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Eva Newton is an aspiring investigative journalist interested in movements challenging capitalist and neo-colonial exploitation, particularly in Latin America. She is currently based in London, and has previously volunteered with the United Voices of the World Union, the Socialist Party and the Latin American Bureau.

Issue #198 of The Internationalist is a continuation of Newton's examination of Uruguay's decades-long struggle to investigate the "disappeared" from its 1973–1985 dictatorship, highlighting how military obstruction, immunity laws, and a persistent "pact of silence" have delayed justice.

To read Part 1, click here.

State Culpability

Familiares recognise that the state also needs to put more pressure on the military if this is ever to happen. Patricia commented, 'we'd like the State to delve much deeper and move much faster on the search.' The state is clearly cautious to recognise their own role in the dictatorship, and their subsequent obstruction of justice for the desaparecidos. As put by historian Thomas Dickson, 'Uruguay's military regime never was purely military'; it established 'several military-civilian structures'.[^72]

Progression in the desaparecidos investigations could pressure the state to address its own failings and violations, even if the investigations are primarily into the military. In 2009, the Uruguayan government did officially recognise the state's role in human rights violations that occurred during the dictatorship, through Law No. 18.596 (the Reparations Law).[^73] This law provided financial compensation and pensions for victims, as well as for the families of the desaparecidos.[^74] However, accepting a payment required the recipient to relinquish the right to any future legal action against the Uruguayan government.[^75] This approach perhaps illustrates their overarching motives when it comes to justice for the desaparecidos. Patricia underscores the damage done by these policies designed to appease groups such as Familiares whilst also enabling the state to evade full recognition for their crimes.

In 2021, the UN and the IACtHR again found the Uruguayan state liable for the 'April Girls' Case, concerning three young women killed by the military in 1974.[^76] The IACtHR found the Uruguayan state violated international human rights law not only through the murders themselves, but also through a 'lack of adequate investigative actions' into the case since then.[^77] The court ordered the Uruguayan government to carry out a 'ceremony of recognition', mandating that representatives from each government branch must be present.[^78] Patricia highlighted that the then-president did not attend, and that as 'an act of reparation it should have been broadcast on whatever channels the government had at its disposal. They didn't do that.' The ceremony took place inside Montevideo's Leglisative Palace.[^79] Although Familiares screened the event in the square outside, 'a reparatory act has to be known by the entire population for it to be reparatory'. These half measures taken by the state contribute to Uruguay's culture of impunity just as the military's evasiveness does.

In some cases, the state also contributes in more active ways to systemic unaccountability. When I described democracy's reconstruction using tainted building blocks, this can be seen in the case of Mota's previous career as a judge for Uruguay's Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), before she became head of the INDDHH.[^80] But in 2013, she was removed as a judge, without explanation, from her criminal jurisdiction to a new position as judge of a civil tribunal.[^81] Mota was one of the most prominent judicial voices for the desaparecidos.[^82] In 2010, she even convicted former President Juan Maria Bordaberry for his role in bringing about the 1973 coup, sentencing him to thirty years in prison (as he wasn't a military or police member, the Expiration Law did not apply to him).[^83] And in the year prior to her removal, she had 'incited the wrath of many individuals' including former President Battle and the contemporary President Mujica by criticising the Uruguayan government's search (or lack of it) for the desaparecidos.[^84] Al Jazeera commented that what was 'even worse is that such a development [her removal] should arise only months after which the Expiry Law was finally overturned.'[^85]

Before her displacement from her criminal jurisdiction, Mota had been investigating fifty-five cases of abuse by the dictatorship; without the Expiry Law to block military prosecution anymore, Mota surely would have sentenced multiple military members for their crimes.[^86]

Historical Memory

The culture of impunity in Uruguay prevents Familiares building what Patricia emphasises is crucial: 'historical memory, necessary so that state terrorism never happens again in this country'. It's particularly important for future generations, she says, who may only have a very vague understanding of the dictatorship, and therefore of exactly how dangerous authoritarianism can become. This is especially crucial if, as Patricia alleges, the military 'continue to be trained in the same way, under the Doctrine of National Security', despite the Doctrine being abolished alongside the dictatorship.[^87] Graciela asserts that it's not that the younger generations of the military are responsible for the actions of their predecessors; the issue is that:

'This training [...] gives them the impression that the military is their superior, and they don't accept that we live in a democracy where civilian authorities are in charge.'

