| Revision as of 11:24, 6 July 2005 editMarianocecowski (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users19,959 edits Cat← Previous edit | Revision as of 16:57, 6 August 2005 edit undoPablo-flores (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users11,695 edits major update, de-stubbifyingNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| '''Juan Carlos Blumberg''' is an |
'''Juan Carlos Blumberg''' is an ] textile engineer, father of the late ], an engineering student kidnapped and murdered in ]. He was named ''Humanitarian of the Year'' by the ''LatinTrade'' magazine the same year for his campaign ''Crusade for Axel''. | ||
| At the time of the kidnapping, ] was in the midst of a wave of kidnappings, many of them ending in murder or in the disappearance of the victims, and often remaining unsolved after badly conducted investigation. A large portion of Argentine society viewed (and still views) the police forces as corrupt and inefficient, political leaders as unsupportive, and penal laws excessively lenient; in this context, Axel Blumberg's murder caused an uproar and was the catalyzer for massive demonstrations, protesting this perceived impunity and supporting Axel's father in his search for justice. The first such demonstration gathered about 200,000 people. | |||
| Juan Carlos Blumberg claimed he wanted justice for his son's murderers, but even more importantly, a working system to insure that such crimes stopped being common and that criminals were punished. He quickly became a model for victims' suffering families, and a media icon. The latter role brought upon him a large amount of media sentimentalism and sensationalism. Soon he also took a political stance, directly asking for legislators to harden crime laws he saw as sparing certain criminals from rightful punishment. | |||
| Very soon, ] political and ideological leaders took advantage of Blumberg's denunciations to criticize the policies of the national and local governments. Encouraged by this, Blumberg demanded to be received by the legislative chamber of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, and upon being invited, he gave a speech with his proposals. The legislators swiftly passed amendments to the penal laws as requested, which was later criticized as simply pandering to public opinion and introducing unsystematic changes for media effect only. | |||
| Finally, Axel Blumberg himself was somehow forgotten by the public opinion, and the issue became increasingly politicized. As the wave of kidnappings abated, however, the media focus shifted elsewhere. | |||
| Blumberg's association with traditional right-wing ] ideology, coupled with his demands and denunciations, have caused him to become unpopular in the eyes of many Argentines. On one occasion he commented that ] organizations support the criminals' human rights, yet that they had not supported him in his crusade. This complaint was not well received. | |||
| When he attended a support demonstration for the people dead in the fire of the '']'' disco, he found a hostile reception, including shouts accusing him of being "a ] and a ]". (, ) | |||
| The last demonstration organized by Blumberg, on 23 March 2005, was only attended by about one thousand people. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * | * | ||
| * (in Spanish) | |||
| {{bio-stub}} | |||
| {{Argentina-bio-stub}} | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 16:57, 6 August 2005
Juan Carlos Blumberg is an Argentine textile engineer, father of the late Axel Blumberg, an engineering student kidnapped and murdered in March 2004. He was named Humanitarian of the Year by the LatinTrade magazine the same year for his campaign Crusade for Axel.
At the time of the kidnapping, Buenos Aires was in the midst of a wave of kidnappings, many of them ending in murder or in the disappearance of the victims, and often remaining unsolved after badly conducted investigation. A large portion of Argentine society viewed (and still views) the police forces as corrupt and inefficient, political leaders as unsupportive, and penal laws excessively lenient; in this context, Axel Blumberg's murder caused an uproar and was the catalyzer for massive demonstrations, protesting this perceived impunity and supporting Axel's father in his search for justice. The first such demonstration gathered about 200,000 people.
Juan Carlos Blumberg claimed he wanted justice for his son's murderers, but even more importantly, a working system to insure that such crimes stopped being common and that criminals were punished. He quickly became a model for victims' suffering families, and a media icon. The latter role brought upon him a large amount of media sentimentalism and sensationalism. Soon he also took a political stance, directly asking for legislators to harden crime laws he saw as sparing certain criminals from rightful punishment.
Very soon, right-wing political and ideological leaders took advantage of Blumberg's denunciations to criticize the policies of the national and local governments. Encouraged by this, Blumberg demanded to be received by the legislative chamber of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, and upon being invited, he gave a speech with his proposals. The legislators swiftly passed amendments to the penal laws as requested, which was later criticized as simply pandering to public opinion and introducing unsystematic changes for media effect only.
Finally, Axel Blumberg himself was somehow forgotten by the public opinion, and the issue became increasingly politicized. As the wave of kidnappings abated, however, the media focus shifted elsewhere.
Blumberg's association with traditional right-wing middle class ideology, coupled with his demands and denunciations, have caused him to become unpopular in the eyes of many Argentines. On one occasion he commented that human rights organizations support the criminals' human rights, yet that they had not supported him in his crusade. This complaint was not well received.
When he attended a support demonstration for the people dead in the fire of the República Cromañón disco, he found a hostile reception, including shouts accusing him of being "a Nazi and a fascist". (, )
The last demonstration organized by Blumberg, on 23 March 2005, was only attended by about one thousand people.