Buenos Aires Herald 
October 22 isn’t just Argentina’s general election date this year. It will also mark 46 years since the founding of the Grandmothers (Abuelas) of Plaza de Mayo, the group that searches for people who were stolen from their parents as babies by Argentina’s last dictatorship.
To commemorate the date, the Abuelas are holding a special campaign using the elections to raise awareness of the fact that over 300 children of the detenidos-desaparecidos (detained and disappeared) have yet to be found.
“During the presidential election, take a photo or video with proof of having voted, upload it to your social networks and add this text and hashtags ‘October 22 — National Day of the Right to #Identidad #VotemosConIdentidad’,” the Abuelas wrote in a statement announcing the campaign, which they are calling “Votemos con Identidad” (Let’s Vote With Identity).
“Don’t forget to tag @abuelasdifusion so that there are thousands of us looking for the missing!”
October 22 is celebrated as Argentina’s National Day for the Right to Identity. The date commemorates the founding of the Abuelas and the work done to find the children of those kidnapped and killed by the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983.
The de facto government abducted around 500 babies from the people they kidnapped, giving them up for adoption with forged identities in a process known as apropriación or “appropriation.”
Thanks to the Grandmothers’ tireless campaigning, 133 grandchildren have been identified, including three in the past year. In July, the group announced they had found the son of the leftist guerrilla Julio Santucho, who is still alive, and Cristina Navajas, who was kidnapped on July 13, 1976, and remains disappeared.
In December, grandchildren 131 and 132 were identified within just eight days of each other.
The campaign comes in the context of a heated and highly-consequential election in Argentina. Far-right libertarian economist Javier Milei is leading the race after his win in the PASO primaries. His running mate, Victoria Villarruel, has been accused of denialism and recently held a tribute to “victims of terrorism,” arguing for the disproved “two demons theory” to explain the turbulent social and political situation in 1970s Argentina, before the coup.
Anyone born between 1975 and 1983 who has doubts about their identity is encouraged to contact the Abuelas via their website.
