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Discussion & Study Guide for "If the Mango Tree Could Speak"
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Historical Overview: Guatemala

2500 BC - 1501

Mayan civilization begins around 2500 BC and reaches its peak of development beginning around 200 AD. The artistic and scientific achievements of the Maya have few equals in the Americas and in many fields surpass Europeans. The Mayas are accomplished mathematicians and develop the concept of zero more than a thousand years before it was understood in Europe. They are unparalleled masters of astronomy, use a highly accurate calendar and are skilled in architecture, engineering, medicine, agriculture and art. Around 900 AD, Mayan cities suffer a decline.

1501 - 1821

In 1501, the first Europeans arrive in Central America. Spanish conquerors begin sweeping through the continent. Between 1524 and 1650, about 85% of the Mayan population is killed by the conquerors' guns, swords and new diseases to which they have no resistance. Many survivors are enslaved, but some manage to flee to the higher mountains.

Although defeated, the Mayas are not reconciled to slavery. Spontaneous revolts break out, forcing the Spanish colonists to devote most of their energies and resources to quelling the rebellions. The final stage of devastation undermines the Mayan cultural and spiritual strength as Mayan ceremonial centers are torn down and replaced with Christian churches. Mayan writings are destroyed and their leaders and scholars killed. After the conquest, some survivors decide to redocument their traditions, producing three books, the most famous of which is the Popul Vuh.

1821-1871

In 1821, Guatemala declares its independence from Spain. In 1823, Guatemala joins El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to form the United Provinces of Central America. The United Provinces abolish slavery and write a constitution modelled after that of the United States.

In 1838 the United Provinces break up into the five individual countries. Since then there have been dreams of reuniting Central America, but none of the efforts has been successful.

For most of its history, Guatemala is ruled by strong dictators interspersed with brief periods of constitutional government. Conservatives and Liberals dominate Central American politics. Conservatives represent the interests of wealthy landowners and the Catholic Church, favoring a strong central government and a regulated economy. Liberals represent mainly the middle class and merchants, favoring decentralized government, free trade and greater separation of church and state. During the mid-1800s, cultivation and export of coffee creates a new oligarchy of wealthy families.

1871 - 1900

Conservatives dominate Guatemala until 1871, when a "Liberal Revolution" brings Justo Rufino Barrios to power. He restructures the economy to benefit growers of the new export crops -- coffee, cotton and sugar -- and encourages the involvement of foreign companies in order to "modernize" the country.

Previously, landowners seizing the better agricultural land of the valleys and lowlands forced the Mayan people into the mountains. Coffee growers in turn begin to drive the Mayas from the highlands, which are suited for coffee production. The growers also need laborers to pick the coffee. Vagrancy laws make it illegal for any Guatemalan to be without a job, enabling the government to force Mayan farmers to work on coffee plantations for very low wages.

1900 - 1944

By 1900, the United States is the dominant economic force in Guatemala. The Guatemalan government grants U.S. investors the country's most fertile land for banana production. The United Fruit Company arrives first, in 1901. They become the largest landowner, employer and exporter in Guatemala, persuading the government to provide them with land, low taxes and plenty of cheap labor. General Jorge Ubico is elected in 1931 and--backed by the United States-- ruthlessly represses opposition parties and labor and agrarian organizations.

While United Fruit's profits flourish, the majority of the population suffers malnutrition, high rates of infant mortality, limited access to health and education, and violations of human rights. This leads to wide-scale discontent. The middle class also is frustrated with its own limited economic growth and political power.

1944 - 1954

In 1944, an alliance of students and middle class professionals succeeds in forcing Jorge Ubico from power. Juan Jose Arevalo is elected president and initiates many reforms, including a minimum wage, the legalization of unions, laws to protect workers, the elimination of the vagrancy law and national health care.

In 1950, another reformer, Jacobo Arbenz, wins the presidential election. He institutes an Agrarian Reform Law requiring very large estates not under cultivation to be distributed to people needing land. This threatens the large landowners, including the United Fruit Company, who uses its close ties with the U.S. government to promote an overthrow of the Arbenz administration.

This decade marks the only time in Guatemalan history when leaders committed to improving living conditions and human rights hold office and implement major social reforms.

1954

During the height of the Cold War, the United States accuses the Arbenz government of being communist. The CIA organizes a coup against Arbenz, replacing him with Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas. Some 9,000 people -- mostly peasant and labor leaders -- are arrested during and after the coup and many are tortured. A turning point in Guatemalan history, the 1954 coup paves the way for the long line of military dictators who will rule Guatemala -- except for a brief period in the 1960s -- for the next thirty-two years.

1954 - 1962

Castillo Armas repeals the Agrarian Reform Law, represses labor unions and reverses most other reforms. With the military repressing all forms of protest, landowners and multinationals begin to aggressively expand their holdings. The U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) promotes and funds agro-exports such as beef. To graze cattle, growers grab more land away from the peasants and cut down vast expanses of forest. Though tremendously profitable for a few, this agricultural "boom" results in increasing poverty for much of the population, wide-scale destruction of the forest lands and pesticide contamination of the people and the environment.

