The political situation in Guatemala

[Guerilla22]

I spent my summer in Guatemala this past year. I attended emersion school in the old colonial city, Antigua. I did some travelling around the country and I even visited the lake that Che visited when he was living there, Lago Atitlan. It's definitely a beautiful country, however it's not the countryside that grabs yourr attention so much, it's the immense poverty that the people of Guatemala live in, especialy the indigeneous Mayans that inhabit the small villages and shanty towns.

What I saw was the effects of 36 years of civil war on a people that has also lived under brutal oppression at the hands of military dictatorships over the last 50 years. What happened in Guatemala back in 1954, isn't all that well known to most of the world. Problay because the US government has tried to hide the truth about Guatemala ever since '54.

You see, Guatemala held free elcetions in 1952, with an agrarian reformist named Jacobo Arbenz winning the elction. Arbenz went on to try to implement agrarian reform, which would have required those who owned large quantites of land to give up a certain amount, the land would then inturn be handed over the civllians so that they could grow their own food and not have to rely on purchasing expensive food from the stores.

This directly affected the United Fruit Company (Chiqita bannana) who cried "communist!" to the US government. The Dulles brothers, who were the head of the CIA and the Sec. of State pushed for US intervention (possibly because they both owned large shares of United Fruit)

To get to the point, the CIA planned and carried out a coup in '54, which ran Cruz out of office and place a military dictatorship in place. What followed next was 40 some years of crimes against humanity that were carried out against the Guatemalan people, especially the indigeneous people, who were slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands.

A peace treaty in '94 led to free elections, however in '98 Vincent Parillo, who is a cousin of the military dictator, Rios Mont, who was responsible for thousands of kidnappings, torture and mass murder in the 80's, won the election under the FRG party (Guatemalan Republican Front) Parillo pushed a right-wing agenda, which solely benifited the few wealthy indivduals of Guatemala and while the murders stopped, corruption soared.

The already impoverished Guatemalan people, were now losing social aid, because Parillo was busy squandering it, using it for personal expenses. After only being in Guatemala for a few days, I came to understand that the people hated Parillo, and were frustrated at the right-wing policies of the government, which ignored them even as most of them lived in unbelievable poverty.

I visted some of the little pueblos, that were inhabited by the Mayans. In their villages I found that Parillo's party, the FRG was going around spray painting "FRG" all over everything from houses to moutain sides, to curbs. The guy, who's house I stayed at told me that they do that as a method of intimidation.

I also fund out that he people were quite scarred. The presidential elections were coming up that fall and Rios Montt, the murderous, former dictator was running under the FRG ticket (you are limited to one term in office in Guatemala because those who got into office tended to stay for prolonged periods of time.

I was relieved when my maestra from the school I wen to e-mailed me, overjoyed that Montt hadn't even won one of the two spots in the preliminary election. I was overjoyed to.

However the guy who did win, Oscar Berger is a conservative, who wants to push a free trade agenda in Guatemala, opening the doors to the Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA) and giant US corporations. So the situation still is not going to improve for the long oppressed peoples of Guatemala. Meanwhile, charges of crimes against humanity charges are being brought up against Montt, for the disappearance, deaths of 200,000 in the span of one '81-82.

[LuZhiming]

Yep, that's a pretty decent way to sum it up. Guatemala has probably been hit harder than any other nation in Latin America as the result of U.S. intervention.

[Inti]

It goes from Guatemala to Guatepeor.. Its just to lament.. But history will tell and I hope that Guatemala will get up on its feet together with the rest of latinamerica.

[Marxist in Nebraska]

Guerilla22,

A pretty good description... but the elected president of Guatemala during until 1954 was Jacobo Arbenz, not Cruz.

Guatemala has arguably the bloodiest history of any Latin American country in the last half-century, and much of that is due to the foreign policy of the United States.

On U.S. media distorting the crimes of the Guatemalan state during the late '70s and early '80s, I would recommend Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent. Supposedly "liberal" newspapers like the New York Times insisted that the blood-soaked, U.S.-friendly military dictatorships of Guatemala and El Salvador were "moving toward democracy", while the Sandinistas of Nicaragua were a horrible totalitarian regime. This despite Nicaragua being more democratic and much less repressive than its neighbors, the U.S.'s darling police states.