In a democracy, authority over all the armed forces should rest with a civilian, which in Uruguay is the President of the Republic, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. However, for some in Uruguay, belief in the National Doctrine has persisted since it first entered military curricula, as mentioned earlier, when Stella was just starting secondary school in the mid 1960s. In 2019, a new Organic Law on the Armed Forces was passed, amending the 1974 Organic Law which codified the National Security Doctrine.[^88] [^89] Amendments included explicitly eliminating the rule of 'due obedience', so that now military members have both the right and the duty to resist orders that violate democracy or human rights, such as any based on the National Security Doctrine. [^90] [^91] However, Patricia argues that in reality the Organic Law amendments are not being enforced as they should be. There is no public evidence that the National Security Doctrine is incorporated into Uruguayan military education. In fact, the main military training academy in Uruguay, Escuela Militar, includes a module on 'International Human Rights and Human Rights' in both courses that it offers, in line with Uruguay's 2014 Law on Police and Military Education Article 5(1).[^92] [^93] Even so, Patricia observes that due to the 'totally top-down discipline' of military education, it 'doesn't allow for a closer look'; it's 'what's taught outside the books' that concerns Familiares the most, in any case. If outside of the curriculum, the military maintains an organisational climate which instils an ethos of military supremacy - 'if they keep thinking the same way they did back then' - then as Patricia suggests, 'that doesn't give us the assurance that state terrorism won't exist anymore [...] that there will never be another dictatorship'. Patricia and Graciela believe that because military officers continue to be trained in line with the National Doctrine, it is difficult to have a dialogue with officers about the desaparecidos. This contributes to the erasure of historical memory, enabling belief in military supremacy to perpetuate.

Some of the recently retired military have built their own historical memory of the dictatorship in line with the National Doctrine; one where they justifiably responded to the threat to democracy caused by the Tupamaros.

In 2019, the far-right party Cabildo Abierto (CA) was created with the help of Guido Manini Ríos, a retired Army General and former Commander in Chief of the Uruguayan Army.[^94] CA was founded within a few days of Ríos being dismissed as Commander in Chief by then President Tabaré Vázquez, for accusing the Uruguayan courts of misusing the law to sentence military officials for dictatorship-era crimes.[^95] [^96] Since both Tupamaros and the military were granted amnesty post-dictatorship, some believe a double standard exists as there have been no state investigations into Tupamaros crimes.[^97] This is despite around 4500 accused Tupamaros and their supporters having been imprisoned during the dictatorship.[^98]

CA extends this argument to deny that institutionalised state repression took place during the dictatorship and argues that the military saved Uruguay from subversion by left wing guerrilla groups like the Tupamaros throughout the 1970s and 1980s. [^99] [^100] [^101] Several prominent members of CA worked for the military authorities during the dictatorship.[^102] CA also requested that active military members be allowed to hold public office, suggesting that at least some of the active military share their beliefs, or that CA believed they would act as their political allies.[^103] This initiative was rejected - active military members are not even allowed to be members of political parties under the Political Constitution of Uruguay.[^104] Since 2020, the popularity of CA has declined, but their existence nonetheless suggests a dogma of military supremacy persists amongst some military members.[^105]

The state and the military have weaponised policy and law to evade justice. This has created an atmosphere where denialist narratives can take hold, since historical memory is withheld. This is why what one former political prisoner describes as the 'principal strategy' of Familiares, 'to light up the minds of the people', is so crucial.[^106]

After I interviewed Patricia and Graciela in May, Patricia gave me a March of Silence themed calendar. The pages were adorned with illustrations of daisies, each missing one petal, representing the desaparecidos' glaring absence from their families, but that nevertheless this absence does not erase them from the narrative. Stella had shown me her arpilleras - patchwork tapestries - of the same motif back in the UK. A week later, Stella flew out for Montevideo's March and took a photo of her, Patricia and Graciela with her arpillera. This year was both the march's 30th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the five abductions that the march honours. Thousands attended the march, which Patricia considers Familiares' key annual opportunity to build historical memory. As the public gains more historical memory through the marches and now, also through the INDDHH's investigation, advocates of the desaparecidos hope that widespread demand for prosecution will grow, too.

Developments in Justice?

