Summary: Civil War And Genocide In Guatemala

Civil War and Genocide in Guatemala Hundreds of families are fleeing from their small villages because an army invaded their land that was once their home. In Guatemala the rise of the civil war and postwar has caused a disruption in the nation and extreme violence. A war that has lasted about 34 years has forced entire villages to migrate and put the nation in a state of genocide. The cause of migration varies because it is believed that there were different factors that contributed to the rise of the war. Authors such as Andrew R. Morrison and Racher A. May in Escape from Terror and Violence and Migration in Post-Revolutionary Guatemala, believe that “the combined effects of political crisis, war, and the economic crisis aggravated by
The control that these Hispanic and European economic elite had on the Mayan and mestizos endangered their uprising and resistance. Nelson argued that “1980s was a class war with an ethnic component (left versus right, society versus the state, poor versus rich—with most indigenous people being poor) is, in the early twenty-first century, a race war” (p. 123). Nelson specifically argues how race is an important factor to understand the war and the conflict between Maya and ladino. Maya are seen as indigenous people and classified as poor. “When Ladinos were asked to describe an ‘Indian,’ physical attributes—the color of skin, height facial features, and even smell—were central definitions…nonphenotypical stereotypes of Indians as lazy, traditional, conformist” (p.130). Race however based on the notes from October 10, 2012, Professor Arredondo explained that race is socially constructed and keeps developing. She also went to explain that racism involves inclusion and exclusion. It is a process of race-making. Ladinos and Mayas are a perfect example because Mayas see Ladinos as Nelson states, “someone who speaks Spanish, wears “Western” clothing, is Christian or secular, and modern” (p. 129). The reason why some rather be known as mestizos than Ladinos is because
Morrison and Racher A. May explained that the civil war was the result of the revolutionary guerrilla movements from angered Guatemalans. The war has evolved from minimal killings to massacres of Mayas and Ladinos. In addition, Diane M. Nelson analyzed the war in another perspective such as race and racism between Mayans and Ladions. She brings up the irony of how Mayans were killed by both the right and the left, which composed of both Ladinos. Most interesting is the fact that “most foot soldiers in both the army and the guerrilla have been indigenous” (p. 128). In this case why is it that these people are being killed? Ladinos as well are killing not only Mayans, but Ladinos.

Work Cited
1. Hale, Charles. R. “Consciousness, Violence, and the Politics of Memory in Guatemala.” In Current Anthropology. Published by: The University of Chicago Press. 817-838. 1997.
2. May, Rachel. A, Morrison, Andrew. R “Escape from Terror: Violence and Migration in Post-Revolutionary Guatemala.” In Latin American Research Review. Published by The Latin American Studies Association. 111- 136. 1994.
3. Nelson, Diane M. “The More You Kill the More You Will Live,” The Maya, ‘Race’ and Biopolitical Hopes for Peach in Guatemala.” In Race, Nautre and the Politics of Difference, edited by Donald S. Moore, Jake Kosek and Anand Pandian, 122-146. Durham: Duke University Press,