Contested memories of repression in the Southern Cone: Commemoriatons in a comparative perspective

ELIZABETH JELIN

Political transition. Politics and Cultures

Pluto Press

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2003; p. 53 - 69

The chapter deals with contested politics of memory over time, the disputed role of the past in an evolving present, taking commemorative practices as its starting point. It deals with public struggles about the meaning of the past --the memories of the repressive dictatorhips established in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in the Southern Cone of South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay). The chapter takes the study of the disputes about the meaning of specific dates and commemorative practices to approach the issues of memory and oblivion. Such memory markers in public time and space exemplify the way in which public memories are produced, contested and appropriated.