Abstract
This paper aims to address the issue of dictatorial legacies in police institutions and practices in South America. Two key elements are identified: militarization and marginalization of the law. Then it explores some of its crucial manifestations and how they have been confronted in some contexts in the framework of the political struggles around the transition to democracy and the effects they have produced. Examples of Argentina are used with the hope to promote a comparative vision at the region. It concludes with a reflection on the dictatorial legacies, its relation with the remote past and its metamorphosis in the contemporary police institutions and practices.
Keywords:
Legacies; Dictatorships; Police; South America