Uncomfortable memories in the Peruvian post-conflict society. Censorship and persecution in art for the historical memory between the years 2000 and 2018

Abstract

More than twenty years after the end of the internal armed conflict in Peru (1980 - 1992), the expressions and representations of that period, which differ from the official discourse, continue to be subject to veto and clamp, persecution and criminalization. This study records and presents, through the critical analysis of the discourse, how since the end of the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori and the return to the democratic system, the battle for a historical memory was censored, criminalized and even penalized as apology of the crime. To do this, creations and artistic manifestations were identified in the period fromto 2000 and 2018; which were crossed out, forbidden and their authors or promoters exposed to derision and discredit, or several of them with judicial processes. The corpus analyzed is composed of newspaper articles published in five journalistic media with national circulation between 2000 and 2018, where the discursive strategies of the media and agents of the State are analyzed. In addition to the representations that from the art in its different disciplines (visual arts, interventions, theater and cinema) one has on the war, the role of the State, the armed forces and the armed groups. The importance of this research breakthrough is justified because it contributes to the reflection and debate of collective memories in contradiction within Peruvian society, and proposes the analysis of a memory of resistance that has been little studied and made visible. It contributes to build a historical memory that adds efforts to influence policies of peace and reconciliation that benefit the people and the nation of Peru.