Guatemalaan Revolution

I studied many things about Guatemala such as, the culture, religion, food, population, geography, imports, exports, and most popular of all sports. The sports of Guatemala is something I found very interesting.

Usually, when we think about the United States, we think words or phrases like “freedom, equality for all, and home or the brave.” Still, throughout the late 18th century and early 19th century, we see how the United States struggles to acknowledge the Mexican population. We see how the fail to acknowledge that their work should be equally valued as of an American labor would, or how judgment is based on the color of skin, rather than the quality of nurture. Above all else, we see how at the end the United States concedes that Mexican laborers are a profit to the nation rather than invaders.

The author of this book is Juan Jose Arevalo and he was a professor of philosophy who became Guatemala’s first democratically elected president in 1944. He was elected after a popular uprising against the United States, backed by Dictator Jorge Ubico, which began the Guatemalan Revolution. He stayed in office until 1951 and had survived 15 coup attempts. During his presidency he had passed several social reform policies that included an increase in minimum wage and a series of literacy programs. He also directed and ministered the drafting of a new constitution in 1945. Arevalo focused much on the need of advancement with individuals and communities. After he was exiled as being a university professor he went back to Guatemala to help the new post-Ubico government, focusing on the areas of social security and drafting of a new constitution. He developed the term “spiritual socialism”, in which he defined his political philosophy as. The philosophy was pointed towards the moral development of Guatemalans with the intent to liberate man psychologically. Arevalo strongly believed that this theoretical doctrine was vital to the making of a progressive and peaceful Guatemalan society. He felt in order to create an ideal society it was necessary to allow the citizens the freedom to pursue their own opinions, property, and way of life. He proclaimed that protecting the freewill of the citizens creates more support for governmental institutions, which in turn ensures the security of

The Guatemalan Revolution was on October 1944 and it forced the resignation of Jorge Ubico. He was the President of Guatemala in the previous thirteen years. Ubico's government was a fear period in the country and it was called the “peace on the cemeteries”

During the 1970’s more and more protests and uprisings in the capital and the southwest part of the nation became very frequent, and overtime, very violent. The Peace Pledge Union expressed a dramatic and detailed example of the violent acts that the military of Guatemala practiced on Indian natives in search of subversives,

Born in Blood and Fire text describe and explain Chasteen’s perceptions on the effect that important invents that occurred in Latin America had during the Cold War. Chasteen’s visions of the period were precise and outstanding. First Chasteen’s ideas reflect how during the Cold War Latin American governments started turning into a military rule with the United Sates as an ally and founder of their army. He explains how countries started revolutionary movements in order to fight for nationalism. Marxist ideologies and communist revolutionary guerrillas rose as well as anticommunist governments. Chasteen’s argues how during the Cold War period there was a constant increase of civil right abuses from the government’s army who impose their power with violence and brutality. Chasteen’s ideas are reflected and confirmed in the Guatemala Reader documents by describing specific events that occurred in Guatemala during the Cold War period. The Guatemala Reader goes beyond Chasteen’s ideas by giving detailed documents and historical facts of the social injustices that people had to go through every day. Born in Blood and Fire texts and the Guatemala Reader documents show the rise of civil wars and a period of political struggle in Latin America during the Cold War.

In the much-admired poem “The New Colossus” American writer Emma Lazarus writes, “Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” Carved inside the inside of an icon of freedom, the Statue of Liberty, this speech has come to describe the country of the United States of America. Even before its declaration of independence in 1776, the United States was a dock for those looking for a better life. Gathering to this country by the thousands, immigrants past and present have travelled to the land of the free in an effort to find a lifestyle based upon the United States’ idea of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” With more and more people entering the country, the United States quickly changed into the

Since the early days of Central American independence, Honduras has had the tragic fate of being frequently used as a transit point or launching area for troops attacking a neighboring country. For example, Honduras played a vital role in the overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala in 1954 when Honduras served as training ground. Therefore, US influence has been more noticeable in Honduras than the other countries in the region. Additionally, the long history of the US fruit companies and their control of the banana republic’s economic benefits, opened the doors to capitalism in the US and Central America, which set a solid foundation for the US government to constantly protect and advance their economic and political

