Download A Brief Introduction to the History of Guatemala

A Brief Introduction to the History of Guatemala
Within the whirling roads of inequality, an historical approach to the foundation and
historical socio economic and political configuration of Iximulew, that land called
Guatemala, the Land of Corn.
By Ana María Méndez Libby, Directer of IBIS Guatemala
It is said and understood that all countries’ birth is a painful and violent one. Still, one where most its
citizens as time goes by, can look back and be grateful to those who gave their lives for such nation,
country, freedom or independence. Yet, there are other more complex histories that continue defining
and marking realities, being sometimes as present as when they happened.
Guatemala is recognized to have one of the most complex histories in Latin America. During the Colony
it was known as The General Captainship of Guatemala, and was second to the Viceroyalty of New
Spain, which today is known as Mexico. The General Captainship of Guatemala was the epicenter of
power from the southeastern states of Mexico up to Costa Rica. It concentrated a vast indigenous
population of diverse ethnic backgrounds, which founded and ruled a complex colonial public and
commercial administration system. The Mayan civilization, with outstanding knowledge and
development in math, writing, astronomy, commerce and architecture was a flourishing one when the
Spanish colonization process arrived.
As all colonization processes, the main objective was that of extracting richness for the colonizers as
the Spanish Kingdom. The economic strategy was geared by an economic institution known as the
“Encomienda” which entitled all colonizers to claim land and indigenous manpower for his own - both
in the name of the Kingdom.
The encomienda was the prize to the Spaniards who decided to come to the region and consisted in
Land and Indigenous people to work it. The Spanish crown saved a great amount of money, creating a
society with a core of dominators highly privileged and powerful, the majority of them inhabiting the
center of Guatemala, where they established the conservative institutions which prevailed until 1871,
when a liberal movement started another period of exploitation and economic reform on behalf of the
“criollos”, which were the elite of European origin, born in Guatemala, desirous to control the country
and the region without the Spaniard domain.
The system of colonization and control of land and territories giving privileges, carried out the conquest
without incurring in expenses to the crown, but started to create divergences among the crown and the
interests of the colonizers and mainly its descendants, the criollos.
The main intention of the criollos, mainly during the XVIII century was to control the indigenous
population, preserving the majority of privileges: that was the main intention of the independence and
the creation of the Central American Republic which endured, with many political problems, from 1823
to 1839. The criollos aspired for independence mostly based on an economic desire to not pay taxes
to the Spanish Crown and other institutions, including the Church.
Indigenous people were considered as assets and even seen as beasts since they had no soul according
to the church. Not being Christians and instead worshipers of multiple gods or nature representations,
was enough for such considerations. This was a lucrative and convenient position to all since the
brutalities of exploitation were justified from all perspectives.
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It is until the colonization period advanced and when a famous catholic Friar, called Bartolomé de las
Casas, denounced before the Spanish courts the injustices and brutalities committed against them, that
the Church and the Spanish Crown decided to acknowledge their humanity. This recognition was not
based on a humanitarian or Christian principle, but once again on an economic one. They were
subjects of income generation and therefore subject to taxation, and if their religions were an issue, the
Church would christen them, and for this collect tax. Even up to mid XX Century, the indigenous people
were politically addressed as the “indigenous problem” which needed to be fixed and assessed with
diminished rights, since they were not considered equal citizens and their sociopolitical conception was
based on racist appreciations.
In relation to inequality, Guatemala was the typical region of the extensive property which propitiated
the so called in the sociological analysis as the Kulak or Junker way of the development of capitalism, in
contrast to the farmer way that was characterized by the development of the medium size property.
In the sociological analysis, and according to history, the Kulak way was a part of the Russian history
previously to the Russian revolution, and the Junker way was part of the German history, previously to
the industrial revolution.
Being Guatemala an agrarian society, its development and its inequality is based on the model of
property of the natural resources, especially water and land, which was controlled first by the
Spaniards, than by the “criollos” and lately by the multinational extractive industries and very few
landowners. Estimations indicate that more than 75 percent of land is owned by less than 10% of the
Guatemalan population.
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According to William Robinson ”each epoch of world capitalism has produced a rearticulation of Central
America to it, including the transformation of social forces and the restructuring of the economies, classes,
states, and power blocs. The first cycle, colonial mercantile insertion, lasted until its collapse in the midnineteenth century. The second, based on coffee and bananas, ran from the 1870s until it entered into crisis
in 1930”.
