The foundation Fundéu BBVA has chosen escrache as its word of 2013. Escrache refers to demonstrations held in front of the homes of public figures - in particular, in the Argentine context, it refers to the public shaming of dictatorship-era human rights abusers. There is a corresponding verb, escrachar, which has twin meanings of break/destroy and photograph. This fits in well with the public nature of escraches, which are centred on making visible the presence of perpetrators in civil society. HIJ@S, the organization of children of the disappeared, use the motto "Si no hay justicia, hay escrache" (If there's no justice, there is escrache). The Fundéu BBVA notes that the term has migrated from Argentina and Uruguay to Spain. In Chile, an escrache is known as a funa, and in Brazil, it's an esculacho.
Incidentally, I've never seen the word translated into English, it is usually retained in Spain and explained, but if anyone has suggestions for a good translation, please leave a comment.
Escrache, palabra del año para la Fundéu BBVA (Fundéu BBVA)
La política y la lingüística (Pagina/12)
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