Nicaragua is the largest Central American country and was settled in as a Spanish colony back in the 1520's. In 1522 Spanish explorer Gil Gonzalez de Avila named the colony "Nicaragua" after an Amerindian chief named Nicarao who once ruled the area, making Nicaragua have Spanish and Indian cultures. Back in 1523-24 Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba officially completed his exploration of Nicaragua. In 1838 Nicaragua fully gained its independence from Spain. William Walker assumed presidency over the country in 1856, and had seeked U.S. annexation as well as sanctioning slavery. General Jose Santos Zelaya was Nicaragua's first dictator that took power in 1893. National hero Cesar Augusto Sandino starts a rebellion against US occupiers and other

The United States took interest in Latin America for economic and political reasons. The banana appears to be a distinct reason as to why the United States went over to Latin America according to Dan Koepple’s

Guatemala, a country situated in Central America that shares borders with Mexico, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras, the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, is rich in culture and tradition that dates back thousands of years and is the most populous amongst its Central American counterparts. A country called the “Land of Eternal Spring” and “Land of Forests,” Guatemala is located along the banks of the mountainous Central American geographic and the vast, beautiful Pacific and Caribbean bodies of water. As a result, Guatemala exhibits an abundance of one of the world’s most diverse and vast geographies. Prior to the arrival of European influence in the Americas, much of Guatemala was dominated by the Mayan civilization, which flourished in its

“The people of Nicaragua were suffering oppression. This made us develop an awareness which eventually led us to commit ourselves to the struggle against the domination of the capitalists of our country in collusion with the United States government.” (Daniel Ortega 1974) As has been discussed throughout the semester thus far many countries throughout Latin America have experienced a political revolution in some way, shape, or form. In the early 1970’s Nicaragua joined the long list of Latin American countries to experience a revolution when the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional (FSLN) lead by Daniel Ortega successfully overthrew the Somoza dynasty. Many people often times have a misconception of what exactly a political revolution

The United States was in favor of democracy in Latin America; however, the reforms made by these “democracies” had to stay within the limits imposed by the US. Therefore, Arbenz became a communist threat after legalizing the communist party and moving to nationalize the plantation of the United Fruit Company . By nationalizing the United Fruit Company, the US and the land owners in Guatemala were going to lose money; therefore, they shared common ground, and were against it. They did not agree with the empowerment of the indigenous people of Mayan descent, and were always discriminated upon. The dictators from neighboring countries were afraid that the reforms being made in Guatemala were going to influence their “respective oligarchies” (Rabe, Stephen G.) and helped organize a possible coup with the United States (Miller, Talea). The CIA desperately searched for any ties between the USSR and Arbenz, but could not find anything. The CIA in Guatemala reported a list with names of communists that they wanted to eliminate when an anti-communist coup was taken place (Document 2), and the killings

America may be known as the land of the free but that statement holds truth only to a small degree. Mexicans have been making their way into to the United States for roughly 166 years now and even after all this time they continue to struggle in order to survive in this “Freeland.” From the high volume of crime to the economic issues in the country of Mexico, many Mexican citizens yearn for a better life than what their own country could provide. In effort to attain this higher standard of living they migrate to the United States. The struggles of Mexicans do not stop once they leave Mexico, but instead they follow them through the journey of migration and even after they’ve gotten to America.

Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution is still discussed today in many households and academic facilities as one of the most important events that contributed to the current state of many Latin American nations. Due to the importance of this event, it is considered as an emotionally fueled topic for anyone who is associated with the Latin American identity. Many discussions are based on an emotionally fueled response, which give rise to two main arguments. The first of which is that Fidel is a hero amongst Cubans and Latin Americans for revolting against the authoritarian dictatorships prevalent in the region. The counter argument states that Fidel was an even more cruel dictator, who tainted Cuba, along with other Latin American nations. However, both arguments are too simplistic, and do not encompass the common facts that have been outlined in this school of thought. The political critics and theorist that have contributed to the academic discussion include Thomas Wright, Jorge Casteñeda, Peter Winn, and Che Guevara. All have interesting opinions and arguments about the Cuban Revolution, each with a different perspective. After analyzing this school of thought, the Cuban Revolution benefited Latin America as a whole in its early years, as it finally included agrarian reform in the main discussion, and it created the leftist platform that contributed to the “Pink Tide.” However, in the long term, Castro’s regime became more authoritarian and crippled its citizens’ political