From a revolutionary logic to humanitarian reasons: Uruguayan leftists in the exile and human rights transnational networks

Abstract

This article describes the relationship between the Uruguayan leftists who had to flee their country in the 1970s and several other participants who formed the transnational human rights networks in those years. The analysis begins in Buenos Aires and ends in the 1976 hearings on Uruguay before the U.S. Congress. It touches on the positions of diverse leftist groups, the stand of former senator Zelmar Michelini, the motivations of several Democratic congressmen, and the international campaign launched by Amnesty International. It focuses on the transformation that led many Uruguayan exiles to present their claims in the language of human rights organizations in order to posit their demands and denounce the most dramatic aspects of repression in their country.