Click here to see the map full screen
This interactive map was developed based on data obtained from the Servicio Médico Legal (SML) (Forensic Medical Service) through the Transparency Law regarding the dead bodies admitted to the morgue in Santiago and 14 other cities in Chile between September 11 and December 31, 1973. The database totals 1,898 cases, of which 1,681 correspond to bodies admitted to the Santiago morgue (Instituto Médico Legal).
In most cases the bodies are located at the place of death or where the body was found, as registered at the SML at the time. In some cases, the location is not exact, since the indication was ambiguous or only indicated that the deceased came from a hospital or public road, without specifying the precise place of death. For this reason, there is a high concentration of victims in places such as the Posta Central. Using the zoom function of your mouse or clicking on the “plus” and “minus” signs in the upper right corner of the map will allow you to differentiate cases that are located close together. You can also use your mouse to see different geographies. Because the SML does not have the records of some large cities such as Concepción or Valparaíso, the map does not have information from those places.
The cases are represented by three differently colored icons:
- The black icons correspond to persons identified as victims of political repression in the reports of the three commissions that have classified human rights cases since 1991.[1]
- The red icons refer to persons not officially recognized as victims, but who, according to ArchivosChile’s analysis based on the data available on them (the jurisdiction of the military prosecutors’ offices over their cases, the cause and place of death, among other factors), it can be concluded with a high degree of probability that they were executed for political reasons (152 cases).
- The blue icons are indeterminate cases, where there is some indication that the case could be a victim of human rights violations.
- Cases that definitely do not correspond to political executions (such as deaths in traffic accidents) do not appear on this map.
Clicking on an icon opens a text box with the relevant data from the SML about that person. The “Remarks” field is from ArchivosChile. All information in the popups is in Spanish since the original database was in that language.
The interactive map was prepared by Gabriel Mérida using the MS Excel database provided by the SML. By cross-referencing with the Rettig Report database and other accounts, it was possible to find the cases that correspond to victims of the dictatorship. Among the technologies used, in addition to the JQuery framework, Google Maps was used to create the visualization and interaction on the map, and to geolocate the addresses where the bodies were found and transform them into an exact point, with latitude and longitude. Journalist Cecilia Vargas and journalism student Daniela Lagos collaborated in this process. In 2021, the map was updated to use the Flourish framework.
Related Articles:
- Introducción
- Vea el mapa interactivo
- Dentro del Instituto Médico Legal (I): Cadáveres al amanecer
- Dentro del Instituto Médico Legal (II): “Autopsias sucintas”
- Registro Civil: Identidades cruzadas, cuerpos sin nombre
- El agujero negro de las fiscalías militares
- Ejecutados políticos: ¿150 nuevos casos?
- El extraño caso de los dos Luis Curivil
- Base de datos: Cuerpos ingresados al Servicio Médico Legal, 1973
- El Libro Transfer del Instituto Médico Legal
