Corrientes teacher Nancy Godoy found dead in suspected femicide

Nancy Godoy, a 52-year-old rural teacher who had been missing since early October in Corrientes province, was found dead on Wednesday. Five people have been arrested over what police suspect was a femicide.

The case sent shockwaves through the educational community and prompted union demands for justice. The Argentine Education Workers Confederation (in Spanish, CTERA) called for a nationwide teachers’ strike and a day of mourning for Thursday.

Five people arrested Godoy served as substitute principal at Rural School No. 626 in the small town of El Malezal in the Corrientes department of Esquina. Her body was found on Wednesday after a search lasting over three weeks.

The judicial investigation seeks to determine the circumstances surrounding her death and establish the corresponding liabilities. 

Irineo Zarza, 34, a foreman at the El Curupí estate, adjacent to the rural school where Godoy worked, and Felipe Sandoval, 55, who also works as a foreman at the ranch, are the main accused. 

Rosa Leguizamón, a neighbor of the school who was among the last people claiming to see Godoy alive, and her partner Nahuel Rojas were arrested under aggravated concealment due to contradictions in his statements and alleged withholding of information. 

Ernesto Bordón, the first suspect arrested in the case, was charged with perjury.

Investigators found burned clothing — including a jacket that may have belonged to the teacher — and knives at a shack located less than 200 meters from the school where Zarza used to sleep. The items will undergo forensic analysis to determine whether they are linked to the case.

‘We are all Nancy’ Godoy was last seen on October 6. After losing contact with her, relatives launched a search that led to a formal judicial investigation. Search operations focused on fields, wetlands, and other difficult-to-access areas before her body was found.

The case has also drawn scrutiny to the working conditions of rural teachers. 

Before her disappearance, Godoy had reported maintenance issues and poor conditions at the school that hampered classes. Teachers’ unions called for the facts to be clarified and for criminal liabilities to be established.

Following confirmation of the discovery, CTERA and the Single Union of Education Workers of Corrientes (SUTECO) expressed their grief and solidarity with Godoy’s family. They also called for the case to be solved and announced union measures to highlight the demand for justice.

Buenos Aires City teachers union Ademys announced on its official X account that it’d join the strike and called for a demonstration over Nancy’s case.

“We are all Nancy,” the statement read. “We demand a full investigation and clarification. We hold provincial Governor Gustavo Valdés and President Milei’s national government responsible. We do not want one more woman to fall victim to femicide and state neglect.”

With information from Ámbito