Statement in tribute to Dr. Oscar Correas

On April 27th, Dr. Oscar Correas passed away. His death is a great loss for critical legal thought; he was a mentor to many in Latin America, founder of the Critical Legal Studies movement, and one of the foremost Marxist legal analysts.

Of Argentine nationality, from the city of Córdoba, where he graduated as a lawyer, he had to emigrate in the 70s to Mexico, due to political persecution, threatened by the criminal Triple A.

He holds a Master's degree in Social Sciences from the Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico; a Doctorate in Law from the University of Saint Etienne, France; and was a professor and researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico until his death. He specialized in the areas of philosophy of law, legal sociology, and human rights.

In 1983, he founded and directed the prestigious journal of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, "Crítica Jurídica. Revista Latinoamericana de Política, Filosofía y Derecho" (Legal Criticism. Latin American Journal of Politics, Philosophy and Law); and he organized and presided over the "Latin American Congresses of Legal Criticism" which, from the 80s to the present, have become benchmark forums for discussion and production of critical knowledge throughout Our America. 

The approach to Law that Dr. Correa developed revealed its ideological character and its discourse of power that reinforces and reproduces the capitalist mode of production.

At his urging, the first CLACSO Working Group on Legal Critique was formed in 2013, co-coordinated with Dr. Beatriz Rajland. The Working Group continued with the same vigor and commitment to unveiling the nature of hegemonic law, critiquing it, and overcoming it in light of profound systemic economic, political, and social changes. This Working Group's teachings and contributions to date are presented under the title: "Legal critique and sociopolitical conflicts."

The study and Marxist theory of Latin American legal practice has lost one of its bastions with the passing of Dr. Oscar Correas (1943-2020).

May 2th
CLACSO Working Group
Legal critique and sociopolitical conflicts

This statement expresses the position of the Working Group on Legal Critique and Sociopolitical Conflicts and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.