The Last Colonial Massacre Summary

The Last Colonial Massacre by Greg Grandin is about the Panzós massacre of the Q’eqchi Mayans in 1978. This was unfortunately a violent precursor the Scorched-Earth campaign of the 80’s that would kill many more Q’eqchi. This book, while examining an individual event on a personalized level through the life of Adelina Caal, a focus of the last chapter, this book shows the effects of Neoliberalism, the US’s involvement in Latin America in the Cold War, and ethnic tension stemming from cultural differences and the racial caste system of Spanish rule. As the book says in the opening pages, while it is pertinent to avoid using the lives of individuals as metaphors for larger historical movements, it is hard to ignore the obvious parallels in the life of political activist José Angel Icó and the struggle of natives against the elites, neoliberalism, and oppression in the 20th century. Icó was a Q’eqchi man who became well known by serving as a legal advisor to the Q’eqchi against exploitation by the German coffee plantation owners. It was during this period of Neoliberalism that the German immigrants brought “progress” to Guatemala, as seen by the electricity, telephones, movies, and streetcars brought to Alta Verapaz in rural Guatemala. Despite this “progress” that Neoliberalism brought, Icó’s fight for Q’echi rights highlights it’s failures,
Interspersed between the interview with Cucal is an outline of the 50’s and 60’s, which examines the Agrarian reforms and of the CIA orchestrated coup. Contrary to what many historians believe, the left wing reforms were not the reason for the CIA coup, but rather a growing and vocal Communist Party. This chapter also explores the unique role personal relationships play in Guatemalan politics and how people use the system personally, to express racism and settle old scores, an important factor in the 1978