Annotated bibliography for Guatemala
Table of Contents
I. General/Historical Information
Director Mayan Federation, Mayan Perspectives
I. General/Historical Information
A. Books
Acker, Alison. Children of the Volcano, Westport, CT: Lawrence Hill, 1986.
Interviews with and commentary about children affected by war in Central America.
Alarcón, Rosalinda Hernández. The Land Issue in the Peace Accords: A Summary of the Government's Response, Guatemala City: Inforpress Centroamericana, 1998.
Clearly written, this study brings together a broad range of information and opinions on the measures and public policies regarding the land related commitments adopted by the government of Alvaro Arzú. Most of these commitments are in the Accord on Socio-economic Aspects and the Agrarian Situation and the Accord on the Rights and Identity of Indigenous Peoples. Chapter 5, 'Opinions on the Land Problem' is especially worth reading. It contains the viewpoints of government representatives, URNG representatives, campesino organizations, business sector representatives, the Catholic Church, non-governmental organizations and others. Available from the Workable Peace Library.
Barry, Tom and Preusch, Deb. The Central America Fact Book, New York: Grove Press, 1986. (Interhemispheric Resource Center, Box 4506, Albuquerque, NM 87196, 505-842-8288).
A detailed synopsis of the history and current economics/politics of each Central American country.
Fried, Jonathan L. et al. (eds.) Guatemala in Rebellion: Unfinished History. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1983.
A good book to start with, it is very comprehensive and traces Guatemala’s history from the Spanish conquest through the war until 1983. It has a chronology of events (1524 -1983), bibliography, appendix and list of illustrations. Although it has an obvious leftist bias (in the chronology, for example, the number of dead are given after military attacks but not after guerilla ones), the editor’s selection of articles by people ranging from Rigoberta Menchú to former Guatemalan leader Gen. Romeo Lucas García speak for themselves. The collection of opinion pieces, scholary analyses, and poems make for varied and captivating reading. To better understand US involvement refer to the chapters ‘Reform and US intervention, 1944-1954’ and ‘The Counterrevolution Takes Hold’, which includes a revealing, though shocking, interview with US businessman Allan Nairn. The Labor movement and the indigenous experience are covered in part three before proceeding with the war in the 1980s and the guerilla perspective. Available from the Workable Peace library.
Hadden, Gerry. In their own voices: Teenage refugees from Guatemala Speak Out, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 1997.
Teenagers from different ethnic and economic backgrounds give personal accounts of how they were affected by the civil war. Each chapter of the book is devoted to a teenager's story. Ligia, whose parents are middle class ladinos, writes about her conflict between the Guatemalan and American aspects of her upbringing. Thomas, who is from the Mayan town of Totonicapan, came to the United States by himself and sends money to his mother in Guatemala. Iliana came with her family to the United States because her uncle was killed. Her perspective is interesting, as she identifies herself as Ladino. She says, 'We have a little Mayan blood in our family. Just about every family in Guatemala does, though a 'Mayan' race doesn't really exist anymore'. The three teenager's accounts are available from the Workable Peace library.
Hooks, Margaret, Guatemalan Women Speak. (EPICA, 1470 Irving St. NW, Washington, DC 20010, 202-265-8712).
A remarkable collection of interviews with the women of Guatemala: peasants, landlords, guerrillas, housewives, nuns, politicians, lawyers, and refugees. These women speak frankly about their work, family, religion, violence, racism, feminism, and the future.
Krauss, Clifford, Inside Central America : Its People, Politics and History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.
A highly acclaimed and comprehensive survey of the people, politics, and history in the six key nations of the region. Chapter One (pp.1-52), 'Guatemala's Heart of Darkness' gives a good overview of the civil war. It is available from the Workable Peace library.
McClearly, Rachel, M. Dictating Democracy: Guatemala and the End of Violent Revolution, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1999.
Well-argued, thorough, and unusual in its balanced portrayal of the organized business sector, this book addresses the various reasons why Guatemala was able to make the transition from decades of authoritarian regimes to procedural democracy, and from procedural democracy to a consolidating one. The main argument is that the two major elite groups in Guatemala – the organized private sector and the military – reached a settlement that fundamentally altered their relations. Because of the elite settlement (albeit incomplete), political participation in Guatemala has broadened and politics has been civilized.
