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