The Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo of Argentina: An Unconventional Success Story

In 1976, a military junta overthrew Isabelita Peron from power in Argentina. Shortly after, it began to kidnap, torture, and murder thousands of political enemies and dissidents – many of whom were college students or other educated people. These victims, often called “the disappeared” or desaparecidos, were drugged and thrown out of airplanes and were never seen again. Many of their mothers, desperate for answers, united and formed the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo group and began protesting publicly. This paper argues that despite never receiving official answers from the junta nor from the succeeding Argentine government, these powerful women still created a world-renowned and successful human-rights group by harnessing their identities as mothers by garnering international attention to their plight and later inspiring others around the world to do the same