Latin America has paid an unbearable toll for being so close to the United States geographically. The U.S. has claimed imperial control over the Western Hemisphere for 200 years... going back to the Monroe Doctrine.

[Agent provocateur]

Originally posted by [email protected] 4 2004, 05:45 AM
I spent my summer in Guatemala this past year. I attended emersion school in the old colonial city, Antigua. I did some travelling around the country and I even visited the lake that Che visited when he was living there, Lago Atitlan. It's definitely a beautiful country, however it's not the countryside that grabs yourr attention so much, it's the immense poverty that the people of Guatemala live in, especialy the indieneous Mayans that inhabit the small villages and shanty towns.

What I saw was the effects of 36 years of civl war on a people that has also lived under brutal oppression at the hands of military dictatorships over the last 50 years. What happened in Guatemala back in 1954, isn't all that well known to most of the world. Problay because the US government has tried to hide the truth about Guatemala ever since '54.

You see, Guatemala held free elcetions in 1952, with an agrarian reformist named Jacobo Cruz winning the elction. Cruz went on to try to implement agrarian reform, which would have required those who owned large quantites of land to give up a certain amount, the land would then inturn be handed over the civllians so that they could grow their own food and not have to rely on purchasing expensive food from the stores.

This directly affected the United Fruit Company (Chiqita bannana) who cried "communist!" to the US government. The Dulles brothers, who were the head of the CIA and the Sec. of State pushed for US intervention (possibly because they both owned large shares of United Fruit)

To get to the point, the CIA planned and carried out a coup in '54, which ran Cruz out of office and place a military dictatorship in place. What followed next was 40 some years of crimes against humanity that were carried out against the Guatemalan people, especially the indigeneous people, who were slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands.

A peace treaty in '94 led to free elections, however in '98 Vincent Parillo, who is a cousin of the military dictator, Rios Mont, who was responsible for thousands of kidnappings, torture and mass murder in the 80's, won the election under the FRG party (Guatemalan Republican Front) Parillo pushed a right-wing agenda, which solely benifited the few wealthy indivduals of Guatemala and while the murders stopped, corruption soared.

The already impoverished Guatemalan people, were now losing social aid, because Parillo was busy squandering it, using it for personal expenses. After only being in Guatemala for a few days, I came to understand that the people hated Parillo, and were frustrated at the right-wing policies of the government, which ignored them even as most of them lived in unbelievable poverty.

I visted some of the little pueblos, that were inhabited by the Mayans. In their villages I found that Parillo's party, the FRG was going around spray painting "FRG" all over everything from houses to moutain sides, to curbs. The guy, who's house I stayed at told me that they do that as a method of intimidation.

I also fund out that he people were quite scarred. The presidential elections were coming up that fall and Rios Montt, the murderous, former dictator was running under the FRG ticket (you are limited to one term in office in Guatemala because those who got into office tended to stay for prolonged periods of time.

I was relieved when my maestra from the school I wen to e-mailed me, overjoyed that Montt hadn't even won one of the two spots in the preliminary election. I was overjoyed to.

However the guy who did win, Oscar Berger is a conservative, who wants to push a free trade agenda in Guatemala, opening the doors to the Free Trade of the Americas (FTTA) and giant US corporations. So the situation still is not going to improve for the long oppressed peoples of Guatemala. Meanwhile, charges of crimes against humanity charges are being brought up against Montt, for the disappearance, deaths of 200,000 in the span of one '81-82.
I have a question for you, pal. Are there juvenile gangs in Guatemala because I know there are gangs in El Salvador where the young people have been orphaned due to the death squads and of course the government there blames the the kids for their behavior and lack of conscience rather than blaming themselves or their policies. The gangs should get informed and channel the senseless violence into constructive violence.

[Guerilla22]

Originally posted by Marxist in [email protected] 5 2004, 05:54 PM
Guerilla22,

A pretty good description... but the elected president of Guatemala during until 1954 was Jacobo Arbenz, not Cruz.

Guatemala has arguably the bloodiest history of any Latin American country in the last half-century, and much of that is due to the foreign policy of the United States.

On U.S. media distorting the crimes of the Guatemalan state during the late '70s and early '80s, I would recommend Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent. Supposedly "liberal" newspapers like the New York Times insisted that the blood-soaked, U.S.-friendly military dictatorships of Guatemala and El Salvador were "moving toward democracy", while the Sandinistas of Nicaragua were a horrible totalitarian regime. This despite Nicaragua being more democratic and much less repressive than its neighbors, the U.S.'s darling police states.

