Mothers Run the World Through Quiet Revolutions
Los Madres de Plaza de Mayo is an interesting read, given the background and history that Argentina has. At the time of their founding they were not trying to be political or even confrontational in any aspect. They were just mothers and grandmothers trying to find their lost children that had been either kidnapped or disappeared without any trace left behind as to where they had gone. What is interesting is that the culture and society that the Junta, that were in charge, believed that they had perfected the ultimate censorship and they were more afraid of the men in their society. They thought the men would be the ones to be starting the political movements or a coup and were really dismissive of the women that were constantly looking for their children or loved ones. The junta, being a military organization, feared a coup from an aggressive or offensive approach and focused all of their efforts towards this, rather than a quiet revolution. This is interesting because within Latin American culture women have had a strong impact and influences in not only the household but also the political spectrum as well. If you notice the United States, which is supposed to be considered the beacon of democracy and equality for the world, has yet to elect a female President, as compared to Latin American countries. Do you think that quiet nonaggressive revolutions, by individuals that are dismissive in the society of dictators, are the Achilles heel to authoritarianism regimes? Could these regimes that seem to be the most powerful and violent fall to an unlikely quiet, nonaggressive, and timid approach? These quiet nonaggressive protests lead to greater action than what is expected. For example, in Mexico a women returned her US visa as a demonstration to the Trump presidency and she is being praised as a hero and admired throughout Mexico and leading to others to do the same. This could extremely hurt the tourist economy and the small businesses along the southern border if this continues to happen. She had stated she consistently used the visa to do shopping and get products that could not be found in Mexico, as well as, visit family. Imagine if enough people do this and do not request a visa, could this change the entire approach our president chooses to take?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38847324
Great post about the potential for protest movements to affect significant political change. I agree that Los Madras de la Plaza de Mayo were able to operate within a gap in the Argentinian junta’s repression and censorship efforts and were able to exploit that to publicize their demands. In doing so they were able to accomplish far more than an armed resistance would have done against a highly repressive regime. However, it was interesting to read up that a portion of Los Madras split into a more radical faction (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Association) that resumed the dissident activities that had gotten their children disappeared. I agree that non-violent protest has a lot of potential for application in many different contexts, but it seems that a big part of the power of Los Madras de la Plaza de la Mayo was due to the incredible emotional factor of demanding for answers about missing sons and daughters. It remains to be seen if significant change can be accomplished in issue areas that, while still incredibly important, lack the visceral emotional strength of Los Madras de la Plaza de Mayo.
-Here is a bit about the schism (pg. 656): http://www.yachana.org/research/plazamayo.pdf
This is an interesting response to the article. I do agree that this movement had a lot of power, and may even be credited with ending the present military junta. However, I am leaning towards agreeing with portman.16 mainly because I believe that most of the strength of Los Madres de la Plaza Mayo was from their role as mothers, and their devotion to their own values, as opposed to devotion to a political party. That way, they were more likely to attract the membership and support of many kinds of people, allowing for a strength in numbers for the organization, as opposed to possibly crediting their success with their demonstration methods. Ultimately, it may be difficult to compare the effectiveness of different kinds of political protests in very different political climates or countries, but it is certainly interesting and beneficial to consider these methods.
It is great the points you made about peaceful protests and how they can have big effects. Although a coup may see immediate and show extreme results, protests make slow, incremental changes and eventually reach its wanted results. Los Madres is a great example of this as for they were simply walking but eventually received the human rights violation trials for those who have harmed their families. Another example would be the peaceful protests by Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement in the Unites States.
One thing that really stuck out to me in this article was the difference between the fathers and mothers during the Dirty War. The men weren’t able to pretest or else they could possible be arrested or even disappear. While at the same time, the women were able to protest freely with no harm. This gave Los Madres the capability to speak for those who would have been oppressed. They had a duty to their families to be the voice and they made sure that voice was heard.
You mention, or at least insinuate, that nothing like Los Madres de Plaza de Mayo has happened in the United States and that we have failed to elect a female president in America. This made me wonder if now we have an open door for something like Los Madres de Plaza de Mayo to happen in the Inited states in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. I think that now, there is a really interesting dichotomy of women becoming very empowered in an environment where many women perceive possible discrimination from the Trump administration and the general climate promoted by President Trump during his campaign. I think that now, we could see and we are seeing women rise up in a way similar to Los Madres.
To answer your questions, I absolutely think that these kinds of demonstrations are what can really hurt an authoritarian regime. It’s the public dissent and show of solidarity that brings attention to problems with institutions and regimes and gets things done. Nonaggression, as you mention is the key. Most violent revolts and protests do nothing other than vilianize the protesters and divert attention from the atrocities of the regimes. We have seen these kinds of protests in the United States (ferguson, baltimore, bacon’s revolt, etc.) where protesters have been violent and later portrayed as crazy and as a threat to the stability of society. Peaceful demonstrations are far more effective (though they may still incite violence) and have incited more change than violent demonstrations.
I thought this was an interesting read. I do think it is hard to generalize though, about the success of non-violent protest. In Cuba, there is a group of women who have been protesting the Castro regime non-stop for years to limited success. I think it matters more how the public around them reacts, and that simply varies from nation to nation.
Good overall analysis, Brandon! I take issue with one characterization of the Madres, however. You used the word timid. I believe that the actions of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo were anything but timid. They were risking their safety by marching together in the plaza. I would say that they were/are some of the bravest people out there.