Consequently, the economic model, based on land, resources and manpower, surmounted the colonial
times, and prevailed to the XX century (1930). The main changes were the change of political regimes,
passing from a conservative domain 1839-1871, to a liberal regime 1871-1830-1945, the latter evolved
into a period of the intensification of the exploitation of the indigenous population due to the coming
of the economy of agro-exportation or plantation economy, moved by the north American companies,
starting around the 20´s, and the heyday of the coffee model.
Contrary to other Latin American countries, Guatemala could never develop a more fair land
distribution or a just and dignified true recognition of the indigenous people and their fundamental
rights. History repeats itself as a model of exclusion, repression and racism in order to preserve an
economic model that is successful in benefiting the few and preserving low cost and extensive
manpower. Unlike its north neighbor Mexico and other countries, Guatemala could never achieve an
agrarian reform that could dismantle the basis of this historic economic model.
The history from 1839 to 1945 is a history of military dictatorships and great influence of the catholic
church and an oligarchy formed by European descendants (Spaniards, German and North Americans),
which established its power in the capital of Guatemala thanks to their domain and big property on
natural resources, and the process of colonization of the southern lands of the pacific rim (1950), where
they established the crops of cotton, sugar and nowadays palm and bananas.
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Robinson, William (2003) Transnational conflicts: Central America, social change and globalization, Verso editorial,
London, pp.149
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The strategy of colonization of the southern region was also based on the formula: land domain and
migration of the indigenous and ladino population, mainly coming from the western highlands: that’s is
the explanation of why the resources and main assets are concentrated, producing an extreme
persiting inequality.
The absence of democracy and the extreme social injustice, paved the road for a democratic spring
between the decade of 1944 and 1945. During this period, progressive citizens supported by a
democratic social oriented faction of the Guatemalan Army, gain power through clean elections after a
long era of dictatorships and frauds. They were inspired by social changes throughout the continent
and mainly by the Rerum Novarum Papal Encyclical that called for a fairer distribution of the land and
the need to grant labour rights. During this era, Guatemala created important reforms as adopting a
Labour Code, establishing a basic non-universal social security system, and other social reforms.
Caught within the whirls of the Cold War era, the anticommunist fever and fear headed by the United
States it was obvious, that when the democratic government aimed to generate land reforms that
affected the interests of the elite and the transnational companies, a coup would end this era. And so
it did, throwing Guatemala into a 36 year long period of internal armed conflict, that shattered the lives
of more than 250,000 people most of them civilians and non-fighters. The low intense armed conflict
was characterized by grave human rights violations, the installation of forced disappearance and
genocide acts against the indigenous communities. Truth Commissions have evidenced that at least
80% of the victims were non combatant ones.
The internal armed conflict was contrary to popular believe, not generated by a group of rebel
communist peasant or indigenous movements financed by the late USSR. It originated within the own
Guatemalan Army where a group of social oriented high-ranking officers opposed North American
interventions, absence of democracy and an end to social injustice. Later, trade unions, peasants,
university students and teachers and people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds embraced the
movement. The armed conflict ended with the signature of the Peace Agreements in 1996.
Exclusion, exploitation and racism are the basic traits of the Guatemalan History. It is also a history of
constant violence and repression that prevails in its post conflict stage. Despite the commitments
achieved 20 years ago when the Peace Agreements were signed, few have been complied. All in all, as
in most armed conflicts, the most vulnerable and excluded continue to suffer the most after the armed
conflict has ended. In this case, it’s the indigenous populations.
The structural causes of the armed conflict remain almost intact. Access to land, opportunities and full
recognition of equal rights continues to be an aim and the main demand of the indigenous people and
the poor. Socio-economic exclusion, discrimination and violence have new faces, but in essence are the
same. The increasing motivation to migrate from this environment is understandable and painful
when one acknowledges the community and family disruptive effects as the dangers involved in such
ordeals. Yet, until opportunities are developed for the young to stay with a more right respectful
environment, changes will not be achieved.
Aiming to influence the achievement of a more just an equal history is possible, and Guatemala is
inhaling new democratic airs that can advance this era. Faith in humanity, should never be lost.
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