La eficacia simbólica de los juicios por crímenes dictatoriales: los casos Fujimori y Ríos Montt

Which is the significance of the trials against prominent political figures in contexts with a legacy of political violence? This article seeks to emphasize the consequences linked to the configuration of meanings generated by legal victories and focuses on the experiences of the main advocates of t...

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Main Author: Maira Ixchel  Benítez Jiménez
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Published: Groupe de Recherche Amérique Latine Histoire et Mémoire 2020-01-01
Series:Les Cahiers ALHIM
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/alhim/7878
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author Maira Ixchel  Benítez Jiménez
author_facet Maira Ixchel  Benítez Jiménez
author_sort Maira Ixchel  Benítez Jiménez
collection DOAJ
description Which is the significance of the trials against prominent political figures in contexts with a legacy of political violence? This article seeks to emphasize the consequences linked to the configuration of meanings generated by legal victories and focuses on the experiences of the main advocates of the judicial cases. By taking up the notion of «symbolic efficacy of law» by Mauricio Garcia Villegas (1994) I show how emblematic trials generate effective symbols and resources to produce ideas of change and legitimacy regarding the recognition of the victims. More specifically, I reflect on the meanings, which the agents of transitional justice —survivors, relatives and lawyers— attribute to the sentences in the context of their mobilizations and battles for justice. At the same time, the contents of the verdicts can represent important frameworks of meanings to confirm the legitimacy of the pro-justice agents’ demands and justify their organizational presence in the subsequent phases of political mobilization. The empirical analysis is based on the trials against the ex-presidents Alberto Fujimori in Peru and Efraín Ríos Montt in Guatemala for human rights violations and genocide, which represent milestones in the struggle against impunity in Latin America.
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spelling doaj-art-e8821d4dada2434ebbd2cf669065c4b82025-08-20T02:47:58ZspaGroupe de Recherche Amérique Latine Histoire et MémoireLes Cahiers ALHIM1628-67311777-51752020-01-013810.4000/alhim.7878La eficacia simbólica de los juicios por crímenes dictatoriales: los casos Fujimori y Ríos MonttMaira Ixchel  Benítez JiménezWhich is the significance of the trials against prominent political figures in contexts with a legacy of political violence? This article seeks to emphasize the consequences linked to the configuration of meanings generated by legal victories and focuses on the experiences of the main advocates of the judicial cases. By taking up the notion of «symbolic efficacy of law» by Mauricio Garcia Villegas (1994) I show how emblematic trials generate effective symbols and resources to produce ideas of change and legitimacy regarding the recognition of the victims. More specifically, I reflect on the meanings, which the agents of transitional justice —survivors, relatives and lawyers— attribute to the sentences in the context of their mobilizations and battles for justice. At the same time, the contents of the verdicts can represent important frameworks of meanings to confirm the legitimacy of the pro-justice agents’ demands and justify their organizational presence in the subsequent phases of political mobilization. The empirical analysis is based on the trials against the ex-presidents Alberto Fujimori in Peru and Efraín Ríos Montt in Guatemala for human rights violations and genocide, which represent milestones in the struggle against impunity in Latin America.https://journals.openedition.org/alhim/7878symbolic efficacy of Trialstransitional justicegenocide and crimes against humanitylegal mobilization
spellingShingle Maira Ixchel  Benítez Jiménez
La eficacia simbólica de los juicios por crímenes dictatoriales: los casos Fujimori y Ríos Montt
Les Cahiers ALHIM
symbolic efficacy of Trials
transitional justice
genocide and crimes against humanity
legal mobilization
title La eficacia simbólica de los juicios por crímenes dictatoriales: los casos Fujimori y Ríos Montt
title_full La eficacia simbólica de los juicios por crímenes dictatoriales: los casos Fujimori y Ríos Montt
title_fullStr La eficacia simbólica de los juicios por crímenes dictatoriales: los casos Fujimori y Ríos Montt
title_full_unstemmed La eficacia simbólica de los juicios por crímenes dictatoriales: los casos Fujimori y Ríos Montt
title_short La eficacia simbólica de los juicios por crímenes dictatoriales: los casos Fujimori y Ríos Montt
title_sort la eficacia simbolica de los juicios por crimenes dictatoriales los casos fujimori y rios montt
topic symbolic efficacy of Trials
transitional justice
genocide and crimes against humanity
legal mobilization
url https://journals.openedition.org/alhim/7878
work_keys_str_mv AT mairaixchelbenitezjimenez laeficaciasimbolicadelosjuiciosporcrimenesdictatorialesloscasosfujimoriyriosmontt