1962 - 1970

In 1962, disgruntled army officers launch a guerrilla war against the military government. Although joined by some leftists and student-based groups, they are never very powerful. The United States sends Green Berets to train the Guatemalan army in counterinsurgency techniques. Government forces bomb communities suspected of supporting the guerrillas, and death squads -- paramilitary groups organized by the security forces -- appear for the first time. Thousands of civilians are killed, mostly in southeastern Guatemala. The guerrillas are defeated by 1969, but the death squads continue to target community activists and opposition leaders.

Through economic incentives of the Alliance for Progress, the United States encourages Guatemala to institute reforms as a way to head off revolution. Although Guatemala never complies, the United States continues its assistance, even as more and more peasants lose their land.

1970 - 1980

From the mid-1960s through the 1970s, church, community, student and labor groups organize more openly in both rural and urban areas, some of them influenced by the teachings of liberation theology in the Catholic Church. They take to the streets in legal and nonviolent protest marches seeking greater political participation, economic opportunity and respect for their rights. The government responds with increased repression.

The 1976 earthquake kills 25,000 people and creates over a million homeless people -- all from the poorest sector of the population -- while leaving the rich untouched, thereby revealing the massive social inequities. The earthquake spurs on increased organizing activities.

By the mid 1970s, new guerrilla organizations emerge in the highlands. Threatened by the guerrillas' growing base of support among the Mayas, the army targets community leaders to be killed or disappeared. As the repression grows under General Romeo Lucas Garcia (1978-1982), many peasants join the guerrillas in self-defense. The United States government, under President Carter, cuts off direct military aid to Guatemala, citing their human rights violations. However, some aid still goes to Guatemala through indirect means.

On January 31, 1980, a group of peasants led by the Committee for Peasant Unity (CUC) -- Mayas organized around the issues of land and human rights -- peacefully occupy the Spanish Embassy to call attention to their unmet demands. The government responds by attacking and burning the Embassy, leaving 39 peasants and several Embassy staff dead. This convinces many people that the only way to force the army to yield power is through armed struggle.

1980-1985

Starting in 1981, the army unleashes a campaign of terror against the highlands, destroying over 400 villages. By the mid-1980s, an estimated 50,000 - 75,000 people have been killed or disappeared and 200,000 have fled to Mexico. Tens of thousands of others go to the jungle and mountains to hide and will eventually form the Communities of Population in Resistance (CPR). Hundreds of thousands more seek safety in the cities.

In 1982, a split within the army leads to the overthrow of the corrupt Lucas regime. General Efrain Rios Montt is installed to lead the new government. He slows repression in the cities but intensifies the "scorched earth" campaign in the highlands. The Guatemalan army's counterinsurgency campaign -- developed in consultation with "experts" from Israel, Argentina and South Africa -- is in full swing. The country becomes militarized and the army institutes sophisticated methods of population control.

They establish a system of model villages, forcing peasants to live under army control. Rural men and boys are required to serve in "civil patrols" administered by the army. Ostensibly set up to have people protect their communities from guerrillas, the patrols allow the army to keep track of the rural male population. They also serve to sow distrust among the people and force them to spy on each other. Although the model villages are less controlled today, the civil patrol system remains in place throughout the highlands.

In 1982, the four guerrilla organizations -- now engaged in armed struggle throughout the country -- join together to form the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNGo).

In early 1983, the Reagan administration repudiates Carter's emphasis on human rights and resumes military sales to Guatemala. By 1985, the United States officially resumes both military and economic aid.

Later in 1983, General Oscar Mejia Victores ousts Rios Montt in a coup. The counter-insurgency war continues. In 1984, a new constitution is written and elections are scheduled for 1985.

1985 - 1994

Christian Democrat Vinicio Cerezo wins the presidential elections and takes office in 1986, establishing a formal democracy in Guatemala. Killings diminish somewhat, although the military still holds the real power in the country.

On December 2, 1990, soldiers massacre 13 villagers in the community of Santiago Atitlan. The United States suspends military aid to Guatemala, but continues some military training.

In early 1991, Jorge Serrano Elias is elected president. The URNG and the government begin negotiations. The United States releases $50 million of economic support funds after a 10 month freeze. The Communities of Population in Resistance (CPR) openly declare their existence and demand recognition and protection as a civilian population.

In 1992, Mayan leader Rigoberta Menchu wins the Nobel Peace Prize, bringing worldwide attention to Guatemala.

After months of difficult negotiations sponsored by the United Nations, Guatemalan refugees in Mexico begin a formal repatriation to Guatemala in 1993.

In May of 1993, President Serrano attempts to suspend the Constitution and close down the Congress. He counts on the support of the military, but after strong national and international outcry, Serrano is forced to flee the country. Ramiro de Leon Carpio, head of the governmental human rights office, is chosen interim president.

Negotiations between the government and the URNG continue, with some agreements regarding human rights reached in March, 1994. The most important paves the way for the international verification of human rights through the United Nations. Discussion regarding the establishment of a "Truth Commission" to assign responsibility for past human rights violations is postponed. Political violence continues, as those responsible for the massive human rights violations in recent Guatemalan history go unpunished.