Silvia Pérez Simondini

Background & Career

Silvia Pérez Simondini is a prominent Argentine ufologist based in Victoria, a city in the province of Entre Ríos, in northeastern Argentina. For decades, she has been at the forefront of organized UFO research in South America, combining grassroots investigation with systematic advocacy for government transparency on the UFO phenomenon. Her work represents a bridge between traditional ufology and institutional reform efforts modeled on successful disclosure campaigns in Brazil and other Latin American nations.

CEFORA & Institutional Leadership

Pérez Simondini co-founded and directs CEFORA (Comisión para el Estudio del Fenómeno OVNI en la República Argentina, or Commission for the Study of the UFO Phenomenon in the Argentinean Republic), an umbrella organization that unites multiple UFO research groups across Argentina under a single institutional framework. CEFORA's stated mission is to compile credible UFO documentation and petition the Argentine government for declassification of official files related to UFO sightings and encounters. This organizational approach allows researchers from different backgrounds and regions to coordinate their efforts and pool their evidence.

In December 2010, the Argentine Air Force formally announced the creation of its own committee to study the UFO phenomenon, a development that many attributed to sustained pressure from CEFORA and Pérez Simondini's advocacy work. This represented a significant institutional acknowledgment of UFO research legitimacy within Argentina's military establishment.

Presidential Declassification Campaign (2010)

On May 13, 2010, Pérez Simondini achieved a notable diplomatic milestone when she personally delivered a ten-page CEFORA report on UFO phenomena to Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's chief of security and protocol during an official visit. The envelope contained comprehensive documentation on UFO file declassification efforts in other nations, along with a detailed list of CEFORA researchers and organizational structure. Within 48 hours, the Casa Rosada (Argentina's presidential office) acknowledged receipt and promised a formal response to CEFORA's request.

This high-level engagement demonstrated Pérez Simondini's ability to navigate political channels and present ufology as a legitimate policy matter worthy of executive consideration. Simultaneously, CEFORA launched a public signature campaign with the ambitious goal of collecting 100,000 signatures to present a UFO declassification petition to the Argentine Congress, following a model pioneered by Brazilian ufologists. This dual approach—combining top-down institutional engagement with bottom-up democratic pressure—positioned Argentina as a leading voice for transparency on UFO phenomena in Latin America.

Cattle Mutilation Research & Ongoing Work

Beyond institutional advocacy, Pérez Simondini has been actively involved in field investigations, particularly into cattle mutilation incidents throughout Argentina. She has collaborated closely with her daughter, Andrea Pérez Simondini, who is both a ufologist and a chemist—a combination that brings scientific rigor to investigations of alleged extraterrestrial phenomena. Their joint research into cattle mutilations connects these incidents to broader UFO activity patterns, examining injuries that conventional explanations (predators, disease, human vandalism) fail to account for.

Silvia's work has also extended to curating the Museo del Ovni (UFO Museum) in Victoria, which houses artifacts, documentation, and alleged evidence of UFO encounters collected over decades of research. The museum serves as both an archive and a public education center, introducing Argentine citizens to documented UFO cases and research methodologies. However, the museum drew controversy in 2024 when it was raided by local authorities, resulting in the confiscation of several items including an object described as an "alien foot." Despite this setback, the museum remains operative as a symbol of persistent ufological research in Argentina.