Truth Trial in Mar del Plata, Argentina. About the notion of justice in the account of a testimony

Abstract

In this article, an analysis of a testimony from the Truth Trial of Mar del Plata is developed. This trial was carried out after the latest Argentina’s dictatorship (1976-1983). The testimony took place in 2001, period during which the so called “impunity laws” were still in force. In that period truth and justice were matters followed by alternative positions facing oblivion, silence and impunity, imposed by official policies. The hypothesis of this research lies in the fact that testimony becomes a symbolic space for redress in relation to the experienced. Reparation is possible thanks to the possibility of telling the story and own experience, so who gives testimony can formulate his or her own ideas of justice. Testimony also becomes a meta-text that reflects, in its own interior, on questions pertaining to trials and justice regarding the traumatic past.