HIJOS Movement, Children of the Disappeared

Abstract

In porteño jargon (the popular language of Buenos Aires and other major cities in Argentina), escrachar means to put in evidence, to expose, or to make public the bad deeds of someone who previously enjoyed a good reputation and was considered honorable. Escraches consist of public protests outside the homes of those responsible for political crimes in Argentina in the 1970s to alert the neighborhood to the identity of presumed criminals. A festive spirit and a range of cultural activities, including musical and theatrical performances, accompany these forms of protest. Protesters seek to isolate accused individuals through publicly shaming them and encouraging neighbors to repudiate them. Escrache is, then, a form of popular justice arising from moral condemnation. Escraches began to be held in Argentina in 1998, during the debates in Congress surrounding the derogation of the Due Obedience and Full Stop laws, when most of those accused of human rights violations during the military dictatorship of 1976–83 were allowed to escape prosecution for their crimes. Protests were led by middle‐class, professional groups.