The Andrés Pereira Salsberg Case: The Presence of the Absence of Enforced Disappearances in Chile

Abstract

This article offers an in-depth analysis of the judicial case of Andrés Pereira Salsberg. It describes the obstacles and difficulties of his relatives’ long and complex search for his whereabouts. The numerous actions, initiated in 1973, finally concluded with the Supreme Court ruling of June 14th, 2022. The relatives of the victims of enforced disappearance turned their absence into an active and sustained search for truth, justice, and reparation through the courts. This case describes the paradigm shift in the treatment of the conflictive past: The transit from the impunity of amnesty to the judicial sanction of those responsible. It illustrates the changes in the role of the Judiciary from the beginning of the transition to democracy in 1990 to the present, and the progressive recognition of the victims’ rights.