Latin America has paid an unbearable toll for being so close to the United States geographically. The U.S. has claimed imperial control over the Western Hemisphere for 200 years... going back to the Monroe Doctrine.
Whoops, you are right, I couldn't think of his last name off the top of my head.

[Guerilla22]

Originally posted by Agent provocateur+Feb 5 2004, 06:27 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Agent provocateur @ Feb 5 2004, 06:27 PM)
[email protected] 4 2004, 05:45 AM
I spent my summer in Guatemala this past year. I attended emersion school in the old colonial city, Antigua. I did some travelling around the country and I even visited the lake that Che visited when he was living there, Lago Atitlan. It&#39;s definitely a beautiful country, however it&#39;s not the countryside that grabs yourr attention so much, it&#39;s the immense poverty that the people of Guatemala live in, especialy the indieneous Mayans that inhabit the small villages and shanty towns.

What I saw was the effects of 36 years of civl war on a people that has also lived under brutal oppression at the hands of military dictatorships over the last 50 years. What happened in Guatemala back in 1954, isn&#39;t all that well known to most of the world. Problay because the US government has tried to hide the truth about Guatemala ever since &#39;54.

You see, Guatemala held free elcetions in 1952, with an agrarian reformist named Jacobo Cruz winning the elction. Cruz went on to try to implement agrarian reform, which would have required those who owned large quantites of land to give up a certain amount, the land would then inturn be handed over the civllians so that they could grow their own food and not have to rely on purchasing expensive food from the stores.

This directly affected the United Fruit Company (Chiqita bannana) who cried "communist&#33;" to the US government. The Dulles brothers, who were the head of the CIA and the Sec. of State pushed for US intervention (possibly because they both owned large shares of United Fruit)

To get to the point, the CIA planned and carried out a coup in &#39;54, which ran Cruz out of office and place a military dictatorship in place. What followed next was 40 some years of crimes against humanity that were carried out against the Guatemalan people, especially the indigeneous people, who were slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands.

A peace treaty in &#39;94 led to free elections, however in &#39;98 Vincent Parillo, who is a cousin of the military dictator, Rios Mont, who was responsible for thousands of kidnappings, torture and mass murder in the 80&#39;s, won the election under the FRG party (Guatemalan Republican Front) Parillo pushed a right-wing agenda, which solely benifited the few wealthy indivduals of Guatemala and while the murders stopped, corruption soared.

The already impoverished Guatemalan people, were now losing social aid, because Parillo was busy squandering it, using it for personal expenses. After only being in Guatemala for a few days, I came to understand that the people hated Parillo, and were frustrated at the right-wing policies of the government, which ignored them even as most of them lived in unbelievable poverty.

I visted some of the little pueblos, that were inhabited by the Mayans. In their villages I found that Parillo&#39;s party, the FRG was going around spray painting "FRG" all over everything from houses to moutain sides, to curbs. The guy, who&#39;s house I stayed at told me that they do that as a method of intimidation.

I also fund out that he people were quite scarred. The presidential elections were coming up that fall and Rios Montt, the murderous, former dictator was running under the FRG ticket (you are limited to one term in office in Guatemala because those who got into office tended to stay for prolonged periods of time.

I was relieved when my maestra from the school I wen to e-mailed me, overjoyed that Montt hadn&#39;t even won one of the two spots in the preliminary election. I was overjoyed to.

However the guy who did win, Oscar Berger is a conservative, who wants to push a free trade agenda in Guatemala, opening the doors to the Free Trade of the Americas (FTTA) and giant US corporations. So the situation still is not going to improve for the long oppressed peoples of Guatemala. Meanwhile, charges of crimes against humanity charges are being brought up against Montt, for the disappearance, deaths of 200,000 in the span of one &#39;81-82.
I have a question for you, pal. Are there juvenile gangs in Guatemala because I know there are gangs in El Salvador where the young people have been orphaned due to the death squads and of course the government there blames the the kids for their behavior and lack of conscience rather than blaming themselves or their policies. The gangs should get informed and channel the senseless violence into constructive violence. [/b]
There are quite a few social problems going on down there. First of there are lots and lots of orphans (for various reasons) the federal government can&#39;t actaully afford to provide any kind of system to deal with them, so they get turned over to the Catholic Church.