Melville, Thomas and Marjorie. Guatemala: The Politics of Land Ownership, New York: The Free Press, 1971.
Although the facts and figures on land tenure are outdated, this book provides a thorough and extremely insightful analysis (though obviously leftist)of the overall problem of land ownership in Guatemala. Starting with the Maya heritage, their look at the country's history is complete as they continue chronologically with the long-term effects of Spanish colonization, through the maze of constantly shifting political alliances and struggles (including the CIA involvement in the counter-revolution of 1954). The Melvilles, between them, lived in Guatemala for a total of 24 years, a fact which is reflected in their ability to give accurate and highly nuanced descriptions of the ethnic categories of 'Maya' and 'ladino' in the introductory chapters of the book. The book was written with the purpose of informing an intelligent and humane United States policy towards Guatemala.
Menchú, Rigoberta, Me Llamo Rigaberta Menchú Y Así Nació La Conciencia (Barcelona), 1983.
The author is a Maya woman who has organized and fought back against extreme government repression of her people. Her life and work, detailed in this autobiography, won her the Nobel peace prize for 1992. English translations are available.
Perez-Brignoli, Hector. A Brief History of Central America,. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
The first history by a Central American historian to be translated into English.
Schlesinger, Stephen and Kinzer, Stephen. Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala, Garden City, NY: Double Day and Company, Inc., 1982.
As the title reveals, the central purpose of this book is to tell the history of 'Operation Success', in which the CIA, the US Department and the Executive Branch conspired on behalf of the United Fruit Company (with President Eisenhower's approval) to overthrow the government of Guatemala. This is essential reading for understanding the role of 'Operation Success' in the bloody revolution that resulted in Guatemala. It considers important questions of US intervention, the role of multinational corporations and the mandate of the CIA.
Sieder, Rachel. Guatemala after the peace accords. University of London: Institute of Latin American Studies, 1998.
This is an excellent resource for teachers (probably more for the teachers than the students because of the language level) as the book is a compilation of articles addressing various aspects of the peace accords, including demilitarization, indigenous rights, and political reform. The contributors range from Gustavo Porras Castejon, 1996 coordinator of the Presidential Peace Commission (COPAZ) who played a key role in the successful conclusion of the 1996 peace accords, to Demetrio Cojti, one of the foremost Mayan intellectuals in Guatemala. Roger Plant, former employee of the United Nations Human Rights Verification Mission (MINUGUA) and Jennifer Schirmer of Harvard University are among other contributors. Some articles are in English, while others are only in Spanish. Available from the Workable Peace library are the following articles: Vinegrad, Anna, 'From Guerillas to Politicians: The Transition of the Guatemalan Revolutionary Movement in Historical and Comparative Perspective'; Shirmer, Jennifer, 'Prospects for Compliance: The Guatemalan Military and the Peace Accords'; and Stoll, David, 'Human Rights, Land Conflict and Memories of the Violence in the Ixil Country of Northern Quiché'.
Thiesenhusen, William C. Broken Promises: Agrarian reform and the Latin American campesino. Boulder: Westview, 1995.
An overview of the history of agrarian reform in the countries of Guatemala, Mexico, Bolivia, hile, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. The introductory chapters pose questions as to the relevance of land reform as a topic of discussion in the 1990s and into the future. An argument of the book is that despite increasing attention on free market reforms, industrialization and urban issues, agrarian reform remains an issue that tends to resurface. The maldistribution of land as the fundamental cause of civil wars in Guatemala and other Central American countries is cited as one example. Though the traditional efforts by governments to implement land redistribution programs has waned, new coalitions may arise to argue that many large estate farms in Latin America still contain significant amounts of fallow and mismanaged lands. Pressures may come from ecological and environmental groups as well as international development organizations who articulate demands that land be used wisely for agricultural purposes. Such demands may direct attention to the contrasts of these large plantations with the impoverished holdings of indigenous peoples. Other coalitions may be formed by middle-class urban dwellers who might support land reforms either as a matter of conscience or as cities become more unmanageable due to rural migration. For the full annotated bibliography by Emily Arfin on agrarian reform please go to: (http://students.washington.edu/~emarfin/anno-bib.htm)
B. CD/ROMS, Web sites, Audio visuals
Web-sites:
The Cold War: Guatemala and Chile (www.fmdc.calpoly.edu/libarts/lcall/guatemala.chile.html)
An excerpt from Noam Chomsky’s book, What Uncle Sam Really Wants and a short article from the associated press about Jacobo Arbenz. Both give a sense of American foreign poilcy toward Guatemala during the Cold War. Also has some interesting photos.
