Día de la Memoria

Yesterday was a national holiday in Argentina. It was the 38th anniversary of the military coup in 1976 which created a six-year dictatorship. The holiday is in memoriam of the 30,000 men and women who were disappeared, tortured, and killed by the right-wing military junta during this time. They were largely students, trade unionists, artists and intellectuals. Many were targeted for their politics; others were murdered indiscriminately, often implicated in the confession of someone under torture. These unspeakable attocities were committed in the name of defending capitalism.

This dictatorship was supported by the United States. Declassified documents show that as early as 1976, State Department officials (such as Henry Kissinger) were aware of the gruesome extent of the junta's abuses yet explicitly condoned them in meetings with Argentine diplomates. Tacit support for the junta continued in various forms over the course of three presidential administrations.

Yesterday we went to a massive remembrance rally in the Plaza de Mayo. It was a beautiful day, families out together, the smell of roasting meat everywhere. Countless people carried photos of their disappeared loved ones. They held their heads high, stoically, occasionally laughing among themselves, applauding the legacy of their fallen comrades.

The air was dominated by the sound of drum corps, as large left-wing youth organizations marched around the plaza for hours. The mood was reverent, militant, resolute. On a stage, an MC read off names of the disappeared. Signs and banners called for Justicia y Castigo for the members of military who still have not been prosecuted for what they did. There were reminders that the dictatorship was arm-in-arm with banks and corporations. And of course there were political campaigns attempting to capitalize on the emotion of the event.

In the middle of the plaza was a wall where messages and art were posted, addressed to the disappeared. These messages of love and hope were the most devastating part of the whole experience. So much love. So much hope.

I would like to congratulate my Argentine brothers and sisters on 30 years of democracy and human rights, and for not allowing the horror to take away their love of life.

Nunca más. Never again.