The president of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, Hebe de Bonafini, died today at the age of 93, reported sources close to the human rights leader.
Bonafini had been discharged on October 13, after having been hospitalized for three days at the Italian Hospital in the city of La Plata for medical check-ups.
Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was one of the first public figures to react to the news and pay tribute:
«Dearest Hebe, Mother of Plaza de Mayo, world symbol of the fight for Human Rights, pride of Argentina. God called you on the day of National Sovereignty… it should not be a coincidence. Simply thank you and see you forever,” said the former president in a tweet.
The link established by both, after the adherence of the leader to the Kirchner efforts since 2003, seemed indestructible. In fact, in one of her last public appearances, the president of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo Association came out in defense of CFK against the Supreme Court.
“We urgently need to do something against the Supreme Court and all the judges who are committed to pardoning murderers. They not only forgive those who wanted to kill Cristina. They have been forgiving the murderers of our daughters and sons before,” Bonafini remarked during the March No. 2326 of the Mothers in the Plaza de Mayo.
That had been the first Thursday, last November 10, that Bonafini was present in the square after the health problems that led her to hospitalization.
“The doctors let me come because they know that it is also part of my health, I need the job to take care of myself, I need you to get better,” said the leader and recalled that “the comrades who took this job so many years ago gave their lives for (Juan Domingo) Perón».
Hebe María Pastor de Bonafini was born in Ensenada, Buenos Aires province, on December 4, 1928.
Hebe de Bonafini was a housewife who attended primary school alone. She married Humberto Alfredo Bonafini on December 29, 1942, at the age of 14, with whom she had three children: Jorge Omar, Raúl Alfredo and María Alejandra.2
