Genocide in the Neighborhood: State Violence, Popular Justice, and the ‘Escrache’

Genocide in the Neighborhood explores the theories, debates, successes, and failures of a rebellious tactic to build popular power and transformative justice. It highlights the escrache, a series of public shamings that emerged in the late 1990s to honor the lives of those disappeared and exterminated under the Argentinean military dictatorship and to protest the amnesty granted to perpetrators of state violence. It also follows the popular Argentine uprising in 2001, which led to the collapse of government after government and the development of a movement of neighborhoods organizing themselves into hundreds of popular assemblies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 25 January 2024
Publisher: Common Notions

Another justice is indeed possible, as demonstrated by the compelling book Genocide in the Neighborhood. This insightful work delves into the theories, debates, successes, and failures of a revolutionary tactic aimed at building popular power and achieving transformative justice.

Genocide in the Neighborhood takes readers on a journey to explore the autonomist practice of the "escrache," a series of public shamings that emerged in the late 1990s in Argentina. These escraches were a powerful form of resistance against the Argentinean military dictatorship (1976 to 1983), which resulted in the disappearance and extermination of tens of thousands of individuals. The escraches served as a way to honor the memory of those who lost their lives and to protest the amnesty granted to perpetrators of state violence.

Through a series of hypotheses and two sets of interviews, Colectivo Situaciones sheds light on the theories, debates, successes, and failures of the escraches. The book highlights the direct and decentralized nature of these actions, which Brian Whitener defines as "something between a march, an action or happening, and a public shaming." The escraches were a powerful means of agitation for justice, as they allowed ordinary people to take matters into their own hands and demand accountability from those responsible for atrocities.

Genocide in the Neighborhood also provides a detailed account of the popular Argentine uprising in 2001, a period of intense social unrest and political creativity that led to the collapse of government after government. This uprising marked a significant turning point in Argentina's history, as ordinary people developed the power to organize themselves into hundreds of popular assemblies across the country. The unemployed took over streets, and workers occupied factories, demanding better conditions and social justice.

The events of 2001 marked a sea change for Argentina and had a profound impact on the world. Genocide in the Neighborhood investigates the nature of rebellion, discusses the value of historical and cultural memory to resistance, and offers a much-needed model of political resistance that has recently been given new life by feminist groups across Latin America organizing against patriarchal violence.

In conclusion, Genocide in the Neighborhood is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the potential for another justice and the power of resistance. This book provides a valuable insight into the theories, debates, successes, and failures of a revolutionary tactic aimed at building popular power and achieving transformative justice. It serves as a reminder that another world is indeed possible, and that ordinary people can play a vital role in shaping the future of their societies.

Weight: 192g
Dimension: 126 x 203 x 11 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781942173861