Campo Algodonero in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, is the memorial site for hundreds of women who have died during the past two decades. The Algodonero became an important site after eight women were found dead in 2001. This memorial site was recently created after the verdict of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights against the State of Mexico in regards to the case of the Algodonero field where eight women were found dead. The memorial site includes a statue of a woman, made by Veronica Leiton, and multiple pink crosses that represent the women who were found. Campo Algodonero serves as a standing symbol of memory that dwells in the lives of all of the victims’ families who refuse to stay quiet and who are constantly in the middle of controversy.
History
In the border city of Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico, over 1,900 people have died in 2019 alone. And over the past three decades, hundreds of them have been women. When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed major corporations began the establishment of maquiladoras in Cd. Juarez. The maquiladoras generated job opportunities for men and women who began working inside and outside the factories. Maquiladora jobs were usually long shifts that ended late at night when women are vulnerable to sexual harassment, rape and death. Cd. Juarez then became the city where violence is at its highest peak because of the drug war and many other factors. Maquiladora women workers are not the only ones affected by the violence. The majority of those murdered and who disappeared are women and girls who work at local retail, students, teachers, and sex workers. Many people began calling this situation a feminicide because of the degree of violence and high numbers of dead women in Juarez. Nearly a decade since the first body was found dead and with signs of torture, the international human rights system responded to public demands for justice. In 2002, petitions against the state of Mexico were presented to the Inter-American Human Rights court (IAHRC). It took the court approximately seven years to come up with a verdict. In April 2009, the Inter-American Human Rights court ruled that the state of Mexico was accountable for the murders, ordering the government to pay the legal cost of the victims’ families, reopen investigations about the murder cases, and investigate those government officials who were once accused of obstructing justice. The IAHRC also obligated the state to build a memorial site. "
Timeline
November 6, 2001 In an open field known as "Campo Algodonero" the bodies of eight women who appeared to have been raped and tortured were found. The identified women were: Esmeralda Herrera Monreal, Laura Berenice Ramos Monárrez, Claudia Ivette González, María de los Ángeles Acosta Ramírez, Mayra Juliana Reyes Solís, Merlín Elizabeth Rodríguez Sáenz, and María Rocina Galicia. These girls ranged from 15 to 19 years old." March 2002 Three of the victims' mothers, Irma Monreal Jaime, Benita Monarrez, Josefina Gonzalez present a petition against the state of Mexico to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. " February 4, 2005 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights admitted individual petitions of Esmeralda, Claudia Ivette, y Laura Berenice. November 4, 2007 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights filed the lawsuit against the state of Mexico. April 20, 2009 The mothers of the victims of femicide traveled to Chile for a trial against the state of Mexico. The mothers under The Inter-American Commission argued that the deaths of the women were not investigated correctly and well. November 2009 The Inter-American Human Rights Court ruled in the case of Campo Algodonero v. Mexico. The court declared Mexico responsible for the murders of three young women. The court then ordered that the government pay the victims’ families compensation and hold a ceremony to apologize. In addition, it was ordered that the government build a memorial to the victims. November, 201 Years after the ruling against the state of Mexico, Campo Algodonero became an "official memorial" funded by the government after the international court found Mexico guilty of neglecting the femicide in Ciudad Juarez. During the inauguration, Deputy Government Secretary Felipe Zamora, representing President Felipe Calderon, gave a public apology for the government's failure to prevent the killings of the women. However, the ceremony was interrupted by the victims’ relatives who showed up with candles, banners, and photographs of the dead and missing young women.