Its a wrap

Guatemala is very much a country that is still recovering from a 36 year violent civil war that only ended with the signing of peace accords in 1996.  This democratic republic governed country has just persecuted that dictator, Efrain Rios Montt, responsible for ordering the slaughter of thousands of indigenous and non indigenous people in a trial decided May 10th.  But it is far from being fully recovered.  People still mourn the loss of their relatives and loved ones, most of which "disappeared" never to be seen again.  Many rural people of Guatemala fled the country to escape death by Montt's regime as well.  The number of people affected by the murders are ever increasing, and more often than not a Guatemalan has at least one missing relative because of the genocide.  Montt was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 80 years in prison.  This sentence is controversial and sends a clear message because Montt is 86 years old.  He will most likely die in prison.  

The violence of the civil war still lives on in the streets of Guatemala, in the lives of the notorious mara's.  More specifically the Mara Salvatrucha 13, the Mara 18, and the Zeta's from neighboring Mexico just to name a few.  Most of the violence that occurs is drug related or against women in the form of rapings and killings.  Rape was widely used during the civil war as a weapon of war to intimidate opponents.  Just last year some 700 women were killed in Guatemala alone, mostly from gang violence.   These gangs were hardened in the streets and prisons in places like L.A. and have brought that sense of violence back home with them. Much of Guatemala's most dangerous crimes occur along the Mexican-Guatemalan border and these include drug smuggling as well as "alien" smuggling.   Gang members often kidnap and kill as their tactic and high rates of these crimes have been seen in Guatemala City as well as rural Guatemala.  

Many of these civilians being targeted are indigenous Mayans.  Guatemala's indigenous population makes up over 60% of the countries total population.  Though this 60% percent is quite poor, they also make up 61.7% of the countries economic output.  

Tourism in Guatemala

This discussion with Victor prompted me to research Guatemalan tourism.  I found some interesting information in an article one done by Huffington Posts' writer Ashley Michelle Williams and some excerpts from that article can be seen below.  

Spring and Summer are booming tourism months for Guatemala, the weather is perfect and the scenery is stunning.  People come from all around to see historic sites and its glorious natural sites like the Peten Protected Areas.  Places like Peten stand out for their abundance in old Mayan cultural sites and serene natural forests.

Nearly 15% of Guatemalans work in the tourism industry, and it comes in second as a international currency to the country.  From 2003-2009, "Guatemala has experienced an average annual growth in tourist numbers from 17% in the last four years [rising from 880,223 people to 1776,069."[1]  However, global economic crisis has lessened tourism business in Guatemala beginning in 2010.   

Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ashley-michelle-williams/the-economic-domino-effec_b_854151.html
http://www.aroundantigua.com/travel/destinations/tikal.htm

Meeting Victor

At my work, The Resort at Pelican Hill, I had the chance to become close with one of the stewards that often works with me.  His name is Victor and he is a 28 year old male living in California but originally came from Guatemala.  Victor is a happy person who loves to tell stories and we got to talking about school one day.  I had mentioned that I was doing a blog about Guatemala and his face lit up as i said it.  He began showing me pictures of his hometown and i got a little insight into what a rural town in Guatemala looked like. Without any prompt he began telling me about what it was like to live there, and kept going on and on about how beautiful it was there.  And i couldn't agree with him more, the pictures he showed me were of rolling green mountains with small 'houses' dotting the landscape.  I put houses in quotation marks because he did mention his area was relatively poor, so our definition of small 'houses' may not be an accurate portrayal.
He also mentioned now it is safer to travel to Guatemala because there is no longer fighting going on. But the places where it was safer was near the resorts and hotels that are popping up in places.  He mentioned that most of the nicer places were located by these resorts because the government wants to attract tourists and so they clean up the beaches by the tourism areas and are not too good at cleaning up other beaches where the locals live.

Here are some picture Victor showed me of his Guatemala.

Montt Trial Decision

This Friday May 10th, Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt was found guilty on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in a trial held by his own government.  In an earlier post I had briefly outlined the history of the civil war in Guatemala and the brutal war time crimes that left many dead.  

   "Rios Montt being found guilty ... is a significant step forward for justice and accountability in Guatemala," said Matthew Kennis, Amnesty International's chair for Central America-Mexico Coordination Group.[1]

As i mentioned earlier, this trial was one of the first ones where a country persecuted its own leader on charges of genocide.  

