De las fosas comunes a los derechos humanos: El descubrimiento de las desapariciones forzadas en la España contemporánea1

Abstract

This text is based on a multisite ethnography of seven years on the impact of exhumations of mass graves from the Civil War in contemporary Spain. The ethnography has been carried out in different research scenarios: exhumations, commemorative rituals, academic conferences on memory, teach–ins, demonstrations, book presentations, music concerts, NGOs for the ‘recovery of historical memory’, different working teams with institutional support, forensic laboratories, art exhibits and so forth. It explores the way in which transnational Human Rights discourses and concepts have been steadily being translated into the Spanish case, becoming one basic guide for action for many of the civil associations, as debates have grown in intensity and depth. In the process they have become more sophisticated, have become partially institutionalised, and have finally incorporated a growing judicial tone. In this sense, the series of Human Rights reports such as those by Amnesty International, but more clearly Judge Garzon’s attempt at indicting Francoism and the aftermath of his indictment by the Supreme Court, have become crucial operators of this irruption of human rights discourses and practices in the debates around ‘historical memory’ in the country, more specifically though legally–bound concepts such as ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘forced disappearances’.