4.8. Engineering developments contributing to the study of Latin American documents of the repression. Experiencies form Argentina, Chile, México and Uruguay.
Experiences will be shared by research groups working in four countries of Latin America (LA) that have worked on creating computational tools for the study of archives generated during periods of repression that affected the region. LA experienced periods of extreme repression, especially in the second half of the 20th century, when many countries were under military dictatorships. Although most countries in the region now have democratic regimes, certain repressive practices (such as forced disappearances) continue to exist in many cases. The post-dictatorship transition processes did not allow full knowledge of what happened, due to agreements that restricted access to the archives or because of technical difficulties related to the poor condition of some documents or their volume. The conservation and study of this type of material has not been adequately supported by the state, making the role of human rights organizations and universities fundamental. The archives of the repressive government agencies remain difficult to access, even after more than 50 years since the events. Presentations focus on Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, highlighting the period when the ominous Plan Condor was in place, coordinating the repressive apparatus in the Southern Cone of LA. Another presentation refers to disappearances in Mexico, a country with a very different political system, which experienced repressive practices that were similar in many cases. This panel brings together ongoing research by engineers (computing, electrical engineering, and data science) to build tools that use the latest available technologies to help explore various types of documents (typed, printed, and images) and shed light on what happened. Technical aspects of the developments will be presented, along with the difficulties faced in each case, considering the very different national realities. The objective is to generate a dialogue to join forces in the search for truth and justice.
Víctor Mireles, Centro de Investigaciones Interdisciplinarias en Ciencias y Humanidades, UNAM. México
"Memory Against Déjà Vu"
In Mexico, more than 1,300 people were disappeared by state agents between 1964 and 1985 as part of counterinsurgency operations. In the last 20 years, more than 100,000 other people have been victims of disappearance. By analyzing documents, testimonies, and investigations related to counterinsurgency, it is possible to shed light on the mechanisms of this cycle of detention and disappearance, clarify the whereabouts of victims, and eventually bring those responsible to justice. The computational methods developed for this analysis can, in turn, be used to streamline the search and investigation processes for more recent cases.
Here, we will present some of the developments and methods that have been used in Mexico to study the systematic repression between 1964 and 1985, including computational ontologies, knowledge graphs, and document annotation systems. Subsequently, we will discuss the application of these systems to contemporary cases of disappearance, the additional needs identified, and subsequent technological developments, including new ontologies, connections to databases, extensive use of artificial intelligence techniques, and new graph exploration systems.
Domingo Mery, Pontificia Universidad Católica De Chile "Computational Models and Fragmented Archives: Historiographical Approaches to Memory and Documentation of the Chilean Dictatorship" This presentation introduces a research project that explores how computational models and Artificial Intelligence (AI) transform the historiographical study of the Chilean dictatorship (1973–1990). The work addresses the fragmentation of archives—spanning judicial, governmental, international, and civil society records—by employing a hybrid methodology that combines historical interpretation with computational analysis. The project uses techniques such as natural language processing, entity extraction, and knowledge graph construction to connect dispersed evidence and identify patterns of interaction among actors, institutions, and events. Instead of automating historical interpretation, this study examines how AI tools facilitate the reconstruction of documentary continuities that support historical narratives. The research argues that computational models serve as epistemic mediators, expanding historians’ capacity to analyze large-scale, heterogeneous corpora while preserving human oversight and contextual judgment. The findings contribute to the historiography of the dictatorship by proposing new ways to work with damaged or dispersed sources and by reflecting on the epistemic implications of computational mediation in historical inquiry. In conversation with other Latin American initiatives in this panel, this work highlights the intersection of technology, law, and memory in documenting human rights violations.
Lorena Etcheverry, Instituto de Computación, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de la República, Uruguay
"CRUZAR project, an attempt to build tools to decode the archives of the Uruguayan dictatorship"
The latest advances in the work being carried out by CRUZAR-Ingeniería will be presented. This project involves teachers, students, graduates, and volunteers linked to the Institutes of Computing and Electrical Engineering, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Faculty of Social Sciences, all part of the University of the Republic. Over the course of more than seven years, this group has developed various tools, including LUISA (which allows for the collaborative transcription of documents from the Berrutti Archive), LUZ (a database that allows for the organization and access of documents from the Berrutti Archive), AMALIA (a tool for qualitative analysis of data from the Berrutti Archive), and a system for locating stamps printed on documents in the Berrutti Archive in order to incorporate that information as metadata. The group has worked on data preprocessing, document classification, extraction of relevant information, and transcription, among other tasks. One result of this work has been the Luisa Cuesta Repository, an institutional service that offers the public access to processed documents from the archives of the recent past. As part of this effort, undergraduate, master's, and doctoral theses have been developed, and papers have been published.
New documentary collections have recently been added, including the archives of Naval Intelligence, the Prefecture, and others. This represents a step forward in creating a repository with various archives related to the dictatorship and developing tools for their analysis and public availability.
Edgar Altszyler, Quantit / UBA "AI for Memory, Truth, and Justice: Supporting Abuelas’ Mission" The investigation team of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo works daily to build up cases of child appropriation during Argentina’s last dictatorship by cross-referencing information from diverse sources. These include public and private archives, historical documents, and—most crucially—testimonies gathered over decades, often given anonymously by witnesses at Abuelas. This presentation discusses how state-of-the-art artificial intelligence tools can support and accelerate this complex investigative process. By applying techniques such as Named Entity Recognition, Information Retrieval, and Large Language Models, we aim to facilitate the identification of connections across fragmented data, highlight new lines of inquiry, and strengthen evidentiary work. This initiative exemplifies how computational methods can serve the broader pursuit of memory, truth, and justice, contributing to Abuelas’ ongoing mission.
Aiala Rosá, Ignacio Ramírez, Gabriel Gómez, Elina Gómez Jocelyn Dunstan, Domingo Mery, Hugo Rojas
20260729T173020260729T1900America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires4.8. Engineering developments contributing to the study of Latin American documents of the repression. Experiencies form Argentina, Chile, México and Uruguay.SV406 (ART)MSA Buenos Aires 2026buenosairesconference@memorystudiesassociation.org
