Saphire Miramontes
Professor Stephanie Brown
ENG 306
07 March 2016
Unsolved
Disappearances
“Nunca
mas” – Madres de Plaza de Mayo
A
direct translation of the protest slogan, “nunca mas” is “never again.” This
slogan was used by the protesting group named “Madres de Plaza de Mayo,” that
was established in 1977 a year after a war between the citizens of Buenos
Aires, Argentina and it’s malicious military broke loose. Although this war was
a very political one, plenty of unjustified attacks were exercised onto young
activists and citizens without reason or dissemination of information to the
public.
Through
the past decades, violence has been a huge topic in all of Latin American history
due to military coup d’état taking over government officials and causing
protests and miniature wars, if one can call it so, between civilians and those
in power. One of the biggest, violent acts in South American history occurred
in Bueno Aires, Argentina dating from 1976-1983. This specific act was formally
known as the “Dirty War” (Teaching Tolerance 2016). This war began in 1976 when
the Argentine military overthrew President Isabel Peron and gained military
dictatorship of the country (Hernandez 2012). Following the military’s take
over, two separate groups began protesting the new harsh federal policies and
regulations (Hernandez 2012).
One
of the groups consisted of young activists that focused their efforts on
displaying a non-violent protest; meanwhile, the other group known as
“left-wing guerillas,” took pride in violently protesting the military’s new
control (Hernandez 2012). After strong resistance from the civilians, the
military decided to invoke fear in them in order to have them obey their
policies and commands. The military’s “secret police” invaded the streets and
started kidnapping, torturing, and killing many young men and women regardless
of their affiliation with the protesting parties (Hernandez 2012). Eventually,
the violence became unavoidable and mothers found their voice by forming a non-violent
group, known as Madres de Plaza de Mayo (Teaching Tolerance 2016). This group
of mothers took on protesting the war in order to demand information on the
whereabouts of their disappeared and murdered children. In this first part of
the analysis, a clear focus will then be on the identity, audience, context,
and purpose used by the Madres de Plaza de Mayo during their protest against
the military regime.
When
looking at the protest, one would notice that a key object used by the Madres
de Mayo de Plaza was their slogan. In Spanish, it reads “nunca mas” and
translates to English as “never again” (Teaching Tolerance 2016). The meaning
behind the slogan was to represent how the mothers that founded the protest
group, Madres de Plaza de Mayo, would never again allow the military or
government to have reign over their children’s lives. The powerful, short
slogan is believed to therefore have one specific audience - the military
regime of Argentina. This is because they were inevitably responsible for the
unethical treatment of the citizens, the disappearance of young individuals,
and the killing of thousands of innocent children (Hernandez 2012). Moving
forward to relevant contexts of the protest, it is noted that South American
countries like Argentina, more specifically Buenos Aires, have a history of citizens
that fear military ruling the most. Reasons that make this fear valid are
experiences like the “Dirty War” and the extent to which the military is
willing to explore in order to gain submission and obedience from their locals.
Moreover,
relevant context to this protest would be that many of the disappeared will
never be able to return home. The mothers of those children will never be given
the details of their child’s death. No other group had the authority or power
to help the mothers seek the information they were pleading for in order to
find their way to one another again. Consequently, the goal of the Madres de
Mayo de Plaza and their clever slogan, was to protest the military’s attempts
to take more children/victims, as well as to demand them to return or release
information concerning the individuals that had already been captured. The
purpose of Madres de Plaza de Mayo and their protest was to bring awareness of
the military corruption that had stained their country’s history with blood and
tears for a dreadful amount of time. To close the first half of the investigation
and in respect of the goals and purpose, a closer look at the identities tied
to those affected by the tragedy and those accountable for it will be looked at.
