2023-11-18 08:01:42
The call of the 48 Cantons of Totonicapán for the Indefinite National Strike marks a difference between what Guatemala was, is and will be. Historical fact that no one expected, many recognize and some already irritate.
Historical fact that no one expected, many recognize and some already irritate.
José María Magaña
In general terms, the Spanish conquest was an occupation of the “new world” and implementation of its culture that did not eliminate pre-existing cultures, even when its population was decimated by military force and disease. So much so that Guatemala is recognized for its multicultural wealth and variety of ancestral languages.
Taking abysmal leaps in that tortuous history, the first corrupt pact signed in the Royal Palace of Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción stands out, on September 15, 1821, when the economic, political and ecclesiastical elite bought the president of the Royal Court, Gabino Gainza, to declare independence in the face of the fearful consequences it would have if the people proclaimed it. The price, being the first president of the Republic that would be created. The pact had its ups and downs, agreements and disagreements until the formal creation of the Republic, on March 21, 1847, with immense territorial loss in the meantime.
The Liberal Reform of 1871 marked the end of colonialism and the strengthening of the elite that was favored with the distribution of communal lands belonging to the native peoples, marginalizing them to the servitude of the new bosses, to whom foreign guests were added. to invest and produce based on new agricultural products, such as coffee. This new class generated power alliances that gave rise to exploitative tyrannies.
The revolution of October 20, 1944 broke with the neocolonial scheme. Public institutions were created to achieve the common good, modernize the State, become part of the capitalist world and enter the 20th century with education, health, infrastructure and resources that would allow development. It included the recovery of idle land to give to peasants to work it. Action that, in the context of World War II, caused the US government to label President Árbenz as a “communist” and incite the coup d’état in defense of the fruit company affected by the Agrarian Reform of 1954.
That caused stagnation and the arrival of corrupt governments that set the country back. Discrimination, racism and disregard for cultural diversity were strengthened, except for the postcard with which the country is officially presented at international tourism fairs, as if it were a “Light Culture Theme Park.” Given this state of affairs, on November 13, 1960, young soldiers rose up against the government; uprising that generated 36 years of internal war. In the 70s and 80s, military governments plunged the country into the darkest period in our history. Dark night in which the most renowned intellectuals, politicians, union and student leaders were murdered in order to make kakistocracy prevail, that is, the government of the worst. Stage marked by the genocide of the native peoples, in which more than 200,000 indigenous citizens were sacrificed, destroying entire villages, with impunity to date.
Hurt peoples among which the organization of the 48 Cantons of Totonicapán survived and stands out, joined by other indigenous, mestizo and ladino organizations that make a difference today. Action with which Guatemala will no longer be the same as it was before September 30, 2023 and allows us to foresee a better future.