Traces of genocide in a genocide trial La Bomba massacre, from 1947 to 2020

Abstract

This article proposes to analyze the legal process in the case of Pilaga Genocide, ocurred in Formosa, Argentina, during October 1947. This trial, which began in 2005, consists in the investigation and prosecution of the criminal responsibility of a defendant, and the civil responsibility of the Argentine State. The civil process obtained a first instance sentence that recognized the massacre as a crime against humanity, and another sentence in the appeal chamber, that considered it as a genocide crime. Both sentences are unprecedented, since this is the first genocide process in Argentina that involved and is carried out by Indigenous Peoples, and contribute to the debate on reparations.
In this article we will observe specificities and limitations of the Argentine legal system that are evident in the asymmetric relationship between the State and the Indigenous Peoples. Stigmatization, denial, racism, violence, etc., show the updating of many of the characteristics of the genocidal social process that is being judged. For a better understanding, we will describe the historical process in which the massacre occurred, the various state appeals and the importance acquired by the trials in the disputes over memory.