, information etc..
We visit two reclaimed businesses, the IMPA Cooperative that
produces aluminum products and the Hotel Bauen.
The IMPA Cooperative was reclaimed by workers on the 22nd of
May 1998 and it therefore constitutes one of the first examples
of this phenomenon. From the first moment, the workers of IMPA
experienced support and solidarity from their neighbors, especially
from Guillermo Robledo who donated the first tonne of aluminum
in order to put the production process in motion.
Soon after production had begun, they received a surprising
request: a theatre professor wanted to use a space in the factory
to rehearse a play. They believed that the more they could expand
their network of associated persons, the more power they would
have to resist attempts at removing them from the factory. Following
this first success, they were able to appeal to artists of many
different disciplines to whom they offered a space to practice
their creativity and exhibit their plays. There now exists a
functioning Cultural Center that offers a wide variety of courses
and seminars including music, theatre, fine arts, cinema, literature
and dance. On weekends, a part of the factory is transformed
into an entertainment area where musical bands can be heard
and plays, movies and dance can be watched. More recently, they
have opened a school for adults where it is possible to complete
secondary school, a service some of the workers themselves have
taken advantage of.
We visit the factory, guided by Horacio Campos, who transmits
the enormous pride he feels for this reclaimed factory where
he has worked since 1968. The main reasons for his proudness
come from the fact that the production has been increasing little
by little but most importantly that he and his co-workers are
able to work without the unnecessary pressure created by the
presence of a typical factory boss. Even though the factory
has increased production (aluminum trays and paper, containers
for food-stuffs and pharmaceutical tubes etc..), financial difficulties
are still a major issue largely due to the debts left by the
previous administration. Another problem still facing the business
revolves around security issues, mainly that few safety gloves,
helmets, glasses or facemasks are used. Luckily, accidents are
rare but the use of such basic safeguards would help to reduce
injuries even further.
The Bauen is an emblematic hotel of the city of Buenos Aires.
Constructed under pressure from the military government for
the World Cup of Football in 1978, the hotel has a long history
of financial fraud, change of ownership and bankruptcy. It finally
closed its doors for good on the 28th of December 2001. Since
March 2003, the hotel has been occupied by a number of its workers,
following along wait for legal questions to be resolved; they
look forward to re-inhabiting and receiving guests once again.
They are striving to get money required to renovate the hotel
and return it to its original 4-star splendor. The government
put 400,000 Peso as a subsidy to maintain and invest in the
infrastructure of the hotel. The employees are in a constant
struggle to keep basic services such as water, gas and electricity
from being cut.
We visit the reception, the bar and a few conference rooms and
bedrooms. The hotel has 19 floors, 200 rooms and needless to
say, is in dire need of maintenance. From Thursday to Sunday
the employees run Milongas of tango as well as musical and theatrical
shows, which provide few funds for undertaking the enormous
task of restoring the hotel.
Over time, the MNER has won the support of some politicians,
media and the majority of society. Most agree that in these
harsh times of crisis, it is despicable that these factories
should be closed down when there is a will from the workers
to continue producing.
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The
Organization of Indigenous Nations and People in Argentina
- ONPIA
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The state and conditions of indigenous people in Argentina is
a not well-known and complex one. We have the honor to be friend
of one of the most representative organization and to be able
to introduce our guests to the ONPIA.
The ONPIA is an organization, recently formed in 2003, whose
antecedents can be traced considerably further back.
Since 1990’s many events were responsible for giving confidence
and force to the indigenous communities. The milestone that
marked these years was the commemoration of 500 years since
the discovery and conquest of America by Europeans. The event
provoked a strong feeling of necessity amongst the indigenous
populations that there was a great need for them to unify ideas
and forces as well as to act in a unified manner and thought
process. They sought to identify the main themes that needed
change in order to improve life in their communities and also
in the world in general. It also became clear by many to reevaluate
and understand indigenous communities throughout the Americas
without superficial political boundaries.
Another important step was the participation of indigenous communities
in the Earth Summit in the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1992, where
an agreement was signed to protect bio-diversity. This summit
gave many separate communities from all over the Americas the
opportunity to share their experiences, many of which they had
in common, and to strengthen their ties in general.
At national level, during 1994 Argentina proposed a reform to
the constitution that served to redefine the relationship between
the State and indigenous communities. This was made possible
by a new view of Argentine identity, one that formed after the
fall of the military government in 1983.
