Pace International Law Review Volume 19 Issue 2 Fall 2007 Article 3 September 2007 Swinging Back and Forth between Impunity and Impeachment: The Struggle for Justice in Latin America and the International Criminal Court Alberto L. Zuppi Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilr Recommended Citation Alberto L. Zuppi, Swinging Back and Forth between Impunity and Impeachment: The Struggle for Justice in Latin America and the International Criminal Court, 19 Pace Int'l L. Rev. 195 (2007) Available at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilr/vol19/iss2/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pace International Law Review by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. SWINGING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN IMPUNITY AND IMPEACHMENT: THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT Alberto L. Zuppi* I. INTRODUCTION: LATIN AMERICAN STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY The dreadful experiences endured in Latin America during the 1970's and 1980's evolved into a troubled transitional period before democracy began to consolidate. In those two decades, military rulers from all over the region displaced democratically elected governments through the use of force, and imprisoned, tortured and killed their opponents, including the baby-snatch- ing cases or trafficking with the newborn of murdered prison- ers.1 The term "desaparecido"was coined to name those who disappeared without a trace after being arrested by members of the security forces, burdening their relatives with the addi- tional anguish of not knowing the fate of their loved ones.