Demonstrating resistance

Abstract

This article explores ways in which the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo confronted the state on the violence perpetrated during Argentina's "dirty war" during the 1970s and early 1980s. Focusing particularly on the Marches of Resistance initiated during the last years of the military regime in 1981, the article argues that their resistance had an important effect on political culture, encouraging participation and innovative forms of political action. At the same time, shifts in political conditions also caused internal changes in the Mothers' movement. A discussion of the circumstances that resulted in a schism within the movement and current divergences in conducting the marches leads to reflections on different interpretations of the political.