Due to these occurrences, it became apparent that an organization,
independent of the state, was needed to better represent the
numerous indigenous communities in Argentina.
Consultations began throughout the 24 original communities in
Argentina, numbering some 1.5 million people, to form an organization
that would represent them. From the consultations, they realized
that almost everyone was experiencing the same problems in the
fields of land, health, education, political treatment and especially
in the way that they had been ignored and practically abandoned
by the bureaucratic nature of the state.
Finally, on the 11th of October 2003, the ONPIA was formed in
Las Clavelinas (Province of Buenos Aires). The organization
is run by a president, vice president, treasury secretary, an
advisor for the elderly and many secretaries responsible for
different areas such as, women, youth, education and sports,
health, communications, institutional relations, etc. Each one
of these areas receives mandates from the communities, allowing
them to keep their autonomy. The Directive Commission meets
once a month in the city of Buenos Aires. The object of the
ONPIA is to exceed the ministerial range in order to find a
mode of representation agreeable to the desires and necessities
of the original communities of the country. The fundamental
principles of the ONPIA are: Original communities, Territory,
Free determination.
The ONPIA has an office in the city of Buenos Aires. The place
also serves to develop different activities such as expositions,
selling of crafts and discussions of the different realities
and cultural questions facing the communities. Their main goal
is to make themselves more visible in the eyes of the rest of
the population. For this reason they are willing to receive
us and to share their experiences and fights, as well their
culture and friendship.
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Grissinpoli:
A “New Hope”
Marta introduced us to the country of grisines, Grissinpolis,
one of the hundreds of companies recovered by its workers in
the wake of the Argentine economic crisis of 2001.
There are many ways of looking at this phenomena, some consider
it the victory of the Argentine working class while others compare
it with socialism and cooperativism while others consider it
as a very specific social movement.
What is sure is that the conditions which generated it are unique,
the country was in agony after a decade of neoliberalism politics,
60% of the population were under the poverty level and the political
power was on its own. The workers, more than moved by an ideology,
fought to the end because they had nothing else to lose. They
were defending their right to work, if not chronic unemployment
and anger were waiting for them.
Visiting the factory following the aroma of the grisines we
look to the process of the flour becoming crunchy grisines in
one single horizontal line of production, which is a metaphor
for the horizontal dynamic of power of the Cooperative New hope.
The Cooperative was born after years of abusive practices against
the workers. An Italian immigrant in the 60’s founded
the factory and was able to make it succeed. Then in 1998 a
new group of businessmen took over and mismanaged the factory
to the point that in 2001 the factory had about a million dollars
of debt. In 2002 they owed 4 years of benefits and 9 months
of salary to the workers. For this reason the workers occupied
the factory.
At this point due to the cram-down procedure a judge assigned
the factory to a new group of businessmen who just wanted to
sale the place as a real estate speculation. The workers opposed
strong actions and associated themselves with other social groups
of the time and finally obtained a decree that temporally assigns
them the management of the industry. At the time we write, the
cooperative is still waiting a final verdict on the debt situation
of the factory.
Two young filmmakers attracted to the situation, as many people
of the public were, shared with the workers in the resistance,
the march, the doubts and hopes and they filmed through out
that entire process. The documentary took the point of view
of the protagonists of the story and it won in 2004 the award
for the best Latin American Documentary at the Docuplis Festival
in Barcelona.
We now move into what was one day the office of the owners,
today the place where Marta, one of the 16 workers that was
part of this epopee, is in charge of the administrative management
job. She tells us with pride of the adventures and disadvantages
of the struggle and allows us to discover the deep change that
happened with each of the workers during this time. At the beginning
they were just going after their salary but then later on they
started to question the legitimacy of the private property rights
when they are used against the rights of the workers; the experience
of managing all of the stages of the process; what is needed
for the production; getting to know legal issues, sharing responsibility
in the decision making process, the uncertainty, the fear, the
opportunity of being creative, the practice of solidarity and
above all the recovery of their dignity and respect.
These deep changes represent the antithesis of the dominant
attitude of the menemist years where the majority of Argentine
society accepted and therefore sustained the abuse of power.
Grissinopolis truly brings “New Hope” towards a
new path that Argentine society needs for the collective reconstruction
process.
For all of this, the people of Grissinopolis are happy to open
up the doors of this reality that they have built and that they
speak of, not only for themselves, but also for all of the others
in the social sector that have fought and fight every day for
these changes.
Original
Text of Romina Rodriguez do Campo
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