International Conference: Authoritarianism, Memory and Human Rights in Latin America


¡Adiós Pinochet! / Good bye Pinochet! | Chilean arpillera, Anonymous, 1980c | Conflict Textiles collection Photo Colin Peck, © Conflict Textiles

Hosted by CLAS, Global Studies and the Center for Civil Rights and Racial Justice at the University of Pittsburgh

February 14, 2025


Registration

To register for the conference please access the link below:

CLAS Events Registration Form


Location:

4310 Posvar Hall | Center for Urban Education, Posvar Hall


Description

In 2024, Brazil marks the 60th anniversary of the military coup that initiated a 21-year dictatorship. This coup was part of a broader wave of military interventions across South America, leading to authoritarian regimes in Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. Although most of these regimes dissolved by the early 1990s, authoritarianism remains a significant element in Latin America’s political memory.

This conference brings together scholars from Latin America and the United States to examine the intersections of authoritarian governance, collective memory, and the ongoing struggle for justice and human rights across the region. Key topics include the role of political parties under authoritarian regimes, grassroots memory initiatives, transitional justice efforts, and the pressing challenge of strengthening democratic resilience in the face of resurgent authoritarianism.


Program

9:15 AM

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Keila Grinberg (Center for Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh), Lara Putnam (Center for Global Studies, University of Pittsburgh), Sheila Velez-Martinez (Center for Civil Rights and Racial Justice)

 

 

9:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Session 1: Memory, human rights and authoritarianism

Chair: Keila Grinberg (University of Pittsburgh)

Public History, Sites of Memory and Conscience about the Brazilian Dictatorship
Samantha Quadrat (Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil)

Memory processes against denialism (?) in Argentina. Challenges, struggles and uncertainty
Ludmila da Silva Catela (Universidade Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina)

The Rule of Law, State Violence and Social Revolt in Transitional Chile
Hugo Rojas (Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile)

Discussants: Laura Gotkowitz (University of Pittsburgh) and Sheila Velez Martinez (University of Pittsburgh)

 

Lunch Break

 

1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Session 2: Politics under Authoritarian Regimes

Chair: Lara Putnam (University of Pittsburgh)

The attack on political elites: revocation of mandates and suspension of political rights in Brazil (1964-1969)
Lucia Grinberg (Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Brazil and the Condor Operation: Systems of Cross-Border Repression in South America
Roberto Simon (independent scholar)

"Is Democracy the Opposite of Dictatorship? Reckoning with the Democratic Roots of the Cold War Military Regimes in Latin America"
Barbara Weinstein (New York University)

Discussants: José Cheibub (University of Pittsburgh)

 

Coffee Break

 

3:15 PM to 4:30 PM

Keynote Speaker: Dora María Téllez (Visiting Scholar, Harvard University)

Authoritarianism, Once Again: Memories and Reflections

Discussant: Michel Gobat (University of Pittsburgh)

 

4:30 PM to 6:00 PM

Book Launch (Reception to follow)

Teoría crítica del derecho y justicia social en las Américas

Edited by Sheila Velez-Martinez and Hugo Rojas

 


Bios of our Participants

Barbara Weinstein
Dora María Téllez
Hugo Rojas
José Cheibub
Keila Grinberg
Lara Putnam
Laura Gotkowitz
Lucia Grinberg
Ludmila da Silva Catela
Michel Gobat
Samantha Quadrat
Sheila Vélez-Martínez
Roberto Simon