Argentina: Beloved Elderly Women No More

The ins and outs of the Argentine human rights scene are not much discussed in English, where if the Madres (and Abuelas, Hij@s, and so on) are seen uncritically as heroes, if they are known at all. In Argentina, they can divide opinion. In this blog, I have expressed a great deal of respect for their work, and I make absolutely no apology for doing so. But humans being humans, it's all a bit more complicated than that, as I discussed some time ago and as explained in a recent article from the Council on Hemispheric Affairs.

For decades, the Argentine human rights group, Madres de Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo), has been respected for its work bearing witness to the thousands of disappearances during the Dirty War (1976-1983). In recent years the Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a faction of the original group led by Hebe de Bonafini, has sparked significant controversy because of her divisive comments on topics ranging from September 11 to anti-Semitism. Most significantly, the recent embezzlement scandal involving the organization’s housing program as well as Bonafini’s possible involvement in illegal activities threatens to destroy the reputation of the group and harm its political allies.

Read the whole thing here:
Beloved Elderly Women No More (COHA)