Category Archives: Memory Struggles

On Volkswagen’s Ties to the Brazilian Dictatorship

Posted on February 2, 2015 by

I recently received an email about Volkswagen’s ties to the Brazilian military regime, documented in the final report of Brazil’s National Truth Commission  (Comissão Nacional da Verdade – CNV), available for full viewing/download here. Stories of Volkswagen’s ties to the military regime and its … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Latin American History, Military Dictatorships, Multinational Corporations in the Americas, São Paulo, Truth Commissions

Brazil’s Truth Commission – A Roundup

Posted on December 11, 2014 by

Yesterday, on International Human Rights Day, Brazil’s National Truth Commission (Comissão Nacional da Verdade) concluded and submitted its report after over two years of work across 14 work groups and thousands upon thousands of hours of interviews, fact-finding, document-collecting, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Human Rights Issues, Latin American History, Latin American Militaries, Latin American Politics, Memory Struggles, Military Dictatorships, Truth Commissions

The Ties between the Ayotzinapa Killings and Argentina’s Military Dictatorship

Posted on November 8, 2014 by

Over a month ago, 43 students from the Ayotzinapa teachers’ college in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, went “missing” after mobilizing and protesting for improvements in Mexico’s educational policy and social system. Within days, authorities had uncovered mass graves; yet the … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Human Rights Issues, Memory Struggles, Mexico, The "Disappeared", Uncategorized

The Brazilian Truth Commission after One Year

Posted on December 3, 2013 by

The truth commission investigating repression and state-sponsored violence during Brazil’s military dictatorship of 1964-1985 has recently completed a full year of work, and issued a report of some of its major findings after one year: Part 1. Hiding of Documentation from … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Impunity, Police Violence, The "Disappeared", Torture, Truth Commissions

Around Latin America

Posted on June 12, 2013 by

-Nicaragua and China have entered into an agreement through which China could help build a canal through Nicaragua that would rival the Panama canal. Of course, Nicaragua has long been seen as a potential site for a canal; even in … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberto Fujimori, Around Latin America, Brazil, Civil Conflict in the Americas, Class and Classism in the Americas, Colombia, Cuba, Democracy in the Americas, Economics in the Americas, Ecuador, Education in the Americas, Elections in Latin America, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionárias de Colombia (FARC), Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Inequalities in the Americas, Latin American Politics, Memory Struggles, Neoliberalism, Nicaragua, Peru, Peru's Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), Race in Brazil, Race in the Americas, The Amazon, United States, Venezuela, Violence in the Americas, War in Latin America, Women's Movements & Issues, Women's Rights

South American Dictatorships in Images

Posted on May 17, 2013 by

Greg Weeks points to this incredible, if harrowing, collection of photos from Operation Condor. The photos were found in Paraguay’s “Archives of Terror,” which documented the deaths of tens of thousands of South Americans at the hands of military regimes … Continue reading →

Posted in Alfredo Stroessner, Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Augusto Pinochet, Bolivia, Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Chile, Human Rights Violations, Memory Struggles, Military Dictatorships, Paraguay, Peru, The "Disappeared", Uruguay, Uruguay's Military Dictatorship (1973-1985) | 1 Comment

Genocide, Judicial Power, and Justice in Guatemala

Posted on March 19, 2013 by

Today, the genocide trial for former Guatemalan leader Efraín Ríos Montt begins (in spite of his failed attempts to have charges dismissed based on an earlier amnesty law). The trial marks the first time a former Latin American leader has … Continue reading →

Posted in Amnesty, Guatemala, Guatemala's Civil War, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Impunity, Indigenous Peoples, Latin American Militaries, Memory Struggles, Truth Commissions

Around Latin America

Posted on March 18, 2013 by

-While many in the Americas celebrated the announcement of the first American pope last year, not all citizens (including Catholic clergy) in Francis I’s home country are pleased with Bergoglio or the Catholic hierarchy in Argentina. -It appears the long national … Continue reading →

Posted in "Baby Doc" Duvalier, Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Around Latin America, Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Catholicism in the Americas, Chile, Cuba, Deaths, Democracy in the Americas, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, El Salvador's Civil War (1980-1992), Evangelicals in Latin America, Governance in Latin America, Guyana, Haiti, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Indigenous Peoples, International Organizations, Latin America, Neoliberalism, Rafael Trujillo, Truth Commissions, Venezuela, Violence in the Americas, Weapons and Arms in Latin America, Women's Movements & Issues

History vs. Fiction? Gael vs. Chile? Memory Struggles over the Film “No”

Posted on February 10, 2013 by

As an historian, I’m never all that surprised when fictional films don’t live up to historical reality. So I wasn’t shocked when the film No, which tells a story about the media side of the No campaign in the 1988 … Continue reading →

Posted in Augusto Pinochet, Chile, Coups in Latin America, Human Rights Issues, Latin American Cultures, Memory Struggles, Military Dictatorships, Social Movements, South America, The "Left" in Latin America, The Cold War in Latin America | Tagged , , , , ,

Argentina, Israel, and Misguided Hyperbole

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

Israel may have legitimate reasons to dislike the agreement between Iran and Argentina to establish a Truth Commission to investigate the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association. However, this is ridiculous: Israel has strongly criticised Argentina for its … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, International Relations, Judaism in Latin America, Latin American Foreign Relations, Religion in Latin America, Truth Commissions