Nora Irma Morales de Cortiñas (born Nora Irma Morales; 22 March 1930 – 30 May 2024), better known as Nora "Norita" Cortiñas, was an Argentine

social psychologist Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field of ...

and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

. She was a co-founder of Mothers of Plaza de Mayo and later of Madres de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora.

Career

Cortiñas was a social psychologist and professor at the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

. From 1998, she held the chair of "Economic Power and Human Rights". Her son Gustavo Cortiñas was a member of the

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fo ...

and the

Montoneros Montoneros (, MPM) was an Argentine far-left politics, far-left Peronism, Peronist, Camilism, Camilist and Catholic Church, Roman Catholic revolutionary Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla organization, which emerged in the 1970s during the "Argentine ...

organization in the

Villa 31 Villa 31, sometimes called Barrio Padre Mugica or Barrio 31, is a large villa miseria (slum) in the Retiro area of Buenos Aires, near the local railway station. Its population is about 40,000 inhabitants, many of them immigrants from Paraguay o ...

neighborhood of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. He was arrested and disappeared in

Castelar Castelar is a city in Morón Partido (county), Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, some 30 km west of the nation's capital, the autonomous city of Buenos Aires. It is part of the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Castelar is the west ...

, Buenos Aires Province, on 15 April 1977, when he was working in the

Ministry of Economy A Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Economic Affairs, or Department of Commerce is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the economy or economic policy. List Examples of such mi ...

after having previously passed through the

National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (, mostly known for its acronym INDEC) is an Argentine decentralized public body that operates within the Ministry of Economy, which leads all official statistical activities carried out in the co ...

and the National Securities Commission, by members of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. From 1977, Cortiñas was part of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora, who demand that the authorities punish those guilty of the kidnappings, torture and

forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...

s of approximately 30,000 people during the military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. She travelled through all continents calling for solidarity with the families of the disappeared and the punishment of those guilty of

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

in their country. As a university professor, she carried out analyses and studies on the relationship between the military dictatorship,

foreign debt A country's gross external debt (or foreign debt) is the liabilities that are owed to nonresidents by residents. The debtors can be governments, corporations or citizens. External debt may be denominated in domestic or foreign currency. It incl ...

and the economic crisis in Argentina. Cortiñas showed her support for the cause of legal abortion, being a speaker at the

Ni una menos Ni una menos (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Not one

oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

less") is a Latin American Fourth-wave feminism, fourth-wave grassroots feminist movement, which started in Argentina and has spread across several Latin American countries, that camp ...

march on 4 June 2018, in favor of it. Cortiñas died on 30 May 2024 in Buenos Aires, at the age of 94.

Awards and honours

* 2000, Doctor Honoris Causa,

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

, Belgium * 2004, Doctor Honoris Causa,

National University of Salta The National University of Salta () is an Argentine public national university in Salta. It was founded on 11 May 1972 as a part of the ''Plan Taquini'', a reorganization plan for education. It has around 20,000 students. Overview The universi ...

* 2012, Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Buenos AiresLa UBA distinguió a Nora Cortiñas con el Doctorado Honoris Causa, 11 December 2012 * 2019, Doctor Honoris Causa,

National University of Entre Ríos The National University of Entre Ríos (, UNER) is an Argentine national university situated in the city of Concepción del Uruguay Concepción del Uruguay is a city in Argentina. It is located in the Entre Ríos province, on the western shore ...

* 2019, Human Rights Award from the Spanish Association for Human Rights, shared with

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza (born 3 October 1968) is a Rwanda, Rwandan politician who served as chairwoman of the United Democratic Forces of Rwanda, Unified Democratic Forces from 2006 to 2019. As an advocate for democracy and critic of Presiden ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortinas, Nora 1930 births 2024 deaths Academic staff of the University of Buenos Aires Argentine people of Catalan descent Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Activists from Buenos Aires Social psychologists