Throughout the world, thousands of children were stolen and then adopted irregularly, starting in the 1960s. In Latin America, virtually all countries have experienced child trafficking, especially adopted in North America and Europe. . These children, now adults, have never received an answer to their questions, neither in their country of origin nor in that of adoption, coming up against the inaction of States to recognize their situation.
But in Chile and Guatemala, recent statements by Presidents Gabriel Boric and Bernardo Arevalo, described as“historical” by adoptee associations, could mark a decisive turning point. The two left-wing heads of state recently raised the subject of illegal adoptions publicly. A first.
Saturday 1er June, Gabriel Boric thus recognized that adoptions “forced or irregular” in Chile may have affected more than 20,000 people from the 1960s to the end of the 1990s. “This is very serious and little is known about it”he underlined during his annual speech at the “Cuenta Publica”, where the president takes stock of his actions of the previous year and announces his future policy, a well-attended speech.
law of silence
The declaration was received with relief by the associations. For Marisol Rodriguez Valenzuela, president of the Hijos y Madres del Silencio (“children and mothers of silence”) foundation, this is a game-changer. “Before, it was taboo, we didn’t talk about this child trafficking. Now, with what the president said, we can no longer turn a blind eye. This opens the door to continuing to demand justice.”she rejoices.
This law of silence, which has lasted for decades, is largely explained by state connivance in this traffic, although the adoptions – which were produced during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), but not only – were managed by private agencies.
“Important people within the state were involvedexposed Marisol Rodriguez Valenzuela. There were judges, lawyers, social workers, doctors… People who are still influential today. » At the time, a commonly used technique, in Chile as in Guatemala, was to make mothers in the hospital believe that their child was dead.
A juicy business
During his speech on 1er June, Gabriel Boric announced the creation of an interinstitutional office for ” to land “ this subject, families “needing support to find themselves and know their own history and identity”. But for the moment, the activist is not yet declaring victory. Indeed, this is not the first time that justice and state aid have been promised to Chile, without ever having been followed by concrete progress. A judicial investigation, set up in 2018, has stalled, even if a recent change of judge could resolve the situation.
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