Survivors and relatives of victims have sought for 30 years to bring punishment for Rios Montt. For international observers and Guatemalans on both sides of the war, the trial could be a turning point in a nation still wrestling with the trauma of a conflict that killed some 200,000 people.[1]

Rios Montt was sentenced to 80 years in prison, a sentence that is quite controversial since he is 86 and the maximum sentence in Guatemala is 50 years.  Which leads me to wonder why they didn't give him a term of life in prison.  

This is what Montt said when he testified for the first time on the Thursday before his verdict, "I declare myself innocent," Rios Montt told the three-judge tribunal as many in the audience applauded. "It was never my intention or my goal to destroy a whole ethnic group, "I declare myself innocent," Rios Montt told the three-judge tribunal as many in the audience applauded. "It was never my intention or my goal to destroy a whole ethnic group."[1]

I tried paraphrasing this excerpt from The New York Times article but i felt that taking any of it out would be worse, so here it is. I had mentioned in one of my blog posts earlier about US government backing of Montt's regime and I felt these next few excerpts were pertinent.

The American military had a close relationship with the Guatemalan military well into the 1970s before President Jimmy Carter’s administration cut off aid. When General Ríos Montt seized power in March 1982, President Ronald Reagan’s administration cultivated him as a reliable Central American ally in its battle against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government and Salvadoran guerrillas.

Those interests influenced the way American officials treated evidence of the massacres. They were quick to accept military explanations that guerrillas had carried out the killings, said Kate Doyle, a Guatemala expert at the National Security Archive, a Washington research group that works to obtain declassified government documents.

By the end of 1982, however, the State Department had gathered evidence that the army was behind the massacres.

But even then, the administration insisted that General Ríos Montt was working to reduce the violence. After a regional meeting, President Reagan described him as “a man of great personal integrity and commitment.”[2]

1.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/10/efrain-rios-montt-convicted_n_3256070.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=440852,b=facebook
2.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/world/americas/gen-efrain-rios-montt-of-guatemala-guilty-of-genocide.html?_r=0

Child labor in Guatemala

Child labor is very much a big aspect of the Guatemalan labor force.  National law provides an exception to its ban on working minors, provided they perform "light work" and have the permission of their parent or guardian as well as the Child Protection Unit of the Ministry of Labor.
That Ministry pledged in 2008 not to award any work permits to children under 14 years and has confirmed  this policy remains in place.[1]  Most of this work however is far from 'light work' and as it shows in the video these children are exposed to very dangerous working conditions and even potentially harmful disinfectants.   

Guatemala has the worst child labor figures in the continent. According to the 2006 Survey of Living Conditions, the latest available official data, 528,000 children between the ages of five and 14 work in Guatemala.[1] However the reality is grim, these children need to work so their families can have enough money.  This usually results in the children not being able to attend school either.  The 'minimum wage' for agricultural workers is a little over 7.50 US dollars (68 Quetzals) per day.  

Many of these corporations are aware of the child labor laws but turn a blind eye to it in the name of profit.  Though it isn't always corporations who are guilty of this,  "also noted [is] the continuing trend to subcontract garment sewing in small shops and homes in Guatemala. This practice, which is commonly found in Latin America, allows a factory to boost its production while turning a blind eye to child workers who are employed by these sub-contractors or who assist their mothers working out of their homes."[2]

Often times it is absolutely necessary for these children to also be working.  Since schooling is too expensive children help out there parents in order to put food on the table.  So where do we draw the line?  Some of the sugar plantation workers threatened to burn the plantation down when laws were passed saying they couldnt bring their children in any longer.  From the parents perspective that may mean the difference of 20 Quetzal per day, with the same number of mouths to feed.  Without child labor these folks have less money, but with child labor they can provide for their families.  It is a huge moral dilemma to think that child labor could actually benefit these people more than it could hurt them.



1.http://www.plazapublica.com.gt/content/child-labor-and-exploitation-guatemalan-sugar-industry 
2.http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/sweat/guatemala.htm

Guatemala's Gang Problem

"Hardened in the streets and prisons of California and deported in the 1990s to the Central American countries where they were born, the members of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang swiftly grew into a force of heavily tattooed young men carrying out kidnappings, murder and extortion.

Now, Guatemalan authorities say, they have begun to see new and disturbing evidence of an alliance between the Maras and another of the most feared criminal organizations in Latin America — a deal with the potential to further undermine that U.S.-backed effort to fight violent crime and narcotics trafficking in the region."

