Revista del CESLA. International Latin American Studies Review

Trajectories of Women in Authoritarian Regimes in Latin America (20th and 21st Centuries): New Debates

2025-12-19T15:23:55+00:00

Women's Memories of Prison and Political Repression During the Brazilian Military Dictatorship in the film Torre das Donzelas (2018) and the book Tiradentes, um presídio da ditadura (1997)

2025-05-01T02:24:02+00:00

This work aims to investigate aspects present in the memories of women about prison and political repression during the Brazilian military dictatorship, particularly experiences lived in the Torre das Donzelas between 1968 and 1972. The analysis was carried out based on two sources of distinct natures, both addressing memories: the book Tiradentes, um presídio da ditadura (1997) and the documentary film Torre das Donzelas (2018). The theoretical-methodological framework is primarily based on studies about memory within the field of history of the present time studies. By publicizing these women's memories through the sources, the study sought to analyze the aspects mobilized by them over time, considering the continuities and transformations in their accounts. The memories related to these women's experiences at the Tiradentes prison, when revisited, exposed the silence imposed by the State regarding the past of this political space. The particularities of the sources highlight them as modes of representation of the past, specific to a present, thus placing these women's memories within the broader context of many other experiences of the dictatorship.

Brief notes about an ex-president in Brazil: Dilma Rousseff in times of dictatorship and democracy (1970-2014)

2025-04-24T20:59:08+00:00

In order to uncloak important moments in women life stories, we choose as the subject of this reflection the ex-President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, due to her trajectory having been marked by the dictatorship (1970) and the democracy (2011-2014). Thus, the current work, based on bibliographical and documentary studies, aims to provide visibility to Dilma Rousseff's activism and resistance during military dictatorship and democracy periods, in the time lapse since 1970 to 2014. From political prisoner to a president of the Republic, she resisted and reconciled. She sanctioned Law n. 12,528 of November 18^th, 2011, which established the National Truth Commission, demonstrating her desire for truth, justice and peace.

Testimonial Narratives as Formative Content in Education for ‘Never Again’: The Experience of Sílvia Montarroyos under the Military-Civil Dictatorship (1964–1985)

2025-04-29T18:33:22+00:00

More than fifty years after the 1964 coup, part of Brazilian society still regards authoritarianism as the outcome of a necessary democratic revolution. In the face of narratives that silence the pain of survivors and the families of the disappeared, this study turns to the testimony of Sílvia Montarroyos, a survivor of political persecution and psychiatric confinement during the civil-military dictatorship, to reveal the horrors of authoritarian rule. The aim is to analyze how Montarroyos’ testimonial narrative contributes to the preservation of historical memory, not only exposing traumas but also offering a poetic perspective for discussing authoritarianism and the relations between the past and the present.

Architect, researcher and activist: the political trajectory of Mayumi Watanabe de Souza Lima

2025-04-29T23:07:02+00:00

This article examines the political path of the architect Mayumi Watanabe de Souza Lima, who resisted the adversities of the military regime while carrying out her work as an architect, public servant and university professor. We aim to understand her connection to political debates through the integration of social commitment and architecture, a mindset that had guided her since the early years of her undergraduate degree in Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of São Paulo. The 1964 military coup sparked a persecution that culminated in her arrest along with her husband, architect Sérgio Pereira de Souza Lima. It disrupted and hindered her professional activities, especially her teaching, but did not derail her work in public agencies, law firms, and private companies. With the re-democratization of the country and the return of hope for a better future, the architect maintained her political convictions and was able to work for the São Paulo City Hall, without ever abandoning her research and teaching duties.

Capital, labor relations and oppression: reflections on the experiences of textile workers during the Chilean dictatorship (1973-1990)

2025-05-14T15:01:11+00:00

In Chile, the organic crisis of capitalism that occurred in the 1970s resulted in a violent coup d'état, which created the conditions for the implementation of neoliberal policies, producing new trends that compressed and destabilized living conditions, especially for the working class, and amplified the contradictions between capitalist production relations and the reproduction of livelihoods. This article discusses the impacts of the transformations in labor and gender relations in Chile during the civil-military dictatorship, based on an analysis of the Chilean textile sector, especially the experiences of workers in the Sumar and Yarur factories. The changes had a strong impact on the textile sector and labor relations, affecting textile workers in different ways. Thus, based on a systemic and unitary understanding of the relations of oppression and exploitation in capitalism, the article seeks to consider the dynamics of textile labor and the processes of reproduction and renewal of hierarchical and oppressive relations.

The actions of women collaborators during the military dictatorship in Chile (1973-1990)

2025-04-15T16:33:10+00:00

This paper aims to investigate the activities of women who collaborated with the repressive structure during the Chilean military dictatorship (1973-1990). We will discuss two women linked to conservative and right-wing groups and those who played roles within the persecution machine (an example of detainees who went on to work for repressive agencies), positioning themselves between the conditions of victims and perpetrators. In this sense, we defend two hypotheses. The first is that some of these women chose to defend political projects of an authoritarian, anti-communist and anti-feminist nature, participating as collaborators in processes of co-optation of other women. In this way, we emphasize that the issues pertaining to the political cultures of the extreme right are not exclusively submissive and victims of the patriarchy, with the activities of the first lady, Lucía Hiriart, being our main case study. The second, based on the cases of Luz Arce and Marcia Merino (former left-wing activists who became repressive officials), shows that collaboration does not always mean adherence to the dictatorship. We aim to analyze the history of women linked to conservative and right-wing political cultures (an area that is still expanding) and to the Chilean dictatorial regime itself, since the cases of Arce and Merino deactivated the mobilization of the “grey zones.”