How successful have Truth and Reconciliation Commissions been in advancing democratic values in Latin America?

The limitations which marked the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in Argentina, Chile and – to a lesser extent – Peru can be explained by the ongoing legacy of the military regimes, restricting each Commission’s legal power and creating fear that too much exposure of the past could cause further political conflict or even repeated military coups. Despite falling short of many of their official aims, the Commissions were nonetheless successful for their symbolic value as contributors to greater transparency regarding the past and increasing concern to prevent such injustices in the future. In collaboration with other measures or organisations such as the Chilean judiciary system, the Peruvian press, and civil institutions in all three countries, the Commissions worked to uncover evidence, punish crimes, promote restoration methods and allow freedom of expression in the media and culture. The unprecedented nature of such measures, in countries so scarred by a recent history of oppression and secrecy, contributed further to the prominence of the successes of each Commission ahead of their failures. Most of all, the sense of growing respect for the day to day concerns of civilians and the increasing commitment to involve them in political life underpinned each of the democratic values advanced by the Commission, justifying further their predominant successes.