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This chapter explores the crime of enforced disappearance of people in Latin America, with particular attention to the cases of Sonora, in Mexico, and Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, in the twenty-first century. The crime of disappearing people is paradigmatic for its recurrence in several countries in the Global South, with specific characteristics that differ from disappearances in the North. While in Brazilian law, disappearance is considered just an “atypical occurrence”, there is no notion of atrocity. In Mexico, the state has enacted legislation addressing enforced disappearances, but a general law has thus far shown limited effectiveness. The United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances has characterised the state’s actions as “passive”, contributing to an environment of “near-total impunity” in the majority of disappearance cases (Human Rights Watch, 2023). In Latin America, disappearance is systemic, as evidenced by the ubiquitous bodies in these mass graves. Considering this regional context as a backdrop, we examine, more specifically, the cases of women assassinated while searching for their missing children, focusing on the crime of enforced disappearance but using the killing of those madres buscadoras/mães buscadoras (searching mothers) as our research proxy. Drawing on a qualitative methodology, we formulated some hypotheses regarding the specific nature of such crimes. We have drawn on case studies from Mexico and Brazil to explore the gendered dimensions of this theme, in addition to a literature review. Our argument has two main elements. Firstly, we examine Southern Criminology’s contribution to understanding the specificities of crimes in the region. Secondly, we examine the literature on social movements to analyse the activities of the missing and/or assassinated woman. In this chapter, we aim to investigate the repertoires and alternative strategies employed in this type of high-risk activism, with a focus on comprehending the dimensions of enforced disappearance. The concept of high-risk activism (McAdam, Am J Sociol 92(1):64–90, 1986) is used to understand how it is connected to gendered markers of crime and violence in Latin America and, in particular, the experience of Brazilian and Mexican mothers affected by this crime.

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The Enforced Disappearing of People and the Activism of Women Buscadoras

  • 动态工具书词条

  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Alyssa Ribeiro Perpeto Trotte,
  • Simone da Silva Ribeiro Gomes

摘要

This chapter explores the crime of enforced disappearance of people in Latin America, with particular attention to the cases of Sonora, in Mexico, and Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, in the twenty-first century. The crime of disappearing people is paradigmatic for its recurrence in several countries in the Global South, with specific characteristics that differ from disappearances in the North. While in Brazilian law, disappearance is considered just an “atypical occurrence”, there is no notion of atrocity. In Mexico, the state has enacted legislation addressing enforced disappearances, but a general law has thus far shown limited effectiveness. The United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances has characterised the state’s actions as “passive”, contributing to an environment of “near-total impunity” in the majority of disappearance cases (Human Rights Watch, 2023). In Latin America, disappearance is systemic, as evidenced by the ubiquitous bodies in these mass graves. Considering this regional context as a backdrop, we examine, more specifically, the cases of women assassinated while searching for their missing children, focusing on the crime of enforced disappearance but using the killing of those madres buscadoras/mães buscadoras (searching mothers) as our research proxy. Drawing on a qualitative methodology, we formulated some hypotheses regarding the specific nature of such crimes. We have drawn on case studies from Mexico and Brazil to explore the gendered dimensions of this theme, in addition to a literature review. Our argument has two main elements. Firstly, we examine Southern Criminology’s contribution to understanding the specificities of crimes in the region. Secondly, we examine the literature on social movements to analyse the activities of the missing and/or assassinated woman. In this chapter, we aim to investigate the repertoires and alternative strategies employed in this type of high-risk activism, with a focus on comprehending the dimensions of enforced disappearance. The concept of high-risk activism (McAdam, Am J Sociol 92(1):64–90, 1986) is used to understand how it is connected to gendered markers of crime and violence in Latin America and, in particular, the experience of Brazilian and Mexican mothers affected by this crime.