Assassinations of activists in Latin America (2000–2024)

• In Event: Disrupting the Status Quo of Political Repression

Abstract

This article presents a discussion on the killings of activists in different social movements in Latin America, focusing on the period between 2000 and 2024. The approach is quantitative, using an original database on murdered feminists, as well as an expanded secondary database produced by the NGO Global Witness on assassinated socio-environmental activists. To this end, the text engages in a theoretical discussion on analytical precision regarding the terms "activism" and "repression". Subsequently, it examines the patterns and disruptions in the killings of these individuals in the region. The conclusions of this article allow us to assert that political killings follow both structural and situational timelines in these countries and disproportionately affect Indigenous and Transfeminist leaders, primarily concentrated in Brazil, Colombia, and Central America.

Author

• Simone Gomes, ufpel