La Burocracia del Terror: Lo que revelan los documentos notariales sobre las adopciones internacionales en Guatemala. Research Brief

Abstract

This research brief (in Spanish) examines the origins and development of international adoptions in Guatemala, focusing on evidence found in notarial records. Through an archival review of legal, judicial and notarial documentation, the study identifies new evidence on the chronology of international adoptions, the actors and institutions involved, the mechanisms through which adoptions were processed, and the economic relationships surrounding these practices.

The research finds that notarial records reveal a broader documentary universe than previously identified through state administrative records, including adoption-related documents from 1979 and 1980. It also identifies different forms of participation by private organisations and individuals, as well as contractual and patrimonial relationships requiring further investigation.

The study situates these findings within Guatemala’s history of internal armed conflict and serious human rights violations and highlights the relevance of archival research to processes of truth, justice, memory and reparation. It provides new evidence and research questions for further academic and case-based investigation.

The research was produced within the framework of the Global Campus Alumni Cross-Regional Projects 2025–2026, in partnership with Right Livelihood.