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Mapping Derechos Humanos on the Landscape of Public Remembrance of the 1976-1983 Dictatorship in Argentina

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Mapping Derechos Humanos on the Landscape of Public Remembrance of the 1976-1983 Dictatorship in Argentina LIVING WITH LOSS: MAPPING DERECHOS HUMANOS ON THE LANDSCAPE OF PUBLIC REMEMBRANCE OF THE 1976-1983 DICTATORSHIP IN ARGENTINA by Ana Laura Pauchulo A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Ana Laura Pauchulo 2011 LIVING WITH LOSS: MAPPING DERECHOS HUMANOS ON THE LANDSCAPE OF PUBLIC REMEMBRANCE OF THE 1976-1983 DICTATORSHIP IN ARGENTINA Doctor of Philosophy Ana Laura Pauchulo Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education University of Toronto 2011 Abstract The Argentine landscape is marked by countless sites of remembrance of the 1976-1983 dictatorship drawn by human rights groups in Argentina, producing a seemingly infinite command to remember the violence of this period and the 30,000 who were disappeared. Though this landscape can seem chaotic, this impression discounts the context of loss on which it is constructed as well as the deeply affective and contested political issues that motivate its construction. This study thus maps the ways demands for human rights mobilized through public remembrance of the dictatorship articulate a continual learning to live with loss. Investigating the specificities of loss in Argentina, I explore how human rights claims are made in the name of the disappeared who, neither dead nor alive, are at once everywhere and nowhere. I draw largely from my conversations with members of human rights groups to illuminate how the demand for derechos humanos is articulated in particular ways to address present-day social injustices and to affirm the living’s relationship with the disappeared. The study aims to contribute to an understanding of public remembrance as a continual process of teaching and learning about the past that is intended to motivate the formation of a public committed to constructing a better present and future. ii Acknowledgments Throughout different stages of this work, different people have been an invaluable source of support and encouragement. I thank Dr. Roger Simon, Dr. Kari Dehli, and Dr. Mario Di Paolantonio for their commitment to my scholarly development. They have consistently challenged me to think further, always pushing me beyond what I thought were my limits in a critical and supportive environment. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Roger Simon for his generous attention and his commitment to seeing me through this project no matter how many drafts, phone conversations, and office/coffee shop meetings it took. His belief in the importance of my project was a crucial source of inspiration. This study would not have been possible without the many people I met in Argentina who invested so much of their time into sharing their stories, thoughts, and knowledge. Many of those with whom I spoke throughout this research also shared with me their hope, sadness, and intimate memories. I am privileged to have been welcomed into this aspect of their lives. There are a number of people whom I met in Argentina whose names do not appear in this work but who deserve my thanks. I thank Graciela Rosenbloom and José Castillo, and my “cousins”, Fabricio Forastelli and María Rosa Gómez. Lastly, I am indebted to my Tía Silvia’s support, love, and intellectual and emotional investment in this project. I admire and have learned from her perseverance and her commitment to social justice. I am grateful to my parents, Oscar Pauchulo and Ana Lía Pauchulo, for their love and endless encouragement. Always ready to share in the joyous moments, as well as in the difficult moments of this work, they have been continuously invested in my endeavour to engage with issues and questions that I am sure were sometimes difficult for them to revisit. Their commitment to listening, and to keeping their hearts and minds open has taught me that everyone of those moments are opportunities for learning. I am also grateful to my sister, Constanza Pauchulo. Though she is younger than I am and began her graduate work later than I did, I have always looked up to her confidence and intelligence. I thank her for her insightful thoughts on my work, her friendship, and for making me laugh. During my time at OISE I have met many people with whom I have navigated the graduate school experience and who have fostered an intellectually stimulating environment for discussions that have informed this study. I thank Ricky Varghese, Gail Russel, Tammy George, Stella Andonoff, and Melissa Abbey. I also thank Angela D’Amico, Kimberly Bennett, and Marisa Ciappara for their many years of friendship and emotional support. These people have always been present even when I have been absent, enwrapped in my own dissertation bubble, and have constantly encouraged me to see the project through. Lastly, I am deeply grateful to my partner, Ameen Owaisi. He has been my biggest supporter, my biggest critic, my best friend, and my copy editor. He has given unconditionally of his love and his time, working through conceptually and emotionally difficult issues evoked through this project with me. He has encouraged me in every moment of this process and has, without hesitation, stood beside me throughout every one of those discouraging and exciting moments. I could not have it made it here without you. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Appendices .......................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1 TRAUMA, PUBLIC REMEMBRANCE OF DICTATORIAL VIOLENCE, AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARGENTINA: AN INTRODUCTION ................................................. 1 1.1 Drawing a Landscape of Public Remembrance of the 1976-1983 Dictatorship in Argentina: Mapping Loss and Derechos Humanos ............................................................ 1 1.2 Tracing Public Remembrance of the 1976-1983 Dictatorship: Trauma, Mourning, and Human Rights ..................................................................................................................... 6 1.2.1 Absent Bodies, Terror, and Suspended Mourning .................................................. 9 1.2.2 Present Absence, Working Through, and Demands for Memory, Truth, and Justice .................................................................................................................... 19 1.2.3 “Cultural Trauma” and Demands for Human Rights ............................................ 27 1.3 The Human Rights Movement: Tracing the Emergence of Human Rights Groups within the Landscape of Memory ..................................................................................... 36 1.3.1 The 1970s: Escalating State Violence ................................................................... 42 1.3.2 The 1980s: Shattered Hope ................................................................................... 46 1.3.3 The 1990s: Continuing the Legacy of Impunity ................................................... 50 1.3.4 The 2000s: Government Attempts to Settle Accounts with the Dictatorial Past .. 53 1.4 A Problem Worth Studying .............................................................................................. 57 Chapter 2 THE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE IN ARGENTINA: DERECHOS HUMANOS AND A HISTORY OF RIGHTS CLAIMS IN ARGENTINE POLITICAL RESISTANCE.......................................................................................................................... 59 2.1 An Introduction to Derechos Humanos ............................................................................ 59 2.2 Human Rights, Derechos Humanos, and Hegemony ....................................................... 60 iv 2.2.1 Examining Some of the Varied Definitions of Human Rights ............................. 63 2.2.2 Derechos Humanos in Argentina .......................................................................... 69 2.2.3 The Discourse of Derechos Humanos as Hegemonic ........................................... 71 2.3 Outlining the Historical Conditions of Existence for the Discourse of Derechos Humanos as Hegemonic ................................................................................................... 73 2.3.1 State Violence and Political Resistance in Argentina ........................................... 77 2.3.2 In Solidarity: Memories of Past Struggles ............................................................ 97 2.3.3 Global and Local Shifts in the Language of Rights ............................................ 106 2.4 Situating Derechos Humanos within the Landscape of Public Remembrance of the Dictatorship ..................................................................................................................... 113 Chapter 3 “LEARNING FROM” MEMBERS OF ORGANISMOS DE DERECHOS HUMANOS ............................................................................................................................
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