ABUELAS DE PLAZA DE MAYO (grandmothers of plaza de mayo)

President Senora Marcia Isabel de Mariani and vice president Senora Estela B. Carlotto are grandmothers from Argentina whose children and grandchildren have been missing since the military coup in 1976. Their association was formed by 13 grandmothers and mothers as a result of the systematic kidnappings which they estimate have taken hundreds of children and 30,000 people in total. The junta government's repression has reached all classes, ages, and ideological backgrounds, Mariani said. The Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo have received signed affadavits from grandmothers and other relatives and documents of the existence of grandchildren. Though new cases come to their attention daily, Mariani said she believes many people have not come forward, fearful of the junta's secret police.