 Guatemala is one of the most dangerous countries in the world with a weekly murder rate of 42 people per 100,00 residents in 2011, twice as high as Mexico's. The gangs are central players in a crime wave that has paralyzed the country.  Compared to L.A. gangs, those in Central America are operating without rules.  They have all the swagger of an L.A. gang, they have all the symbols, the tattoos, the signs, but they have none of the structure. They’re still too young to have developed any type of structure.  Many Guatemalan gangs have roots in Los Angeles. During the 1980s — with civil wars being fought in Central America — Salvadorans fled to Hispanic neighborhoods of Los Angeles. They established gangs, "maras" in Spanish, with names to honor their home country. The most notorious were Mara 18 (a reference to 18th Street in San Salvador) and Mara Salvatrucha 13 (a reference to the gang founders who said they were as wise as a trout or trucha).

Guatemala shares a 620-mile porous border with Mexico and many traffickers and other criminals have no trouble navigating the estimated 700 unofficial crossings. A "balloon effect" results when "reductions in illegal drug activity in one country lead to an increase in another," the Wilson Center observed.

But criminal activity is not limited to the drug trade. Widespread abductions, vehicle thefts, extortion, money laundering and human trafficking also plague the nation.

It's no surprise then that a Vox Latina national survey in July found that more than two-thirds of Guatemalans said violence was the issue that concerned them most, far outpacing the combined totals for the economy, unemployment, poverty and lack of education.Given those fears, it's also no surprise that law-and-order candidate Otto Perez Molina -- a former army general -- is polling about two times higher than his nearest challenger in Sunday's presidential election.

It seems like everyone is posting Gangland clips onto their blogs, so here it is, another clip. This one is pretty good though.  Its only ten minutes so its worth a watch.  Gives insight into how ruthless these gangs can be.  

Interesting Video of New Presidents History in Genocide

In a previous post i had mentioned the trial of current president Mondtt in the involvement of genocidal crimes during the Guatemalan civil war.  However i found this clip of current president Otto Perez being interviewed that shows that he was a also involved in giving orders to kill "counter-insurgents" during that time.  This video points out that Guatemala's president has immunity from being put on trial, but when/if he leaves he may be put on trial just as Mondtt has been put on trial.  This is the CURRENT president standing over these dead bodies, he went by the name Major Tito at the time, and he was a major player in implementing the murders of thousands of people.  He talks about US support with counter insurgency, and the possibility of supplying helicopters to the Guatemalan government.  He is is also caught on tape saying straight out that the weapons he will be using from the US/Israel will in fact be used against the people of Guatemala.   

Witnesses still recall the horrors of army-led massacres before Major Tito's arrival: soldiers executing 20 people in front of the church, cutting off the arms and gouging out the eyes and tongues of the villagers while the rest of the town was forced to watch. Forty more villagers were burned alive in another incident, and hundreds fled into the mountains for months to escape further attacks.[1] However Perez is no longer seen as this ruthless General, once ruling with an iron fist, the citizens of Guatemala actually like that trait in him.  "Today, many Guatemalans see Perez as the man who can keep drug traffickers and youth gangs at bay. They have turned to him not in spite of his perceived iron fist but because of it."[1]  His promise to crack down on drug trafficking that spills over from Mexico has been a major factor in his ability to win support among Guatemalans.  He has yet to take a stance on the trials of former generals in the genocide case, neither stanidng behind it or against it.  

"Certainly Perez's military background ... poses some very interesting questions for the country going forward," said Daniel Sachs, an analyst at consultancy firm Control Risks in London. "It's assumed that he was involved in some pretty nasty stuff but there has been no real international investigation either by a civil society group or actually even possibly by a court into what he was up to."[1]




1.http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/11/us-guatemala-perez-f-idUSTRE7AA38320111111

Guatemalan Migration

This Frontline video shows the tale of two cities in Guatemala whose people are desperately poor and in need of things like medical care and money to pay back their debt.  In search of better opportunities the villagers went to the U.S to work in a Kosher meat packing plant in Iowa.  When immigration officials raided the plant many workers were deported and the small Iowa town whose economy relied on the plant was devastated.  The immigrants ended up going back to their small towns with shame on their faces.  They didn't know what would become of their families or their debt.  There is no economy in the small villages where they are from and they are sometimes just lucky enough to have food to feed their families.  The ones that didn't get caught in the raid ended up going back to Guatemala anyways because the raid left the dependent U.S. town without a way to make money.  Even the legal U.S. residents went looking for donations and other handouts.  

