La Madres de La Plaza de Mayo: Were Their Efforts in Vain?

Tory Gardiner Latin America and Caribbean History Fall 2011

The Mothers of La Plaza de Mayo have sought to locate and reunite with their

children and loved ones that disappeared throughout the years 1976-1983 during the Dirty War in Argentina. They determined to find out what happened and the reasoning for the accusations made against their missing children. The mothers asked that their children be tried according to the law with a right to a defense. Since beginning their campaign in 1977, these courageous women have faced great adversity and some have been violently injured and killed. Although the Mothers of La Plaza de Mayo are still searching for answers, according to scholars their campaign has been successful because it caught the military coup off-guard, and has served as an example to other women who seek change. The Dirty War, which began in 1976, was a seven-year campaign by the Argentine government against opponents of the government, guilty of nothing except dissent. Juan Peron, a controversial president, passed and his wife assumed power. Isabel Peron was the vice president and a politically weak woman. A military junta removed her from office, took power and continued to punish those who challenged authority. The dissidents curiously disappeared and were taken to secret government detention centers where they were tortured, taken into planes, drugged and thrown into the Plate River alive. It soon became clear that the government was behind these kidnappings and they faced increasing opposition and assertions of corruption by the Argentine citizens.1 Thus, the Mothers of La Plaza de Mayo gradually formed. This surprised the military because a few Argentine housewives, as opposed to the usual subversives whom persistently rivaled their power, were publicly challenging the regime.2 The group, which

"Argentina Dirty War 1976 - 1983." GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information. 7 Nov. 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. 2 Bennet, Adam, Marcee Ludlow, and Christopher Reed. "Madres De Plaza De Mayo." Madres De Plaza De Mayo: History. University of Texas. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

was originally thirteen women who met and marched around the plaza, grew to become hundreds of women, fathers, brothers and friends who gathered to support and fight for los Desaparecidos.3 The Mothers were some of the bravest protestors of the time and they faced many challenges from the government while trying to fight for their children. Their tenacity in trying to overcome the military pressure to disband is what made them so powerful. From the beginning of their plight they were threatened and violently abused while attempting to march in the plaza for justice. Adam Bennet, Marcee Ludlow and Christopher Reed, University of Texas students, discuss how the mothers responded non-violently in their article Madres de Plaza de Mayo: History. Bennet, Ludlow and Reed outline tactics the group used because of the threats and violent assaults they received from the military. They changed the dates of marches, intermingled in traditional religious processions and spoke to people about their cause.4 Although constantly threatened by violence, these women didnt stop until their goal was made clear. The mothers themselves state, our grandchildren have not been abandoned; they have the right to recover their roots and their history; they have relatives who are constantly engaged in searching for them.5 They were successful in staying true to their goal and finding ways around the regimes threats. In 1977 the military cracked down and a paramilitary squad arrested eleven women, primarily the group founders and leaders. The protests never ceased during these times and even throughout the end of 1978, when metal barriers sealed off the plaza, the

3 4

Bennet, Ludlow, Reed. Ibid. 5 "Abuelas De Plaza De Mayo History." Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

mothers persistently continued to fight.6 Bennet, Ludlow and Reed also discuss that the women were tactful and innovative, often creating alternative strategies if they were stopped from what they were doing. When barred off from the plaza, the mothers partook in lightning actions in which they gathered on one side of the square and ran across to the other side. Although the group lost followers, their message was still sent by the few who remained.7 The most violent resistance move by the regime on December 8, 1977, was the abduction of ten mothers who were taken by military officials. These groupos de tareas, higher military power groups, sent these women to concentration camps where they were tortured and killed.8 Marie Trigona of Women News Network states how the mothers responded by creating a petition as an advertisement into a local newspaper. They gathered 834 followers and eventually DNA evidence led to figuring out those Mothers identities.9 Still being violently attacked by the regime, these mothers never gave up and continued to protest and fight even after they watched others like them get severely punished. The Mothers knew that in order to keep the problem public and current they needed to persistently broadcast announcements and advertisements. A mother herself discusses that they distributed posters and leaflets with photographs and details of the disappeared children. They also published announcements in the local newspaper.10 By doing so, these women never lost their popularity and made sure that their fight was
6 7

Bennet, Ludlow, Reed. Ibid. 8 Trigona, Marie. "Argentina Mothers of Plaza De Mayo: Living Legacy of Hope and Human Rights." Women News Network 21 Oct. 2010. 9 Trigona. 10 Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo.

successful by educating the public. Bennet, Ludlow and Reed state that because the mothers were denied media access, they published their own newspaper and took the initiative because they knew it was crucial to keep the problem in the public consciousness.11 Many risked their lives in doing so, but they recognized the importance of publicity and knew that in order to successfully complete their mission, they must actively take on the role to keep the problems in the publics eyes. The Mothers of La Plaza de Mayo were successful because of their large following and the persistency of their protesting. When the group began protesting in 1977, thirteen women met and silently walked around the plaza. Gene Sharp, the author of Waging Non-Violent Struggle, discusses that by December of 1982, the Mothers held a 24- hour March of Resistance. This was the first time that thousands joined the protest and Sharp states that the women were, emboldened by their example and the persistent weakening of the regime.12 Mercedes Merono, whose daughter disappeared in 1978 said, After 30 years of struggle in the plaza and 31 after the dictatorship, we defeated the dictators with a struggle that we never abandoned, because we support the revolutionary struggle of our children.13 The Mothers never gave up and always fought persistently for their children. The collective group of the Mothers worked together to create a force. Bennet, Ludlow and Reed discuss how the mothers outside of the large group contributed by crying for their lost children in public.14 Although these women on the outside werent

11 12

Bennet, Ludlow, Reed. Sharp, Gene. Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential. Boston: Extending Horizons Books, 2005. 13 Trigona, Marie. "Argentina: Thirty-One Years After Coup, Disappearances and Terror Back on the Streets." Toward Freedom. 29 Mar. 2007. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. 14 Bennet, Ludlow, Reed.

directly linked, their actions still contributed to the larger goal. Gilda Rodriguez, a professor at Bryn Mawr University who studied in the Feminist and Gender Studies Program, says how these mothers were powerful by converting a private/personal role (being madres) into a public/political weapon (being The Madres).15 Diana Taylor, a University Professor of Performance Studies and Spanish at NYU, credits these mothers with, perceiving and literally acting out the difference between motherhood as an individual identity and motherhood as a collective, political performance.16 They worked as a unit, to protest and fight for justice. The Mothers of La Plaza de Mayo were so powerful because they were fighting for a cause and a mission that they passionately and powerfully believed in. The mothers state that their kidnapped children were deprived of identity, religion, and the right to live with their family, which amounts to all basic human rights. They demanded that their children who were kidnapped as a method of political oppression be returned to their families.17 Their distinctive power comes from motherhood and protecting those whom they brought to life. Bennet, Ludlow and Reed incorporate into their papers a quote from blogger ntodd on paxamericana.net, which states that, Mothers and wives are very powerful in such actions because it appears most regimes base their legitimacy in part on the notion that they're protecting their people's families and guaranteeing a future for their children. When they attack that very justification by arresting, torturing and/or killing those children, all it takes is a few women to upset the whole foundation in a way that perhaps fathers and husbands can't quite do. Womanhood seems to have a unique power in that regard.18
15

Rodriguez, Gilda. "Mothers Go Political: Las Madres De Plaza De Mayo." Serendip- Bryn Mawr. 7 Sept. 2010. Web. 16 Bennet, Ludlow, Reed. 17 Abuela de Plazo de Mayo. 18 Bennet, Ludlow, Reed.

Most mothers cherish nothing more then their own children because they gave birth to them, cared for them and raised them to the best of their ability. Thus, when their prized possessions were taken away, like anyone would, they lashed and did all they could to fight back.19 Bennet, Ludlow and Reed discuss how this event is considered to be one of the most visible political discourses to terror in recent Latin American history.20 They states that the success of the Madres movement is dependent on their performance of their role of mourning mothers, even as they apparently contradict the notion of good motherhood by going out into the streets.21 These mothers were primarily successful because of the strong protection they felt over their own children. Although they did not act as role models by venturing into the streets and vehemently protesting, they fought for what they believed in, which was a cause worth fighting for. A mother stated their mission; [our children] have not been abandoned; they have the right to recover their roots and their history.22 Their goal would be attained by finding them or figuring out what happened to them. Their efforts pushed the government to revisit the issues because of the investigations done by the victims families and human rights activists. The mothers pushed the inclusion of articles pertaining to the right to an identity, into the Constitution of the Argentine Clause.23 Within thirty years the Madres discovered 87 disappeared children both dead and still living.24 Although that number is only a fraction of those 20,000 who went missing, the discovery brought hope to those
19 20