Conciliation Resources, http://www.c-r.org/cr/conciliation.htm
An excellent web-site. Conciliation Resources (CR), established in 1994, is a London-based service and support organization for national or community-based peace and conflict prevention initiatives. The principal objective is to support the sustained practical activities of those working at the community and national levels to prevent or transform violent conflict into opportunities for social, political and economic development based on more just relationships.
CR also puts out a publication (available in print and on the web) called Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives. There is one issue of Accord (completely accessible via the internet), which focuses on Guatemala. It is entitled 'Negotiating Rights: The Guatemalan Peace Process'. Articles in this issue include:
Framework Agreement for the Resumption of the Negotiating Process between the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca at http://www.lapaz.com.gt/acuerden.htm
Web site includes: Comprehensive Agreement Human Rights Preamble; Agreement on Resettlement of the Population Groups Uprooted by the Armed Conflict Preamble; Agreement on the establishment of the Commission to clarify past human rights violations and acts of violence that have caused the Guatemalans to suffer; Agreement on identity and rights of indigenous peoples; Agreement on Social and Economic Aspects and Agrarian Situation.
The Guatemalan Web Directory at: http://mars.cropsoil.uga.edu/trop-ag/guatem.htm
Guatemala Map at: http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/dest/cam/graphics/map-gua.htm
The Maya of Guatemala at http://www.mars.cropsoil.uga.edu/trop-ag/the-maya.htm
Organizations of Guatemala at http://www.igc.apc.org/pbi/guate.html
Audio-Visuals:
Burning Rivers. 30 minutes. (Contact Guatemala Partners at tel. 202-783-1123).
Explores the environmental destruction in Guatemala and links it to all of the problems in the country.
Caminos del Silencio. Dir. Feliz Higes. Alba Films (Guatemala News and information bureau), 1987. 59 minutes.
Communities of resistance who fled the army to create new societies.
Central America: Close-Up, Part 1: Guatemala and El Salvador. 28 minutes. (Media Relations, Maryknoll World, Maryknoll, NY 105 1-800-227-8523).
Focuses on teenagers confronting violence and poverty, and shows how each has decided to work for change.
Central American Children Speak Our Lives and Our Dreams. 1993. 40 minutes. (Resource Center on the Americas, 317 17th Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414, 612-627-9445).
Starts with fourth-grade students in the U.S. asking about Central American children, and shifts to mini-documentaries of children's lives in Guatemala and Nicaragua.
The Dark Light of Dawn, Dir. Edgardo Reyes. Guatemalan Human Rights Commission. Educational Film and Video Project, 1987. 28 minutes.
Human rights and military oppression in Guatemala.
Guatemala: The Hidden Holocaust. BBC. 1984. 52 minutes.
Spanish priest's story of twenty years in the highlands.
History of the Mayas and other Indigenous Groups of Central America, Project Crossroads. (P.O. Box 1963, Santa Fe, NM 87505-1963, $32.10 includes shipping and handling)
Narration and 44 slides that give an overview of the history and daily life of the indigenous groups of Central America. Interesting facts about the Maya civilization, such as speculation about the mysteries of its rise and fall, are included.
If the Mango Tree Could Speak. Dir. Patricia Goudvis, New Day Films,1993. 58 minutes. (22D Hollywood Avenue, Hohokus, NJ 07423, tel. 201-652-6590, fax 201-652-1973. Can be rented from NISQUA at 202-223-6474 or borrowed from the Workable Peace library).
A documentary about the consequences of war and poverty on Central American children. An intimate portrait of ten boys and girls -- ages 12 to 15 -- growing up in the midst of war in Guatemala and El Salvador. The children talk about war and peace, justice, ethnic identity, friendship and marriage. In a series of touching vignettes, they share their dreams and hopes as well as their pain and loss.
