Truth at Any Cost? Law’s Power to Name Argentina’s Disappeared Grandchildren
Mots-clés :
Argentina, Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Bourdieu, symbolic violence, human rights, Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo, violencia simbólica, derechos humanosRésumé
During Argentina’s military dictatorship (1976-1983) more than 30,000 people disappeared including 500 babies who were stolen from detainees and given to military supporters. The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo have been successful in lobbying for laws to reclaim these babies and make perpetrators accountable. This article explores one such law that made DNA testing on these now adult children compulsory. In drawing on Bourdieu’s notion of law as a symbolic discourse of power it considers how this law could establish an authoritative reality that, in some cases, was contrary to the interests and experiences of the stolen grandchildren. Finally, it argues there must be caution about legal responses that can have the unintended consequences of continuing similar harms of the past.
Durante la dictadura militar argentina (1976-1983) desaparecieron más de 30.000 personas, entre ellas 500 bebés que fueron robados a mujeres que estaban detenidas y entregados a simpatizantes de los militares. Las Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo han tenido éxito en ejercer presión a favor de una legislación que reclame a estos bebés y responsabilice a los culpables. Este artículo analiza una de estas leyes, que obliga a realizar pruebas de ADN a estos niños, ahora adultos. Basándose en la noción de Bourdieu del derecho como discurso simbólico del poder, considera cómo esta ley podría establecer una realidad autoritaria que, en algunos casos, era contraria a los intereses y experiencias de los nietos robados. Finalmente, se argumenta que se debe ser cauteloso con respuestas legales que pueden causar de forma no intencionada los mismos daños del pasado.
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