Keywords
Latin America
Displaced Archives
Archives Claims
How to Cite
Abstract
This paper offers an initial exploration of the phenomenon of displaced archives in Latin America. It begins with a survey on archive claims conducted in 2024 by María Cristina Betancur for the Expert Group on Shared Archival Heritage and published by the International Council on Archives in 2025. First, it presents some international background on displaced archives and a theoretical approach to the topic. It continues with the methodology, which is grounded in qualitative research, documentary research, and survey techniques. It presents the survey results: 303 visits to the form, 22 completed forms, five potential claims, and two valid or sufficiently documented cases for analysis. Based on these results, it offers an interpretation of the widespread silence surrounding displaced archives in Latin America. It concludes, among other points, that there is a need to develop a situated and contextualized research program that critically examines the displacement of archives and promotes the development of interpretive frameworks linked to Latin American archival histories and traditions.
Received: 9 de February de 2026
Accepted: 29 de June de 2026
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