Latin America: Land of diversity, Dir. L. Curcio-Nagy, New Orleans: Tulane University. (Latin American Curriculum Resource Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, (504) 865-5164).
A comprehensive multi-media course of Latin America for grades 9-12. Lesson plans, readings and slides. Units include: Stereotypes, Geography, Industrialization and the Debt Crisis, The Catholic Church, African Influences, Women, Narcotrafficking, The Natural Environment and more.
El Norte. Dir. Gregory Nava. Cinecom International Films. 1984. 141 minutes. (Distributed by CBS/Fox Video. Can be rented from Hollywood Express, 1740 Mass. Ave., tel. 617-497-2001).
A moving though at times horrifying depiction of the life of the Quiché that examines the experience of refugees who flee to the United States. One of the best choices for the North American students. Rigoberta Menchú and Arturo Arias assisted with production. Teachers should view the film first to determine whether the film is appropriate for their class.
Todos Santos: The Survivors. First Run/Icarus Films, 1989. 58 minutes.
The effect of war on a Guatemalan village.
Under the Gun: Democracy in Guatemala. Dir. Patricia Goudvis and Robert Richter. 1987. 60 minutes. (First Run/Icarus, 153 Waverly Pl., New York, NY 10014, 212-727-1711).
Human rights, land reform, military control in "democratic" Guatemala.
Voices from the Darkness. Dir. Jonathan Treat. Sun Productions, 1993. 45 minutes.
Women's struggle for human rights and social justice in Guatemala.
When the Mountains Tremble. Skylight Production. 1983. 83 minutes. (May rent from NISQUA (202) 223-6474 or Tufts University (617) 627-3078).
Rigoberta Menchu's story with footage of the guerrillas, army commanders, and even U.S. foreign policy-makers.
Winds of Memory. Alter-Cine Production, 50 minutes. (Can rent/buy from Guatemala Partners at (202) 783-1123).
Focuses on indigenous people, looks at the power players in Guatemala, briefly refers to the guerrillas but spends the most time on the armed forces and wealthy class.
C. Poetry
Castillo, Otto Rene. "My Country, Let us Walk Together’ (Vamonos patria a caminar) in Fried, Jonathan L et al. (eds.): Guatemala in Rebellion: Unfinished History. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1983.
Esquivel, Julia. Guatemala: The Certainty of Spring.: Poems by a Guatemalan in exile. Washington D.C.: Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean, 1993. Translated by Anne Woehrle.
A bilingual collection of poems that are testimony to the suffering and spirit of survival of her people.
D. Literature
Asturias, Miguel Angel. The Mirror of Lida Sal: Tales Based on Mayan Myths and Guatemalan Legends. Pittsburgh: Latin American Review Press, 1997 [Translated by Gilbert Alter-Gilbert]
1967 Nobel laureate Miguel Angel Asturias reveals the political and cultural conflicts of Guatemala through this collection of ten stories. His stories, which can jump in time thousands of years, are informed by Asturias’ intense study of both universal mythology and the specific traditions of Middle American history, myth, legend and folklore.The stories or ‘legends’ are very readable. Also of importance is students’ exposure to the life of an author who defies class stereotypes. Born on 19 October 1899, Asturias was raised by an affluent family in Guatemala City, but became deeply involved in radical politics during his years at University in the capital.
Omang, Joanne. Incident at Akabal, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992.
A powerful and moving novel about a Central American village at a moment of crisis.
Tedlock, Dennis. Breath on the Mirror: Mythic Voices and Visions of the Living Maya, San Francisco: Harper, 1993.
A stunning book, it portrays the continuity of Mayan stories from past to present and their current use.
E. Articles
Berger, Susan. 'Guatemala: Coup and Countercoup' in NACLA: Report on the Americas. Volume 27 (1), July/August 1993.
The expanded role of the military in the fall of 1993 and the dangers of continued political involvement by the military are explored in terms of Guatemala's prospects for a true democracy. A copy of this article is available from the Workable Peace library.
Cojtí, Demetrio Cuxil. ‘Unidad del Estado Mestizo y Regiones Autónomas Mayas’ in Siglo Veintiuno, 28 August 1994.
Cojtí, a social scientist and leading Mayan intellectual, discusses the Indigenous Rights accord and the negative responses to it by the Guatemalan government and some civil organizations. He clarifies what Mayans mean by regional autonomy within a unified State. An intellectual article. Available in Spanish from the Workable Peace library.