On 7th July 2026, a new bill was presented to the Senate which could be a significant tool in uncovering historical memory; however, there are a few concerns it may simultaneously derail plans for military prosecution.[^107] Uruguay's ruling center-left coalition, Frente Amplio, proposed establishing judicial 'truth trials' to 'clarify human rights violations', such as those committed by state agents through the dictatorship.[^108] Senator Eduardo Brenta, the bill's primary advocate, explained that since truth trials would not provide prosecution, they could take place when regular trials are not possible.[^109] For example, when the accused has fled the country, or is deceased: according to the head of the Specialised Prosecutor's Office for Crimes Against Humanity, Ricardo Perciballe, state actors 'most responsible [for the dictatorship] have passed away unprosecuted'.[^110] [^111] As Brenta argues, uncovering their crimes, even though they cannot be prosecuted, is key to preserving 'collective memory' of the dictatorship and providing 'state recognition of the harm suffered'.[^112] However, Perciballe also pointed out that the wording of the truth trials bill places the burden of proof on the accused party, whilst a state investigation, such as via a prosecutor or a judge, is not required: 'what should be done is a serious investigation by the State, but, as it's currently drafted, it's something else entirely'.[^113] Further, although evidence from truth trials could be used in regular criminal trials, there are a few concerns that focusing on truth trials might delay regular trials that could prosecute military members who are still alive - perhaps leading to more military personnel passing away without facing justice. Nevertheless, Perciballe has indicated that the scope of truth trials is 'slim', suggesting they will not divert many resources away from prosecution of the military.[^114] Familiares are not opposed to the truth trials, though 'when the government's political will is focused on ending enforced disappearances, this would not be the most appropriate time': they do not want distraction from that political will.[^115]

Familiares are more worried by Frente Amplio's 9th of July announcement that Uruguay's Secretariat of the Human Rights of the Recent Past (SHRRP), tasked with investigating dictatorship crimes since 2003, is being subsumed into the Secretariat of Human Rights to 'strengthen internal coordination'.[^116] The government declared this 'does not imply any changes to responsibilities'; their internal reasoning is apparently that since delegating the search for the desaparecidos to the INDDHH in 2019, the SHRRP has had a reduced, supporting role.[^117] However, Familiares and Crysol (Association of Former Political Prisoners of Uruguay) declared that 'we do not believe these decisions are accidental, neutral', especially since the desaparecidos, their families, and associated organisations were not consulted beforehand.[^118] They 'will not tolerate a thematic purge that fragments, reduces or dilutes' the responsibilities that have been assumed by the state.[^119] Familiares met with the Secretariat of Human Rights and the Deputy Secretary of the Presidency on the 5th of August to discuss their concern 'about the political signal sent by this reorganisation'.[^120] [^121] Subsequently, the authorities asked for some more time to reorganise.[^122]

Frente Amplio has historically declared their alignment with Familiares' campaigns, and on the 7th of July also proposed a law suspending pensions for military fugitives from justice.[^123] [^124] However, impunity has manifested under their rule before, such as through Mota's transfer from a criminal judge position. Also, through the March 2026 proposed reform of Uruguay's criminal code, which would have enabled individuals convicted of human rights violations to petition for early release.[^125] Could the restructuring be yet another tool of absolution?

In May, Patricia from Familiares argued that the state is still not fully complying with the rulings of the IACtHR, that Uruguay must search for the desaparecidos and prosecute the perpetrators, and yet Uruguay is not facing any institutional repercussions internationally for this.[^126] Building on this, Patricia stated that international law has failed other countries besides Uruguay - 'we're seeing now in the war [between the US, Israel and Iran] the power the United Nations has ...'. Militaries around the world continue to violate human rights with only lukewarm pushback from international establishments; for this reason, Stella campaigns for Palestine alongside Uruguay. I bumped into her at a London march for Palestine last winter, where she was marching with a banner for the group 'Latin Americans Stand with Palestine'. Precisely because human rights violations persist around the world, it is key that the Uruguayan junta eventually sees justice. Patricia emphasises that strength lies in the people to bring this about:

'the greatest force that can be exerted in the case of Uruguay toward the government, the greatest pressure the government feels, is the people taking to the streets to demonstrate every May 20th; it's the people when they come together and say, "May is the month of remembrance."'