Ibid. Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 Abuela de Plazo de Mayo. 23 Ibid. 24 Abuela de Plazo de Mayo.

still searching. Bennet, Ludlow and Reed confer how the power of the group grew and how the mothers traveled to other countries to request help from foreign governments. They particularly asked North America and Europe to politically and economically cut off Argentina from the world.25 The Madres of La Plaza de Mayo were not only successful in locating some of their children and speaking out against the military, they became a model to other struggling women who were fighting their own efforts. Marguerite Bouvard, a scholar at Brandeis Universitys Womens Studies Research Center Scholars Program says, The Mothers continue fighting for their cause and for a more just and egalitarian society.26 They established a university to educate people on human rights and constructed centers in destitute areas to instruct and support adolescents at risk.27 Bouvard also states that in 1996 the Mothers founded the International Gather of Mothers In Struggle, a convention that brought mothers from Israel, Palestine, Serbia, Croatia, Brazil and beyond. They established a united nations of beleaguered women.28 With these conferences, the mothers were able to support and help other women around the world. The Madres of la Plaza de Mayo were courageous and bold in their collaborative efforts to speak out against the military regime. Bouvard stated, What set the Mothers apart from other dissident groups was their bravery, their audacity and the manner in which they outwitted the junta at a time when many people sought refuge from their fear in the belief that if one remained quiet and focused ones attention on personal matters, nothing would happen.29 Their success came from their bravery because no other group dared to ever do what they
25 26

Bennet, Ludlow, Reed. Bouvard, Marguerite. "Mothers as Agents of Political Change: The Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo." Women's Voices For Change. Word Press, 13 May 2007. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid.

did. If no one had taken action, nothing would have been accomplished and the mothers went above their mission and reached out to the world beyond. Bouvard says that at times when journalists were disappearing the Mothers were the only protest group that aggressively spoke out against the regime and in so doing, they risked their lives; indeed, their first leader and two other Mothers were disappeared and killed.30 These women went to great lengths and did whatever was possible to stand up for their children and protest for justice. The Mothers of La Plaza de Mayo were brave individuals whose strength and will to fight came from the protection and love for their children. Their efforts were successful because their protests were unexpected to the military coup and they were never afraid to speak out. After overcoming a multitude of adversity including violent attacks, they still fought and were able to serve as role models to other female protesters around the world. Although the Madres were only able to discover a minor portion of their children, their fights still persist generations later and scholars believe they wont stop until the truth is revealed.

Bibliography Internet Abuela de Plaza de Mayo. Abuelas, 8 Nov. 2011. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.
30

Bouvard.

<http://www.abuelas.org.ar/english/espontanea.htm>. "Argentina Dirty War 1976 - 1983." GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information. 7 Nov. 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/argentina.htm>. Bennet, Adam, Marcee Ludlow, and Christopher Reed. "Madres De Plaza De Mayo." Madres De Plaza De Mayo: History. University of Texas. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <https://webspace.utexas.edu/cmr485/www/mothers/history.html> Bouvard, Marguerite. "Mothers as Agents of Political Change: The Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo." Women's Voices For Change. Word Press, 13 May 2007. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://womensvoicesforchange.org/mothers-as-agents-of-political-change-themothers-of-the-plaza-de-mayo.htm> Rodriguez, Gilda. "Mothers Go Political: Las Madres De Plaza De Mayo." SerendipBryn Mawr. 7 Sept. 2010. Web. Sharp, Gene. Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential. Boston: Extending Horizons Books, 2005. Trigona, Marie. "Argentina Mothers of Plaza De Mayo: Living Legacy of Hope and Human Rights." Women News Network 21 Oct. 2010. <http://womennewsnetwork.net/2010/10/21/argentina-mothers>. Webber, Michael. Professor Michael Webber's Web Page: Spring 2003 Course. University of San Francisco , 31 May 2002. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.usfca.edu/fac_staff/webberm/plaza.htm#ch7>.

10