Guatemala 101 (kind of)

After a week of Spanish classes, cultural exposure and historical-political discussions, it´s a relief to finally post a bit about Guatemala. First of all, the school has exceeded all of my expectations...
A little background: In 1988 two students were kidnapped (in broad daylight), tortured, and murdered. Despite the abundance of witnesses, it was extremely rare and difficult to prosecute assailants during this tumultuous time in Guatemala. The PLQ language school was founded in order to support the families and pay for the lawyers´fees. In its early days, PLQ was dedicated to exposing others to the horrifying reality of Guatemala (more on this in a second). Young students from powerful countries (like the U.S.) needed to take extreme caution as the military realized that the school was teaching more than the Spanish language. Social activism and cultural understanding remain at the heart of PLQ today, and it is a challenge and honor to inherit such a righteous tradition.

So... I am probably doing this backwards, but here is a little history of Guatemala for those who are interested and have the time to read. Again, this is just a brief introduction, related from notes I took at orientation. I thought about waiting until I could present a more thorough and precise history, but then I realized that the longer I waited, the less likely I would be to post anything. So here it is:

Incomienda: By the time the Spanish arrived in Guatemala, their diseases had already brought destruction to the Mayan people. Guatemala was quickly divided into plots of land that were given to the settlers. Along with the land came any indigenous people living on it. The Mayan were forced to work for the Spanish, first as slaves and later as indentured servants. In 1821 Guatemala gained independence from Spain, but the indeginous people remained oppressed, with little to call their own.

By the 1920´s, much of Guatemala was owned by the United Fruit Company. Needless to say, the company was more than a little corrupt, mistreating and exploiting the Guatemalan people. (There is a gap in my notes here- I might have spaced out for a minute)

Democratic Spring: 1944-1954 is known as Guatemala´s ¨democratic spring¨and brought both education and land reform. Leaders of the people were actually OF the people, and they sought to bring justice after years of oppression. The government ordered the United Fruit Company to SELL back to Guatemala any land that was not being used. They used the tax claims of the U.F.C. (which were fraudulent) to set the prices of the land. They began to give land back to the Mayan people and the poor rural farmers.
Here´s where it gets really interesting: At this time, the major shareholders of U.F.C. included Guatemalan officials, a man connected to the CIA, and the U.S. Ambassador. The U.F.C. was enraged by Guatemala´s request for the IDLE land and proceeded to hire CocaCola´s marketing director to ¨paint¨Guatemala as a Communist country. Americans, in the midst of the Red Scare, fell for it. In 1954 the U.S. sponsored a coup d´etat and ended Guatemala´s democratic spring.

From the 1960´s-1990´s, Guatemala knew little of peace or democracy. The presidency was corrupt and the indeginous people were once again oppressed and massacared. It is estimated that around 200,000 people were killed, 50,000 went missing, and hundreds of thousands were displaced (most refugees fled to Mexico). The peak of the violence took place during the 1980´s, when PLQ was founded.

There are a million more details I could divulge, but a beautiful day in Xela awaits me. I hope I have perked your interest and that you go on to read and research more about Guatemala´s history. The people here are strong, vibrant, and stand behind the mantra: ¨Guatemala Nunca Mas!¨(Guatemala Never Again). May that leave you with a feeling of hope rather than despair.

I also hope that you will consider, and perhaps question, the role of the U.S. in Latin America. There is a lot to say about this topic... a million stories, theories, opinions, and disagreements. I feel that we are obligated to research and learn about what our country has done in order to prevent it from happening again. Perhaps our country needs a ¨Truth and Reconciliation Committee¨ similar to that of South Africa and Guatemala. Perhaps our generation should be the next to protest the School of the Americas, now under the name ¨Ïnstitute of Security for the Western Hemisphere ( I need to look up the exact name... I think it is a mothful for a reason).

What do you think?