This faith in the power of the public makes sense given that the military dictatorship was brought to its knees largely through relentless pushback from the general populace. Firecrackers, sit-ins, a breakaway general, synchronised beatings of pots and pans, banned flyers from National Party politicians, hunger strikes by clerics, protest votes and parades were just some of the contributions.[^127]

Familiares pointed out on the 5th of August, following their meeting about the SHRRP's restructure, that the IACtHR ordered 'more work with the people' to provide dictatorship reparations.[^128] This perhaps has been avoided because, as Patricia argues, Uruguay's government feels pressure from the public more acutely than orders from international bodies. Likewise, for this reason Stella has remained resolute in her activism for those victimised by the dictatorship: 'I have to be the force of representation'.

Stella asserts that we all have different roles in defeating the dictatorship - from her abroad in the UK, to Mota leading the INDDHH, to the kiosk employee who saved Stella from walking into the army's clutches. And of course, Patricia and Graciela, who make sure the government does not escape scrutiny of any manoeuvre away from responsibility.

The public needs to dismantle the last bulwark of the old regime - the suppression of Uruguay's historical memory. As more time passes, it's less likely that what happened to the desaparecidos will be uncovered in the lifetimes of their loved ones. Despite that, as a past INDDHH head put it, 'if the perpetrators would talk, in a month we'd finish this matter'.[^129] It's more important now than ever that the INDDHH are able to process the military archives of the period. However, it's also crucial to push beyond this: for the Familiares' demand that all information relating to dictatorship crimes, archival or otherwise, be requested from the military. And that they and the state are subsequently held accountable for their actions -- through prosecution where at all possible. Through the collective drive to defeat impunity, people like Stella and Patricia move this needle forward.

Endnotes:

72. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/politics-and-government/military-rule-comes-democratic-uruguay
73. https://www.thedial.world/articles/news/issue-24/uruguay-disappearances
74. Ibid
75. Ibid
76. https://www.corteidh.or.cr/tablas/reparando-derechos/Caso-Maidanik-y-otros.html
77. https://apnews.com/article/2ffc628937e7595cd38b39286a382906
https://en.mercopress.com/2023/06/16/uruguayan-state-admits-guilt-in-1974-april-girls-murders/comments
78. Ibid
79. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2013/2/22/uruguays-culture-of-impunity-continues-to-rear-its-head
80. Ibid
81. Ibid
82. Ibid
83. Ibid
84. Ibid
85. Ibid
86.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344435915_Uruguay_No_Country_for_a_Military
87. https://www.nodal.am/2019/07/uruguay-se-aprueba-nueva-ley-organica-militar-que-elimina-los-tribunales-de-honor-y-la-obediencia-debida/
88. https://www.gub.uy/presidencia/comunicacion/noticias/ley-organica-militar-asegura-derechos-del-personal-subalterno-deroga
89. https://www.nodal.am/2019/07/uruguay-se-aprueba-nueva-ley-organica-militar-que-elimina-los-tribunales-de-honor-y-la-obediencia-debida/
90. https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/leyes/19775-2019/126
91. https://escuelamilitar.ejercito.mil.uy/cuerpocomando.html
92. https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/leyes/19188-2014/5
93. https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/50637/remembering-the-urugleftleft-wing-winguayan-coup
94. https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/uruguay-president-vazquez-removes-commander-of-the-army.phtml
95. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/far-right-in-latin-america/uruguay/45A523C73CCFFF62B73C71E3B6DB7479
96. https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/50-a%C3%B1os-de-declaraci%C3%B3n-de-estado-de-guerra-en-uruguay-una-herida-a%C3%BAn-abierta/47521012
97. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-16-mn-2509-story.html
98.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298955705_The_Tupamaros_and_Dictatorship_Debate_on_the_1973_Uruguay_Coup
99. https://www.180.com.uy/articulo/82743_rivera-elgue-y-roque-moreira-las-polemicas-de-cabildo-abierto-por-la-dictadura
100. https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/50-a%C3%B1os-de-declaraci%C3%B3n-de-estado-de-guerra-en-uruguay-una-herida-a%C3%BAn-abierta/47521012
101. https://nacla.org/far-right-uruguay-manini-rios/
102. https://ladiaria.com.uy/articulo/2020/10/ministerio-de-defensa-rechazo-propuesta-de-cabildo-abierto-para-que-militares-activos-puedan-ocupar-cargos-publicos/
103. https://www.refworld.org/legal/legislation/natlegbod/1966/14926
104. https://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/politica/la-salida-de-rivera-elgue-cercano-a-manini-rios-profundiza-el-desgaste-de-cabildo-tras-desplome-electoral?fbclid=IwY2xjawTtIoFwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7xAdLxiW29KRRkjGzBs3eJJ3Ti4RoEePtiJB6pFaKCADYEFrPtZ9y1ypW4tw_aem_kvGHjBatO-4LaCMjhAfPhQ&utm_campaign=mrf-facebook-elpaisuy&mrfcid=2026031369b17fdfe077e55d2a0633aa
105. https://unbiasthenews.org/mothers-on-a-mission-uruguays-movement-for-the-missing/
106. https://quatroges.com.uy/frente-amplio-propone-crear-juicios-por-la-verdad-para-esclarecer-violaciones-de-derechos-humanos/
107. https://ladiaria.com.uy/politica/articulo/2026/7/senadores-del-frente-amplio-presentaron-un-proyecto-para-establecer-los-juicios-por-la-verdad/
108. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXJOusXbos8
109. Ibid
110. https://brecha.com.uy/vuelta-de-tuerca-3/
111. https://ladiaria.com.uy/politica/articulo/2026/7/senadores-del-frente-amplio-presentaron-un-proyecto-para-establecer-los-juicios-por-la-verdad/
112. https://brecha.com.uy/vuelta-de-tuerca-3/
113. Ibid
114. Ibid
115. https://uruguayvapormas.com/2026/07/15/madres-y-familiares-cuestiona-la-unificacion-de-secretarias-de-ddhh-y-reclama-voluntad-politica-para-la-verdad-ceb8y3lzis03lf7ayfnqwlqv
116. Ibid
117. https://utopiaalsur.com/2026/07/25/familiares-y-crysol-le-piden-al-gobierno-explicaciones-por-la-fusion-de-las-secretarias-de-derechos-humanos/
118. https://utopiaalsur.com/2026/07/25/familiares-y-crysol-le-piden-al-gobierno-explicaciones-por-la-fusion-de-las-secretarias-de-derechos-humanos/
119. https://ladiaria.com.uy/politica/articulo/2026/8/madres-y-familiares-se-reunio-con-jorge-diaz-tras-la-unificacion-de-las-secretarias-de-derechos-humanos-y-del-pasado-reciente/
120. https://desaparecidos.org.uy/2026/07/ante-el-cambio-de-estructura-de-la-secretaria-de-derechos-humanos-para-el-pasado-reciente/
121. https://ladiaria.com.uy/politica/articulo/2026/8/madres-y-familiares-se-reunio-con-jorge-diaz-tras-la-unificacion-de-las-secretarias-de-derechos-humanos-y-del-pasado-reciente/
122. https://www.frenteamplio.uy/declaracion-2/
https://ladiaria.com.uy/politica/articulo/2026/7/senadores-del-frente-amplio-presentaron-un-proyecto-para-establecer-los-juicios-por-la-verdad/
123. https://ladiaria.com.uy/politica/articulo/2026/4/el-gobierno-eliminara-de-la-reforma-del-cpp-la-posibilidad-de-que-condenados-por-delitos-de-lesa-humanidad-accedan-a-la-libertad-anticipada/
124. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2011/09/uruguay-must-investigate-and-prosecute-crimes-past/
125. https://medium.com/thinkpiece-magazine/how-uruguay-ended-right-wing-dictatorship-in-85-e89fe2c35b4c
126. https://ladiaria.com.uy/politica/articulo/2026/8/madres-y-familiares-se-reunio-con-jorge-diaz-tras-la-unificacion-de-las-secretarias-de-derechos-humanos-y-del-pasado-reciente/
127. https://www.thedial.world/articles/news/issue-24/uruguay-disappearances

128. https://ladiaria.com.uy/politica/articulo/2026/8/madres-y-familiares-se-reunio-con-jorge-diaz-tras-la-unificacion-de-las-secretarias-de-derechos-humanos-y-del-pasado-reciente/

129. https://www.thedial.world/articles/news/issue-24/uruguay-disappearances

A version of this article first appeared in NACLA.

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