Grieving mothers who nurture sustainable peace and women’s political agency in Argentina

Abstract

Political violence in Argentina has shifted from direct, albeit sometimes veiled, state action during the military dictatorship that ended in 1983 to today’s combination of open direct action, inaction and covert action by the state. This chapter examines the collective agency of women’s groups mobilized through maternal grief against political violence, asking: How does motherhood activism contribute to sustainable, full peace in an Argentina marked by evolving forms of political violence? By tracing empowered constructions of motherhood through three cases – Madres de Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo), Madres contra el Paco (Mothers against Paco) and Mamà Cultiva Argentina (Mom Cultivates Argentina) – this chapter demonstrates that women’s political agency enacted through motherhood activism contributes to sustainable peace through the pursuit of accountability as well as economic and political equality, and adapts to varying deployments of political violence. The results of this motherhood activism have bolstered human rights, social justice and democracy in Argentina. The implications of these findings point to progressive and emancipatory potentials through motherhood for both women’s political agency and sustainable peacebuilding in various political environments including, authoritarian, transitioning and (deficiently) democratic.