This is an interesting video in that it made me see how much a part of our economy illegal migrant workers are, though of course not all workers are illegal.  Living in California we should be especially aware of how much we rely on them.  What we see as an immigration "problem" is really an aid to our community as well as theirs.  We get people to farm our fields which in turn puts food on the shelves of our stores, which in turn gives the rest of Californians something to eat.  If we deported all the "illegal" workers, who would be picking our crops for our stores? Surely not the white Republicans who have such an issue with it.  

But this brings up a touchy subject for Americans.  Its a double edged sword of topics, do we let the illegal workers flock to the U.S. for migrant work and let them make money to feed their families? Or do we continue to complain that their "taking our jobs"?

U.S. Involvement in Guatemalan Civil War.

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/19/genocide_trial_of_former_dictator_ros

For the first time anywhere in the world, according to the United Nations, a former head of state is being tried for genocide by his own nation's justice system.  That man is Efrain Rios Montt, an ex-military dictator who ruled Guatemala from 1982 to 1983.  The military, under Montt's rule, used the rebel threat as a guise to exterminate rural Ixill Mayan villages accussed of harboring insurgents, this campaign to kill insurgents led to the genocide of more than 1,700 Ixill Mayan's.  Characteristically, accusations of genocide have been presided over by international judges.  The Guatemalan attacks are considered by many experts as the only incident of genocide in the western hemisphere during the Modern Era.

U.S. involvement at the time the attacks were occurring is seen as controversial.  We all associate Ronald Reagan with this image of nostalgia and jelly beans, but behind this image lies the fact that he supported and supplied the right-wing military regime that slaughtered thousands of Guatemalan Indians in the early 1980's.  In the name of exterminating "Marxist guerrilla's" and the people associated with their "civilian support mechanisms", Ronald Reagan agreed to supply military support and aid to Montt's brutal right-wing regime.  The Reagan administration expressed no problem with killing civilians if they were considered supporters of the guerillas who had been fighting against the countries oligarchs and generals since the 1950's.

Brutal Civil War

A Brief History of the Guatemalan Civil War.

More than 200,00 people were killed over the course of the 36 year long civil war that began in 1960 and ended with peace accords in 1996.  The fighting was between the left wing guerrilla groups and the government military forces.  83% of those killed were Mayan and 93% of human rights violations carried out during the conflict were done by state forces and military groups.  The long conflict was marked by abductions and violence, including mutilation and public dumping of bodies.  

Not to mention that the U.S. trained officers in counterinsurgency techniques and assisted the national intelligence apparatus.  The C.I.A. backed a coup commanded by Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas against the democratically elected president Jacobo Arbenz.  The U.S. considered Arbenz a communist threat after legalizing the communist party and moving to nationalize the plantations of the United Fruit Company. 

 (Montt with former President Reagan)

After the coup, Castillo was declared president and set about reversing land reform that benefited poor farmers.  He also removed voting rights for illiterate Guatemalans.  

During the 1970's a series of military dominated governments escalated violence against guerrilla groups and indigenous communities.  In 1981 the Inter-American Human Rights Commission released a report blaming the Guatemalan government for thousands of illegal executions and missing persons in the 70's, and documenting accounts of the slaughter of members of the Indian communities.  

(A demonstration of all the missing people from the Civil War)

Enter General Efrain Rios Montt, who in 1982 seized power following a military coup.  He annulled the 1965 constitution, dissolved Congress and suspended political parties.  In the countryside and in rural indigenous areas, Montt formed local civilian defense patrols to work alongside the army.  Through this he was able to reclaim most guerrilla territory.  It was at this point however that marks one of the most violent periods of the civil war during which a large number of indigenous civilians were slaughtered.  

(Montt circa 1982)

(Montt today awaiting trial)

In 1985, a new constitution was drafted and democratic elections were held after Montt was ousted in another coup.  Peace talks began in 1994, and by 1996 peace accords were signed ending the 36 year internal conflict.  Today, almost 15 years after the end of the civil war, violence and intimidation continue to be a major problem in political and civilian life

Colonial Guatemala; An Overview

Before the Spanish came to Guatemala, the Ancient Maya were one of the most highly developed peoples in precolonial America.  They had a sophisticated calendar, astronomical observances, and constructions skills among other things.  Historians believe that most Mayans built their cities from 300AD-900AD, but in 850 AD some Mayans began to abandon their cities because of soil exhaustion, climate change, and armed conflict with other peoples, though these reasons are only speculated and are being debated.  In fact, many of the Mayan cities were already abandoned when the Spanish got there in the 16th century.

