The politics of sacrifice: symbols and myths in the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity by Javier Sicilia

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the effectiveness of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) led by Javier Sicilia in the early years of this decade. It concludes that its great impact was due to the original framework of meaning that the movement assumed and the expressive actions of meaning that it deployed; above all, ritual performances enhanced by the interpellation of the suffering of the victims and the audiences, evoking ancient and powerful symbols and myths of the universal, catholic and national tradition. They highlighted the symbol of the spilled blood and the myth of the sacrifice, which suggest the merit of a moral compensation for the suffering suffered. On the other hand, the explanatory capacity of the symbols and myths incorporated into the framework of meaning could be confirmed