FROM DISPOSSESSION TO REPARATION: YOYES THIRTY YEARS AFTER HER DEATH

Abstract

Thirty years after the death of Yoyes in 1986, time has provided new historical and theoretical frameworks to address the symbolic and political implications involved in her assassination. A new socio political climate has favored an ethical approach to the victims of ETA which has partially replaced the previous indifference and neglect exhibited by a large part of Basque society. The present article explores the condition of the historical figure of Yoyes under the perspective of her activity as a political militant and studies the exposure of the ex-militant upon her return home. She incarnated the inassimilable presence of a female ETA leader who decided to abandon the organization and become a mother. Following Judith Butler and Athena Athanasiou (2013), the logic of dispossession is studied, and responsiveness as responsibility is offered as the ethical manner in which Yoyes should be considered under the category of ETA’s victims.