Doyle, Kate. 'Death Squad Diary: Looking into the secret archives of Guatemala's bureaucracy of murder' in Harper's Magazine, June 1999.
This article discusses the 'bureaucracy of death' of the Guatemalan military. An analysis of human rights violations is interwoven along with the history of the civil war and U.S. involvement in helping to create and train the joint military and police 'task force' that carried out the murders. The article includes pictures of those who were 'disappeared'. Available from the Workable Peace library.
Handy, Jim. ‘Guatemala: A Tenacious Despotism’ in NACLA Report on the Americas, Volume 36(3), December 1992.
This article gives an overview (from a more leftist perspective) of the civil war and the issues at stake. It focuses on human rights issues while highlighting Rigoberta Menchu's Nobel Peace Prize. Available from the Workable Peace library.
Hakim, Peter, "Rebuilding Guatemala After Negotiating Peace," The Christian Science Monitor, 27 December 1996.
Very readable article which comments on the signing of the peace accords and the future for a just and democratic Guatemalan society. Available from the Workable Peace library.
Holiday, David, ‘Guatemala’s Long Road to Peace’ [journal unknown]
A very readable article that discusses the substantial obstacles to consolidating peace in Guatemala. Available from the Workable Peace library.
McCleary, Rachel M. ‘Guatemala’s Postwar Prospects’ in Journal of Democracy , Vol. 8(2), April 1997.
Morales, Mario Roberto. ‘La Cultura ‘Maya’: Una Autenticidad Mestiza’, 15 August 1996.
Articles in National Geographic:
This is an invaluable resource, both for its well written articles and its superb photography. For many decades, it has particularly focused on the ancient Maya and should be one of the first stops in any student research. Here are a few of its Maya articles.
Garret, Wilbur E. ‘La Ruta Maya’, Vol. 176 (4), October 1989.
Beautifully photographed and well-written, this article explores the Maya culture and outlines a plan for a 1500 mile tour route encircling the Maya realm. A double map of Maya lands is included.(This issue is available from the Workable Peace library).
Mathery, Ray T. ‘El Mirador: an Early Maya Metropolis Uncovered’, September 1987.
Description of a Mayan city now believed to be the oldest and largest of the civilizations. Includes map, illustrations and photographs.
F. Newspaper Articles
Rohter, Larry. ‘Maya Renaissance in Guatemala Turns Political," in The New York Times , 12 August 1996.
Rohter, Larry, ‘Guatemala Foes Now Train for Peace,’ in The New York Times, 11 March 1997.
Now that the war is over the leftist rebels are being moved into encampments to begin the transition to civilian life. The demobilization and disarmament began on 3 March 1997 and is overseen by the United Nations observer force. UN mediator Jean Arnault commented that the difficult phase ‘will start once they are demobilized, with their insertion into civil society and productive life’. ‘A lot of them [the guerillas] were literally born into the war and have been out there in the jungle their entire lives with nothing but Marxist theology thrown at them’, another observer opined. Available from the Workable Peace library.
Tuckman, Johanna, ‘Mass Graves in Guatemala Raise Forensic Questions,’ in Associated Press, New Mexico Daily Lobo, 3 September 1997.
'Key Actors Through the Peace Process' in Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives, in issue: Negotiating Rights: The Guatemalan Peace Process, London: Conciliation Resources, November 1997
This article describes the roles of key individuals and institutions in the broader Guatemalan peace process. This is excellent background reading for everyone before beginning the role plays. Available from the Workable Peace library.
Director Mayan Federation, Mayan Perspectives
COPMAGUA, The League of Organizations of the Maya People of Guatemala at http://abyayala.nativeweb.org/maya/copmagua.html
This site has a transcription of the responses to the accord on 'Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples' made at the 13 April 1995 second grand assembly of COPMAGUA. COPMAGUA makes conclusions about this accord as well as its future plan of action. Available from the Workable Peace library.
Mayan Perspectives (www.eden.com/~mayan/perspectives.html)
This web-site has excerpts from the public access television production by the same name. The site includes a history of the Mayas as well as the social and economic conditions the descendants of the Mayas face today. There is information about the peace accords and the issues pertinent to these populations.