For
the individuals that were affected by the tragedy that led to the protest, we
see a common identity being “mother.” This identity is important because in
cultures, especially Latin American cultures, mothers are the nurturers,
healers, sensible family members that share a close bond with their offspring. Their
role in the protest was to be strong, serious, and justice-seeking leaders for
their children; hence, their commitment to their slogan “nunca mas.” Their
identity was what gave them authority to protest the military’s twisted role as
enforcers, immoral leaders, illegal abductors, and murders during the years
1976-1983. This was a useful tactic because the military could not enforce
violence on elderly women.
A
more critical investigation will examine the use of ethos, pathos and logos by
the Madres de Plaza de Mayo to analyze the protest’s rhetorical strategies. Also,
when comparing the use of these strategies, an evaluation of the protest’s
effectiveness will be addressed. First, the use of ethos can be seen in the
manner the Madres de Plaza de Mayo share their stories of their disappeared
children. This strategy appeals to their credibility as mothers, as primary
caretakers, and as concerned citizens involved in the Dirty War. Each of those
three roles are embodied by one single woman; which goes to show fortitude and
commitment behind their goal of rightfully receiving information that the
military refused to disclose to them (Teaching Tolerance 2016).
Additionally,
the strong use of pathos in the protest by the Madres de Plaza de Mayo is very
apparent. For example, in photographs of the protest many of the mothers of the
disappeared and murdered have signs that have the number of lives that had been
taken. Considering the number was as high as 30,000, it can be inferred that
the toll of their lost was detrimental (Teaching Tolerance 2016). Furthermore,
the use of pathos can be understood also by the idea that motherhood is a
shared concept across all cultures and will appeal to mothers and women
everywhere because of the bond a mother and child hold. According to Teaching
Tolerance (2016) it has been reported that one of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo
released this statement, “"What remains in the end is a deep longing for
justice …We're still fighting for those murderers to go to jail. We want you
all to remember what happened to our children so that it never happens again,”
that gives the audience a clear vision of the protester’s goals and purpose.
Finally,
when analyzing the usage of logos by the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, an
understanding of their name is considered. In respect of their goal and
purpose, the “Madres” meaning “mothers,” formed together and began their
protest at the “Plaza de Mayo” which is the “Presidential Palace,”
(Encyclopedia Britannica 2014). The logistics of this is very ingenious. The
Plaza de Mayo is central of all the towns, which makes it the busiest and most
populated area. It is safe to assume that the location was picked because of
its political importance and also because more people would be exposed to the
protest and would most likely ask questions, join, or support the protesters
from afar. By having more citizens involved in the protest the Madres hoped to
gain a surrender from Argentina’s military regime.
In
conclusion, the Madres de Plaza de Mayo took it upon themselves to be proactive
leaders in seeking righteousness on behalf of their disappeared children after
the Argentine military found it necessary to inflict violence upon their
citizens for a period of seven years. In the protest a clear identity was being
tested; it being the mothers of the disappeared children. Rhetorically, the
goal of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo was effective in the idea that they
appealed to all three protest strategies of ethos, pathos, and logos.
Supplementary, to their effectiveness rhetorically, the protesters were also
effective historically as their legacy is still alive in Buenos Aires,
Argentina today. Hence, the mothers ability to state “nunca mas” or “never
again,” to such trajectories; therefore, it can be said that their goals and purpose
were altogether fulfilled through their protest.
Works
Cited
“Dirty War.” Encyclopedia
Britannica. Web 19 February 2016. Retrieved from:
http://www.britannica.com/event/Dirty-War
Hernandez, Vladimir. "Argentine
Mothers Mark 35 Years Marching for Justice - BBC News."
BBC
News. 29 April 2012. Web. 01 March 2016. Retrieved from:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-17847134
"Teaching Tolerance: Madres de Plaza
de Mayo.” Web. 07 February 2016. Retrieved from:
http://www.tolerance.org/activity/madres-de-plaza-de-mayo
"Madres de Plaza de Mayo: 36 anos de
lucha." Web. 07 February 2016. Retrieved from:
http://www.almagrotubarrio.com.ar/?p=1693
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