El presente trabajo estudia el caso de Francisco Buendía, un poblador de la microcuenca de San Miguel, en la provincia de La Mar (Ayacucho), desaparecido por Sendero Luminoso en 1984. A partir de la propuesta teórica de Stathis N. Kalyvas, reconstruye las dinámicas locales subyacentes al caso, que se engarzaron con el conflicto armado interno. Para encontrar dichas dinámicas, recurre a los recuerdos y silencios de los familiares y a la información que revelan los documentos notariales y judiciales y que la memoria precisamente intenta esconder. Muestra que las dinámicas locales contienen disputas que tienen que ver con el proceso de reestructuración de la tierra que en la localidad viene desde el siglo XIX. Dichas disputas finalmente devinieron en políticas, ocasionando la desaparición del referido Buendía. / This paper studies the case of Francisco Buendía, a man of San Miguel, in the province of La Mar (Ayacucho), who was disappeared by Sendero Luminoso in 1984. From Stathis N. Kalyvas’ theoretical offers, it reconstructs the secret microdynamics of the case, which they connected with the armed internal conflict. To find these local dynamics, one resorts to the remembrances and silences of the Buendía’s relatives and to the information that reveal the notarial and judicial documents that the memory tries to hide. This paper shows that the local dynamics contain disputes that they have to see with the process of restructuring of the land that in the locality comes from the 19th century. The disputes finally developed intopolicies, causing the disappearance of Buendía.

In 2016, the case of Sepur Zarco in Guatemala marked the first time that a national jurisdiction recognized sexual violence in the context of armed conflict as a crime against humanity. This occurred in a case concerning indigenous women, within a country profoundly marked by gender-based violence and indigenous peoples’ marginalization. In order to account for the lack of reconciliation that has led to the present prevalence of sexist and racial discrimination, this study analyzes it as a transitional justice case. Through an impact evaluation, it interrogates the effectiveness of the legal path for victim-survivors, for rewriting historical narratives, and for promoting reconciliation. The qualitative indicators used include secondary data and interviews conducted with those who worked on the case. Findings suggest that although transitional justice legal cases are often met with backlash, they also empower social movements that promote democracy. The benefits tied to the legal tool, however, are conditional to the use of adequate strategies, which include active victims’ participation and the use of international standards. Moreover, successful cases require a legitimate national legal system that considers its population’s needs.