Mothers, Activism in Argentina
In in 1976, the terror and reign of the dictatorship of Argentina began, he directed by a military board that was directed by the leader Jorge Rafael Videla. There was a coup d’etat that dismissed Eva Perón, former president Juan Perón. Perón was a president of a socialist ideology, and had the support of many people, especially students. Because of this, many of the missing and murdered people were the students. Approximately 30.000 thousand people were missing, and it is known that many were tortured and/or killed in several ways. The primary focus of this documentary is the mothers (and grandmothers) that protested in the political center of Argentina against the government to discover the truth that happened with their children. His demand for dirty war responses ended in 2006, but they still advocate other social causes. Above all, the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo are an important group in Argentine history and an extraordinary example of resistance despite their position in society and the need for collective action by all.
Something especially important of the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo is that their organization is totally composed of women. Although they did not explicitly advocate for women’s rights, they are of course figures of the attribution of power of women. It is known that patriarchy exists basically every modern society and culture, and machismo is an important concept in Latin America. Through their activism, women are actively rejecting it. These women are relentless and speak high, even against the regulations established by the Government and therefore, they subvert that it is believed to be like women should be and behave, especially in public. Another aspect of the genre is how women were treated. Politicians used their positions of being able to embarrass those women, they called them "the crazy ones," which seems like a small case, but it is important because of gender aspects at play. A stereotype that comes from machismo is that women are too emotional and unstable. Politicians used it to return people against others, avoid real problems. That makes this act of even more important resistance is that public demonstrations were illegal and in these times people were killed anywhere in public. They risk their lives for justice and together demonstrate the importance of solidarity.
Something that is common to hear today is that a person did nothing because he does not know what he can help a cause, or that he is only an individual and will not make a difference. Mothers are an example of how a simple act can make a great impact on the world. As activist Martin Luther King Jr. He said, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" (Letter from Birmingham Jail). All people, especially those with more privileges, have a responsibility to others and people really only prosper when all people prosper. Mothers are a main example of this. This appointment is literally similar to the philosophy of the organization of mothers and as they advocate for human rights around the world. Even in their own community, they bore a main role in the judgments of more or less one thousand people responsible for disappearance, torture, and murder (Uki Goñi, The Guardian). They were a main force to force the government to bring fair elections too. In addition they used their resources and activism to help grandparents and families who had to take care of the children were orphaned by the disappearance with food, clothing, and anything else they needed. Mothers show us that when people gather, they can bring significant changes, but can only change the future if the past is known.
The women of the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo represent the concept that history is repeated when people do not teach it, do not study it, and do not remember it. With the technology currently available, the predominance of false news and the history review unfortunately are daily occurrences and are serious threats to democracy. The Argentine government tried to hide the truth about the disappeared, but still with 40 years of activism mothers never let him pass. Speaking of the Uruguayan dictatorship, Eduardo Galean. Stay in silence and do nothing in cases of injustice only benefits the oppressors and corrupt who are in power, this is the responsibility of people to challenge lie and injustice, precisely like mothers. We must ask the difficult questions of our governments;We must make politicians take responsibility and we have to speak high in times of crisis for posterity, so we do not repeat ourselves.
It is true that mostly they could not achieve what they wanted the information of their children and grandchildren. However, mothers had a great impact on their community and the world. Through their struggle for judgments, mothers help take justice to the people of Argentina, which is not a small feat. The mothers of the Plaza de Mayo are a very important group for the struggle for human rights, but they also represent the value and power of collective resistance and as together we are never helpless.
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