Exhumation processes in fourteen countries in Latin America

Abstract

Exhumation processes are described in fourteen Latin American countries. They have been classified into four categories: 1) collective massacres (Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and Peru, 2) persons detained and disappeared as a result of state policies (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay), 3) collective violence (Venezuela, Mexico and Panama) and 4) selective deaths under democratic regimes (Ecuador and Honduras). The events are described that made it necessary to start the exhumation process and other processes, analysing psychosocial accompaniment for relatives, whether it has been provided, and attempting to draw lessons from each experience on order to develop processes still outstanding in this and other continents.