Borzutzky will provide an analysis of the “truth and justice” policies implemented in Chile between 1990 and 2014, by the Aylwin, Frei, Lagos, Bachelet and Piňera administrations. These policies have resulted in the creation of commissions to investigate death, political imprisonment and torture, the provision of reparations and apologies, and the construction of memorials and museums to honor the victims and teach about the abuses. The policies have also led to copious judicial activity, including the prosecution of over one thousand former military officers. However, while this policies have been applauded by some, they have been entirely unsatisfactory to others generating demands for new policies and actions.

Some of the key questions addressed in the talk are why some feel that these policies have only provided partial version of the truth and limited justice while others believe that the past needs to be put to rest. We will also discuss the difficulties involved in reaching reconciliation and using human rights policies to build a unified national memory.

She is the author of Human Rights Policies in Chile: The Unfinished Struggle for Truth and Justice (Palgrave, 2017), Vital Connections: Politics, Social Security and Inequality in Chile Notre Dame University Press,2002), co-author of Rent-Seeking in Pensions (Palgrave, 2016), and co-editor of After Pinochet: The Chilean Road to Capitalism and Democracy (University Press of Florida, 2006), and The Bachelet Government: Conflict and Consensus in Post-Pinochet Chile (University of Florida Press, 2010).

For more information: lavst12@pitt.edu