I met quite a few Catholic missionaries down there and almost all of them told me the samr thing: the people running the orphanages are extremely cruel and often beat the kids, and do things like make them go without eating as punishment, which is even more cruel given the fact that these kids only eat once a day any way.

There are large numbers of gangs just roaming around the country side (and when I say armed I mean heavily armed, AK-47 armed) During the country&#39;s 36 year civil war arms flowed in from both the Cuba (by way of the USSR) to the guerillas and from the US, which obviously went to the federal government.

The gangs are largely made of former guerillas, orphans and others, who haven&#39;t been able to support themselves adequetaly by working a regular job. Needless to say, if you ever go to Guatemala, DO NOT GO OFF HIKING AND EXPLORING THE VAST HILLS, and COUNTRY SIDE, because there are gangs everywhere. I am not exagerating either.

When I was there 3 tourist where killed and countless others robbed because they were dumb enough to try and wander around. The police there, always stick to the cities because they don&#39;t dare try and confront these heavily armed gangs (even though the police themselves always carry Uzis)

As far as turning these gangs against the government, I don&#39;t see any resistance movements popping up any time soon. Remember, the country had been at war for 36 years, untill 1994. The consensus I seemed to get from the people there was that they were sick and tired of the fighting and killing. Yes, Guatemala is definitely not in good shape, however the US government could do a little more to help ouut, after all they are the primary reason, that El Salvador, Nicaruagua and Guatemala are in the shape they are in.

[Guerilla22]

Originally posted by Marxist in [email protected] 5 2004, 05:54 PM
Guerilla22,

A pretty good description... but the elected president of Guatemala during until 1954 was Jacobo Arbenz, not Cruz.

Guatemala has arguably the bloodiest history of any Latin American country in the last half-century, and much of that is due to the foreign policy of the United States.

On U.S. media distorting the crimes of the Guatemalan state during the late &#39;70s and early &#39;80s, I would recommend Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky&#39;s Manufacturing Consent. Supposedly "liberal" newspapers like the New York Times insisted that the blood-soaked, U.S.-friendly military dictatorships of Guatemala and El Salvador were "moving toward democracy", while the Sandinistas of Nicaragua were a horrible totalitarian regime. This despite Nicaragua being more democratic and much less repressive than its neighbors, the U.S.&#39;s darling police states.

Latin America has paid an unbearable toll for being so close to the United States geographically. The U.S. has claimed imperial control over the Western Hemisphere for 200 years... going back to the Monroe Doctrine.
Yeah, that&#39;s exactly right the American media lied profusely during the 80&#39;s and the 90&#39;s claimming that these nations were "becoming more democratic"
That is an outright lie. About the only thing that changed in Guatemala&#39;s government since it supposedly became democratic in &#39;94 was that the person ruling the country now called himself "the President" and wore a suit rather than a military uniform.

As for the Berger governmnet, it remains to be seen as to what kind of president he will be, however, he already has come out pushing free trade, which is definitely not a good sign.

[EneME]

Awesome description of the resistance and struggle in Guatemala. It&#39;s a beautiful beautiful country, I actually have been to Antigua during the summer of 2002. While there, my family and I spoke to the locals and talked about their working conditions and if they were able to make ends meet. Obviously, they lived in terrible poverty, the same poverty I see in El Salvador. (my native country) Although having similarities, Guatemala&#39;s violence hasn&#39;t been just an oppression or a massacre but a genocide. Hundreds of thousands Natives have been brutally exterminated.
I&#39;m extremely saddened that although the violence is "legally" over in Central America, conditions haven&#39;t changed. The poverty still exists, the people are still being murdered but with hunger. I suggest a documentary called "Discovering Dominga" (http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2003/discoveringdominga/index.html)about an indigenous girl who&#39;s family was massacred, who grew up in the USA, and her return to Guatemala to face those demons.
The oppression continues in Guatemala and something really needs to be done. People need to wake up b/c its WAAYY past too late....
"Meanwhile in Guatemala, the human rights situation appears to be once again deteriorating. The Maya priest who performed the ceremony at the massacre site the year before we filmed has been assassinated, as have other Maya priests in the last year."

— Mary Jo McConahay

Another Guatemalan Bishop Murdered in 1998 (http://www.icomm.ca/carecen/page20.html)