Presentation

20 years after the CVR report

Abstract

This special issue commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report with the aim of reflecting on the relevance of its findings, the ongoing importance of its recommendations, and the challenges our post-conflict society faces in consolidating democracy. The TRC report is based on more than 17,000 testimonies that recount violent practices and degrading discourses which, carried out in the name of the "revolution" or "pacification," reveal a deeply authoritarian and dehumanizing political culture.

The report also puts forward a series of recommendations advocating for policies to strengthen the rule of law, provide reparations for victims, and ensure non-repetition—measures intended to help establish a new social pact grounded in democratic principles and respect for human rights. However, this anniversary year begins with violent, anti-democratic acts and human rights violations committed by the state, which confirm that we have learned little from our violent past.

In this context, Revista Argumentos presents a collection of articles that, through new perspectives and evidence, seek to combat forgetfulness and reflect on the relationship between this past and our present. Each article touches on multiple dimensions, but they can be grouped into four themes: those that expand knowledge about the past of the internal armed conflict (Sofia Macher, Carolina Garay, Valerie Robin Azevedo); those that focus on the current context to address various issues and consequences in our post-conflict society (Carolina Garay, Mercedes Figueroa, Valerie Robin Azevedo); articles that explicitly connect the past with the present, identifying continuities or similarities (Lurgio Gavilán, Karla Valery Maco Palacios, Alexander Benites, Paola Velarde, and Iris Jave); and finally, those that address memorialization processes and their impact on society and politics (Ludmila da Silva Catela, Alexandra Hibbett).