The Last Colonial Massacre: Latin America in the Cold War, Updated Edition

346 Pages·2011·3.17 MB·English

by  Greg Grandin

THE LAST COLONIAL MASSACRE
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THE LAST COLONIAL MASSACRE
Latin America in the Cold War • Updated Edition
greg grandin
With a New Preface by the Author and
an Interview with naomi klein
the university of chicago press
Chicago and London
greg grandin is professor of history at New York University and the author of
several books, including Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten
Jungle City and Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of
the New Empire.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2004, 2011 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2011.
Printed in the United States of America
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 30690- 2 (paper)
isbn- 10: 0- 226- 30690- 9 (paper)
The afterword originally appeared as “Body Shocks: A 40th Anniversary
Conversation with Naomi Klein” by Greg Grandin, NACLA Report on the Americas,
vol. 40, no. 6 (May / June 2008). Afterword copyright © 2008 by the North American
Congress on Latin America, 38 Greene Street, New York, NY 10013.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Grandin, Greg, 1962–
The last colonial massacre : Latin America in the Cold War / Greg Grandin, with
a new preface by the author and an interview with Naomi Klein. — Updated ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-226-30690-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-226-30690-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Guatemala—History—
1945–1985. 2. Guatemala—History—1821–1945. 3. Massacres—Guatemala—
Panzós. 4. Indians of Central America—Guatemala—Government relations.
5. Communism—Guatemala—History—20th century. 6. Insurgency—
Guatemala—History—20th century. 7. Social confl ict—Guatemala—
History—20th century. 8. United States—Relations—Latin America.
9. Latin America—Relations—United States. I. Title.
f1466.5.g73 2011
972.81′04—dc22
2010049461
o This paper meets the requirements of ansi / niso z39.48-1 992 (Permanence of
Paper).
for mg
a victory described in detail is
indistinguishable from a defeat.
Jean- Paul Sartre
Contents
ix List of Illustrations
xi Preface to the Updated Edition:
A New Enlightenment
xix Preface to the First Edition
xxv A Note on Interviews and Archives
1 introduction: The Last Colonial Massacre
19 chapter one: A Seditious Life
47 chapter two: An Uncorrupted Life
73 chapter three: Unfi nished Lives
105 chapter four: Clandestine Lives
133 chapter five: An Unsettled Life
169 conclusion: Children of Abel: The Cold War
as Revolution and Counterrevolution
199 Acknowledgments
201 Appendix: List of the Dead from Operación
Limpieza and the Panzós Massacre
203 Glossary
207 Notes
283 Bibliography
303 Afterword: An Interview with Naomi Klein
311 Index

Illustrations
maps
1 Guatemala 21
2 Polochic Valley 23
figures
1 San Pedro Carchá, early twentieth century 25
2 Demonstration in support of October Revolution 41
3 Vagrancy exemption 42
4 Alfredo Cucul 56
5 Carchá’s Comunidad Agraria 57
6 Crime sketch, 1954: reported suicide 67
7 Crime sketch, 1954: drowning 68
8 “A Considerable Success” 99
9 Execution of Víctor Manuel Gutiérrez 100
10 Víctor Manuel Gutiérrez 102
11 Leonardo Castillo Flores 103
12 Efraín Reyes Maaz 107
13 Adelina Caal, or Mamá Maquin 138
14 Panzós, ca. 1860 141
15 Military occupation of Panzós 147
16 Hauling away the dead 154
17 Burial site 155
18 Exhumation of remains 156
19 Protest following Panzós massacre, I 157
20 Protest following Panzós massacre, II 158
21 Municipal council minutes 165