The Mexican social movement Bordando por la Paz y la Memoria: Una Víctima, Un Pañuelo undertakes activism for peace and memory in a context of state and criminal violence. Their collective action includes public embroidery, reclaimed as a feminist practice, to build a community of resistance, to protest past and ongoing violence, and to counter political narratives that blame the victims of enforced disappearance. Many of the activists are not direct victims of violence but mobilise nevertheless in solidarity with the families and friends of the country’s more than one hundred thousand disappeared. My research project asks what factors motivate and sustain the participation of individuals who are not direct victims of violence in this collective action.
Weekly embroidery has been held in the plaza in Coyoacán, Mexico City, since 2012
A travel grant from SLAS allowed me to travel to Mexico for a period of fieldwork in August-September 2024. Each week during my visit I joined the public embroidery in Mexico City and was also able to join similar events in nearby Puebla. As expected, participating in these gatherings provided an important opportunity to witness first-hand the experiences and emotions of those taking part, and to gain insights into their motivations for engagement with the movement. As the 10th anniversary of the forced disappearance of 43 students from a training college in Ayotzinapa was approaching, members of the movement were embroidering portraits of each of the disappeared students, along with their names and personal information. These would then be worn by demonstrators in a march scheduled for the anniversary of the students’ disappearance.
My visit also coincided with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance. Families from across the country gathered in Mexico City to draw attention to violence and ongoing impunity, and to protest against government denial and inaction. Relatives and representatives of social movements made speeches before marching to the capital’s main square. Finally, I acquired a stronger understanding of the history of social movements in Mexico, and in particular movements related to forced disappearance by visiting key museums. The Museum of Social Movements was hosting an exhibition featuring the social movement I am working with, along with others related to forced disappearance. Another important museum for my research was the House of Memory. I spent time there with the curator finding out more about how movements related to memory evolved in Mexico, and their work from the 1970s through to the present day.
Textile banners for the march
I am extremely grateful to SLAS for granting me this funding which afforded me an invaluable, focused period of data collection. I left inspired by the many movement members who generously shared their time with me and allowed me join them in their collective activism for peace and for memory.
Pippa Cooper
PhD student at the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of London
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