Mayan Perspectives. Dir./Producer Patricia Moore. Austin Community Access Center, 1996 and ongoing.
This is a documentary cable television series produced and edited by the Austin Community Access Center in Texas. The first episode aired in October 1996.
Sieder, Rachel. 'Reframing Citizenship: Indigenous Rights, Local Power and the Peace Process in Guatemala', in Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives, London: Conciliation Resources, 1997.
A. Books/Articles
Schirmer, Jennifer. The Guatemalan Military Project: A Violence Called Democracy . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998. [Winner of the 1999 PIOOM* Human Rights Award] Also available in Spanish: FLACSO-Guatemala, 1999)
A serious scholarly work and remarkable for its ability to reveal the actions and beliefs of one of the most impenetrable of Guatemalan institutions: The Guatemalan armed forces. Over a period of a decade, Schirmer conducted 50 interviews with the Guatemalan military and other important civilian political officials. While the theoretical framework could be difficult for adolescents, what might be most useful is to select certain revealing interviews to discuss rather than taking the book as a whole. The interview with General Gramajo (pp.254-255) and the military’s view of democracy is especially illuminating. The conclusion (p. 269) entitled ‘The army and the peace accords’ is also worth reading.
Schirmer, Jennifer, 'The Guatemalan Military Project: An Interview with General Héctor Gramajo' in International Review, Spring 1991.
This article is a good summary of the more complex issues and interviews of Schirmer's book. Schirmer writes about the military officers who are the architects of military policy to understand their attitudes about national security doctrine, democracy, the armed and unarmed opposition and civil-military relations within the newly emerging civilian regimes in the region. Shirmer writes, 'Rather than caricature or underestimate their mentality and logic, or maintaining a normative disdain, the military, as significant political actors in the Central American context, need to be understood on their own terms.' Available from the Workable Peace library.
A. Books/Articles
Harbury, Jennifer. Bridge of Courage: Life Stories of the Guatemalan Compañeros and Compañeras. Monroe: Common Courage Press, 1995.
A collection of oral histories, compiled before the signing of the peace agreement in December 1996, which reveals the ‘minds and hearts’ of the people and organizations that made up the guerilla group of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG). In readable, though often very graphic, language describing the suffering and torture which people endured, this anthology covers the events that transpired between the late 1970s and early 1980s in Guatemala. The book is organized into four parts, which cover: 1. Accounts of how and why people made the difficult and dangerous decision to work for the revolution; 2. Descriptions of earlier stages of the war, of conditions, hardships, and battles in the early 1980s; 3. Accounts of present day life in the struggle, changes made and hopes for the future; 4. A discussion of projects people can become involved with to change their plight.
URNG web-site: www.urng.com/
This web-site is in Spanish and has useful information on the history of the URNG and its philosophy. The site also contains information about the peace accords.
B. Poetry
Anglesey, Zoe, Something More Than Force: Poems for Guatemala, 1971-1982. Easthampton, MA: Adastra Press, 1982.
Two poems in this collection – 'Patriota' and 'As the Tree' – movingly reveal the guerillas' perspective. Copies of these poems are available from the Workable Peace library.
Congreso de la Republica de Guatemala (www.congreso.gob.gt)
Official web site of the Guatemalan Congress, however it’s only in Spanish.
Guatemala, 1986 - 1994: Compendio del Proceso de Paz, Cronologías, análisis, documentos, acuerdos. Guatemala City, Guatemala: Inforpress Centroamericana, 1995.
Written in Spanish, this is a comprehensive compilation of documents (representing all stakeholders and members of civil society) relating to the Guatemalan peace process up to the year 1994. In it there is an interview with coordinator Gustavo Porras Castejón of the governmental peace commission, COPAZ. Porras is asked what the government wants at the negotiation table and what should be the final outcome of the negotiations. Other issues discussed are: the URNG's transition from a military fight into a political one, the land question, and the role of the international community. This interview is very readable and all pertinent questions and answers have been translated into English from the original Spanish. This translation is available only from the Workable Peace library.
Simon, Jean-Marie. Guatemala: Eternal Spring, Eternal Tyranny. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1987.