Unlike many colonial Latin American countries, Guatemala did not see the same economic prosperity that Mexico or Peru saw, this was because they lacked things like precious metals.  However, the cultivation of cacao was one of its major economic activities, and later cochineal would also be a main cultivation crop (Cochineal was a red dye derived from the bodies of insects.) This cultivation of cacao brought over slaves from Africa as well as the enslavement of the native peoples and the repercussions of this can be seen today. Though commerce was never extensive in Guatemala at that time, a good port was never set up, internal transportation was difficult, and pirates harassed the coast and preyed on shipping.

Guatemala won its independence from Spain in 1821 and from Mexico in 1823.  After this independence the country was led by a slew of military leaders who further privileged the church and aristocrats and degraded the indigenous peoples of Guatemala.

The Catholic church set up encomienda's which were; " The encomienda was a grant of Indian labor and tribute, though not necessarily of land, over a geographical area. The encomenderos holding such a grant were allowed to tax the indigenous peoples under their care and to conscript them for labor in exchange for their promise to maintain order and educate the indigenous populace in the Spanish language and Catholicism. "  Other efforts were made to try and assimilate the indigenous people and have them accept the cultural practices of the Catholic church instead of their own.  Though the indigenous people mostly just went underground with their old practices and continued to 'assimilate' like the Catholics wanted them too.  

The information on this blog was found using these websites.
http://www.moon.com/destinations/guatemala/background/history/colonial-guatemala
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/701217/Guatemala/40947/The-colonial-period

Here's some background information on Guatemala to better familiarize you with the country.

Map of Guatemala

Physical Map of Guatemala

After being colonized in 1523 AD Guatemala spent three centuries as a Spanish colony until it won its independence in 1821.  Today it is a constitutional democratic republic whose President and chief of state is Otto Fernando Perez Molina and Vice President is Ingrid Roxana Baldetti Elias.  

Located in Central America bordering the North Pacific Ocean between El Salvador and Mexico.  On the opposite side it borders the Gulf of Honduras between Honduras and Belize.  It is only slightly smaller than Tennessee and shares its largest border with Mexico.  It has approximately 400km of coastline.  Guatemala's climate is tropical, hot, humid in its lowlands, and cooler in the highlands.  As you can see in the physical map above it is a mostly mountainous terrain with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateaus.  Surprisingly enough there are no natural harbors on the west coast of Guatemala.  It is home to the highest point in Central America, Volcan Tajumulco, at 4,211 m.  Guatemala's natural resource include, but are not limited too, petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, and hydro-power.  

Guatemala has numerous active volcanoes in its mountain ranges so it suffers from occasional violent earthquakes.  Its Caribbean coast is extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms.  Guatemala is currently facing issues with deforestation of its Peten rain forest  soil erosion, and water pollution.  

Spanish is the official language of Guatemala making up 60% of all languages spoken there, whereas Amerindian languages make up the other 40%.  There are 23 officially recognized Amerindian languages including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca.  

Here's a 20 minute video about the struggle of the indigenious people of Guatemala, more specifically the Mayans, and their attempt to maintain their culture among the imposing Spanish one.

Guatemala is a predominantly poor country with the large indigenous part of the country disproportionately affected.  Guatemalans have a history of emigrating legally and illegally to Mexico, U.S., and Canada because of a lack of opportunity, political instability, etc.  Emigration, primarily to the U.S., escalated during the 1960-1996 civil war.  

This video showcases what you can buy in Guatemala for a dollar.



Much of this information on Guatemala was found using the CIA factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html

Welcome to my exploration of the great country of Guatemala via the ever-wonderful internet and some carefully collected readings! Unfortunately a trip to Guatemala isn't within my time limit or budget so this blog will have to suffice.  In hopes of better understanding this very diverse country I will be filling this blog with facts and stories I found to be academically entertaining, or historically important (since it's for a class and all).    I will be highlighting the people, culture, history, past-times, crisis' and various other topics throughout the semester.  Enjoy!

Here's a video I found interesting about the 1982 genocide of nearly one hundred thousand Mayans by the Guatemalan government with the aid of the U.S, it may be a long video (25 minutes) but its worth a view.  I understand that it may not be the best video to open a blog with but it shows how these indigenous people are still being persecuted by other groups in recent times. This topic is definitely something I will cover more thoroughly in a future post.