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| Artists depict the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo during the 43rd anniversary of the 1976 military coup d'état. |
Argentina's Armed Forces seized power from Isabel Perón on March 24, 1976, leaving in their wake some of history's worst recorded human rights crimes.
Streets and plazas across Argentina were flooded with people on Sunday, as the country commemorated the 43rd anniversary of the 1976 coup d'état that brought to power a military dictatorship responsible for some of the worst recorded human rights abuses of the last century.
As in previous years, the 43rd anniversary featured two near simultaneous marches. On the one hand, human rights groups like the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo and Mothers of Plaza de Mayo-Founding Line, aligned with the former Kirchner governments; and on the other, leftist groups associated under the umbrella of Encounter for Memory, Truth and Justice (EMVJ), an independent human rights coalition.
Argentina's Armed Forces seized power from Isabel Perón on March 24, 1976, leaving in their wake some of history's worst recorded human rights crimes.
"This is not a date for celebration, instead it's for remembrance", said the president of Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo Estela de Carlotto, who read the official document prepared by human rights groups.
The anniversary of the coup, she said, "should bring answers.
"Society should not remain in the dark about such a serious part of its history, which was totally clandestine. And for this reason, this darkness and uncertainty has worn us down for so many years. But there is persistence and heirs to continue this fight", she added.
"We're certain that the coming generations will continue with these demands".
Carlotto praised the work of the courts in trying human rights abusers but took aim at those responsible for the dictatorship.
"All those responsible for this genocide are being tried in regular courts with the right to a defence. They do not confess nor show remorse, and they promise to do what they did all over again if it were necessary", Carlotto lamented.
Relatives of the disappeared carried a large blue banner with the faces of their missing loved ones, including some of the last surviving Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.
The march was heavily political, with continuous chanting heard throughout the day against the Mauricio Macri government.
In attendance were La Matanza Mayor Veronica Magario, Esteban Echeverria Mayor Fernando Garay, Malvinas Argentinas Mayor Leonardo Nardini, lawmaker Fernando Espinoza, and the former Speaker of the Lower House Julian Dominguez.
For their part, the Kirchnerite youth movement, La Campora, led by lawmaker Maximo Kirchner and former Economy minister Axel Kiciloff marched in a procession from the ex ESMA torture centre in Belgrano to Plaza de Mayo.
Cristina Fernandez herself watched the event from her television screen in the Recoleta neighbourhood, where she spent part of her time tweeting against the Macri government.
Among leftist leaders in attendance were Nestor Pitrola, Alejandro Bodart and Myriam Bregman.