Cullather, Nick. Secret history: The CIA’s classified account of its operations in Guatemala, 1952-1954. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999
Using documents that were declassified during a brief period of open disclosure in the CIA, Nick Cullather provides a revealing account of Operation PBSUCCESS, which overthrew the lawfully elected Guatemalan government in 1954. It is important to note that this book was originally intended for internal distribution within the CIA and was meant ‘…to stand alone only as a training manual, a cautionary tale for future covert operators’ (p. xiv) The CIA decided to make this book accessible to the public and by so doing revealed answers to the following questions: What was the CIA’s connection to United Fruit Company? Was the CIA-sponsored invasion a real threat? How does the CIA define success? Students should read this book (along with Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala by Stephen Schlesinger, which is listed in the General/Historical section of this bibliography) to better understand the history of US involvement in Guatemala. This is a good backdrop for a critical analysis of the US ambassador’s current position in the peace negotiation proceedings.
Jonas, Sussane ‘Dangerous Liaisons: The U.S. in Guatemala’ in Foreign Policy, Summer 1996, pp. 144-160.
History of US support and training of the Guatemalan military. The argument is that demilitarization of Guatemala is essential for the stability of a civilian-led system and that the United States is the only actor in the peace process with the leverage to push for demilitarization. The author asks for a ‘sophisticated’ policy shift in US foreign policy towards Guatemala and an end to hypocrisy on the part of the US government.
Kettle, Martin and Lennard, Jeremy. 'Clinton Apology to Guatemala: Leader is first president to admit US role in slaughter of thousands of civilians in 36-year civil war' in The Guardian (British newspaper), 12 March 1999.
'Bill Clinton has made a dramatic break with the policy of previous presidents by expressing regret for the role the United States played in backing a brutal counter-terrorism campaign that caused the deaths of thousands of civilians in Guatemala's civil war' (Kettle and Lennard).
'Transcript: Clinton remarks in Guatemala and Summit closing statements' in United States Information Service (USIS) press release, 11 March 1999.
This report of a gathering of Central American leaders (which President Bill Clinton attended) is written in a readable question and answer format. Of relevance is Clinton's answer to the question, 'What is your personal opinion of the peace process of Guatemala?' Available from the Workable Peace library.
United States Embassy in Guatemala, http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/gt1/wwwhembe.html
This web site provides information on the US mission in Guatemala. There are links there to the US ambassador Prudence Bushnell--her personal biography as well as her speeches on 'The formulation of a Defense Policy in a Democracy' and 'Human Rights Challenges at the end of the year 2000'.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), http://www.info.usaid.gov/countries/gt
This site provides information on the United States economic assistance program to Guatemala, which has been active for almost fifty years. USAID manages this program and plays a key role in implementing priority US foreign policy objectives in Guatemala, including support for the Peace Accords. The USAID strategy for the five year period 1997-2001 is designed to strengthen Guatemala's fragile democratic institutions and processes, promote economic reform, improve social development, and assist in the protection of the environment.. Students should read this information with an eye for the pressures that come from receiving US assistance. Funds are rarely given without first specifying the conditions that must be met for receiving them and continuing to receive them.
'Between Two Worlds: The United Nations in Guatemala' (1998) in Tommie-Sue Montgomery (ed.): Multilateral Approaches to Peacemaking and Democratization in the Hemisphere. North-South Center.
This article focuses on the changed character of the peace talks after the United Nations became the moderator in January 1994. During the 1991-1993 rounds, Guatemala's peace talks had been moderated by Msgr. Rodolfo Quezada Toruño of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, with the United Nations in an 'observer' role. The UN's involvement as official moderator raised the stakes in the negotiations and gave the entire process a less reversible dynamic.
MINUGUA (United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights) in Guatemala. Their web-site is at: http://www.minugua.guate.net/
In response to a petition from the Guatemalan government and the URNG, this UN agency was created in November 1994, and has since its inception been a crucial mediator in the signing of the peace accords. Its mission now, under the direction of Jean Arnault, is to verify that the various stakeholders involved in the peace process comply with the agreements set forth in the accords. The web-site, although written in Spanish, has very useful up-to-date information on the peace process in Guatemala. There are press releases and other reports that are easily accessible.
United Nations, 1994-96, Report of the Director of the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala, No.s 1-6, MINUGUA, Guatemala City.