Amparo is called the act and result of sheltering or sheltering. This verb, which comes from the Latin word anteparāre, refers to caring, protecting or benefiting. For example: “When my parents died, I was protected by my maternal grandparents”, “Look at that dog that is in the rain: we should protect him at home”, “Syrian refugees would have to receive the protection of European countries”.
Within the group of expressions that include this word, one of the most common is under cover of, and can be seen in the first of the examples in the previous paragraph. However, it is important to note that it can also be said under the protection of, although it does not appear as often as the first one.
The most common use of the concept appears at the judicial level. A remedy of amparo, often referred to simply as amparo, is an action contemplated by various Constitutions and which allows a person to have recourse to a high court when he considers that his rights were not respected or protected by other courts.
According to DigoPaul, the remedies of protection, in this way, allow safeguarding the constitutional rights of individuals. They also protect the principles of the Constitution against eventual violations by judicial bodies or even contradictions generated by certain regulations.
Let us suppose that a soccer player is sanctioned by the Disciplinary Court of the tournament that he disputes after confirming, through an anti-doping test, that he played a game under the influence of a narcotic. The athlete, in this situation, presents an appeal for protection in Justice alleging that they are restricting his right to work and highlighting that he consumed a social drug that does not provide sports advantages. The Supreme Court, in this way, gives rise to the protection and compels the Disciplinary Court to allow the player to continue in activity.
As with any technical term, the amparo remedy receives different names, depending on the Spanish-speaking country. In Colombia, for example, it is known as a tutela action, while in Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador it is called an amparo action. This has not always been the case, since in Bolivia it used to be called amparo, but the name was replaced over time.
According to the legal perspective, scholars have different opinions about this concept. For example, there are those who reject the idea that it be considered a resource, since in such a case it should be considered within a process, instead of seeking to protect the rights of individuals, as is the case with the appeal for protection. If it were a remedy, then it would be used to correct certain inappropriate procedures or to correctly interpret the rules in force in the context of a trial.
Finally, it should be noted that Amparo is a woman’s name that is used in Spain and in several Latin American countries. The Chilean actress Amparo Noguera, the Spanish politician Amparo Valcarce and the Colombian writer Amparo Osorio are three outstanding examples.
The etymology of this proper name is no mystery, since its meaning is the same as that given by the term amparo when used as a common noun, that is, ” protection “. This leads us to one of the meanings given by the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy: «person or thing that provides protection to another».
It is interesting to think that the word amparo refers not only to the protection that someone or a law can provide us, but to the very people who provide it. In this way, we can use it as a synonym for « refuge «: «my friends have been my protection in these difficult times» or «in my childhood, books were my protection against the violence that was experienced in my house».
