Radical Thought In Central America

299 Pages·2020·4.948 MB·English

by  Sheldon B. Liss

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ISBN 978-0-367-28492-3
www.routledge.com aninformabusiness
(cid:31)
Radical Thought
in Central America
Latin American Perspectives Series
Ronald H. Chilcote, Series Editor
Dependency and Marxism: Toward a Resolution of the Debate, edited by
Ronald H. Chilcote
The Fitful Republic: Economy, Society, and Politics in Argentina, Juan E.
Corradi
Latin America: Capitalist and Socialist Perspectives of Development and
Underdevelopment, Ronald H. Chilcote and Joel C. Edelstein
Haiti in the World Economy: Class, Race, and Underdevelopment Since
1700, Alex Dupuy
t The Battle for Guatemala: Rebels, Death Squads, and U.S. Power, Susanne
Jonas
Repression and Resistance: The Struggle for Democracy in Central America,
Edelberto Torres Rivas
t Radical Thought in Central America, Sheldon B. Liss
t Available in hardcover and paperback.
Also by Sheldon B. Liss
Roots of Revolution: Radical Thought in Cuba
Marxist Thought in Latin America
Diplomacy and Dependency: Venezuela, the United States, and the Americas
Man, State, and Society in Latin American History, coeditor with
P. K. Liss
The Canal: Aspects of United States-Panamanian Relations
A Century of Disagreement: The Chamizal Conflict, 1864-1964
Radical Thought
in Central America
Sheldon B. Liss
First published 1991 by Westview Press
Published 2019 by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 1991 by Taylor & Francis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
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Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Liss, Sheldon B.
Radical thought in Central America / Sheldon B. Liss.
p. cm. - (Latin American perspectives series)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-8133-8208-4 (he) - ISBN 0-8133-8209-2 (pb)
1. Central America-Politics and government. 2. Central America-
Intellectual life-20th century. 3. Radicalism-Central America-
History-20th century. 4. Self-determination, National.
I. Title. II. Series.
F1438.L74 1991
320. 9728-dc20 91-21144
CIP
ISBN 13: 978-0-367-28492-3 (hbk)
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
List of Acronyms xi
Map of Central America xiii
1 Introduction 1
Radical Intellectuals, 1
Praxis, 3
Marx and His Major Interpreters, 4
The Writers' Approaches, 10
The Author's Approach, 12
Historical Backgrounds, 14
2 Guatemala 25
Juan Jose Arevalo: The Era of Spiritual Socialism, 36
Manuel Galich: Radical Analysis of Liberal Failure, 44
Guillermo Toriello: U.S. Response to Bourgeois
Nationalism, 48
Edelberto Torres Rivas: The Consummate Radical
Academician, 53
3 El Salvador 63
Agustin Farabundo Marti and Abel Cuenca:
Revolutionary Precursors, 75
Salvador Cayetano Carpio: Latin America's
Ho Chi Minh, 80
vii
viii Contents
Roque Dalton: Seeking Justice Through Poetry and
Armed Resistance, 85
Rafael Menjivar: Capital Accumulation, Labor, and
Land Reform, 91
4 Honduras 97
Graciela A. Garcia: Feminist Revolutionary, 107
Longino Becerra: Adapting Communism to Honduran
Reality, 112
Mario Posas: Workers' Movements and Land Tenure
Questions, 117
Victor Meza: From 1870s Liberal Reform State to
1980s Pentagon Republic, 122
S Costa Rica 127
Vicente Saenz: Socialist Man of Letters, 139
Manuel Mora: The "Red Pope," 144
Rodolfo Cerdas Cruz: Diagnostician of
Institutionalized Democracy, 149
Jose Luis Vega Carballo: The Liberal State and
Indirect Domination, 155
6 Nicaragua 159
Ruben Dario: Nicaragua's National Treasure, 172
Augusto Cesar Sandino: "The Freeman's General," 176
Carlos Fonseca Amador: Sandinista Theorist and
Revolutionary Martyr, 182
Ernesto Cardenal: God's Revolutionary Minister of
Culture, 188
Jaime Wheelock Roman: The Marxist Component of
Sandinismo, 196
7 Conclusions 205
Notes 217
Bibliography 251
About the Book and Author 279
Index 281
Acknowledgments
Numerous coworkers in the antiinterventionist movement and academic
colleagues encouraged me to examine the history of radical thought and
action in Central America and to present my findings. For over a quarter
of a century, countless people from all walks of life in Latin America
have imparted their wisdom to me and graciously facilitated my explo-
rations into inter-American relations and radical thought. In the years
since the Vietnam War, with the hope of averting similar disasters in
the Americas, Central American friends and acquaintances have invited
me to analyze the obstacles to, and vehicles for, progress in their region.
They have also asked me to convey to the people of my country their
ideas, fears, beliefs, and aspirations for a brighter future.
In one way or another, through their assistance, insights, or advice,
Nora Astorga, Fernando Cardenal, Susan Chester, James Cockcroft, Lisa
Freeman, Richard Harris, Felipe Ixcot, Frank LaRue, Uriel Molina, Tommie
Sue Montgomery, Lauren Osborn, Helen Ryan, Gary Ruchwarger, Janet
Shenk, Edelberto Torres, Edelberto Torres Rivas, Philip Wheaton, Jaime
Wheelock, and Ruben Zamora contributed to this work. Donald Ramos
read the entire manuscript and offered extremely thought-provoking
suggestions that helped me to reshape its contours. Scholarly and activist
friends corrected my errors, and their ideas enabled me to clarify my
thoughts, write more precisely, and present a more cohesive book. Sarah
Lorenz efficiently processed hundreds of my interlibrary loan requests.
Mia O'Connor and Edie Richeson typed the manuscript from my quasi-
legible longhand draft, handled three sets of "final" revisions, and
probably wondered why I have not entered the modern age of computers
and word processors. My Westview Press editors, Barbara Ellington,
Alice Colwell, and Jane Raese, turned what is generally the aggravating
part of the publication process into a pleasurable experience. A final
ix
x Acknowledgments
note of thanks goes to Central America's radical thinkers and writers,
especially those about whom I have written. They continually make
personal sacrifices to sustain others in the struggle for human dignity
and social justice and are an ever-present source of inspiration.
Sheldon B. Liss