1. In Search of Providence 1)Guatemala: History and Context (today) 2)Violence and Memory, Emotion, and Fieldwork (11/17 and 11/19) 3)Race and Ethnicity (11/24 and 12/1) 4)Transnational Migration (12/3 and 12/8)

3. Mayans First evidence of humans, 12,000 BCE; hunters and gatherers Maize production by 3500 BCE Monumental architecture by 1400 BCE (pyramids, causeways) Height of Mayan regional empires (250-900 CE): city-states ; abandoned in 900 CE due to drought? overpopulation? Tikal, 200-900 CE

4. Conquest by Spain, 16 th century introduction of Catholicism Introduction of Spanish language the impoverishment and forced labor of Mayans movement of Mayans into the highlands to escape conquest/control Santa Cruz del Quiché

5. Post-independence (1821-) Export-oriented agriculture (coffee, sugar, cotton): forced labor of Mayans, expropriation of land New investment from abroad: United Fruit Company (1898-1920) exporting bananas to US and Europe; link to dictator President Cabrera Preservation of Ladino (mestizo) hierarchy over Mayans Loading bananas onto railcars, Honduras, 1920s

6. Men forced to build a road, Ixil Province, Guatemala, 1983. Picture by Beatriz Manz.

7. Political Turmoil and Civil War 1944: dictator Castaneda forced to resign over strikes over brutal conditions of plantation workers New leadership (Arévalo and Árbenz Guzmán) promised better workers’ rights and land reform, abolition of forced labor; landowners furious 1954: Árbenz Guzmán overturned in military coup d’état orchestrated by CIA worried about spread of Communism in Western Hemisphere; land reform overturned 1960s: rigged elections and dictatorships with paramilitary groups; guerrillas in Mexico; US Special Forces helped train military 1978-1984: guerrillas move into Guatemala; brutal counterinsurgency

8. Paratroopers in a Catholic Church building, Nebaj, Guatemala, March 1983. (Photo courtesy of Beatriz Manz.)

9. A civil patrol (Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil, PAC), Ixil region, Guatemala, March 1983. (Photo courtesy of Beatriz Manz.)

10. Effects of Civil War and Political Turmoil, 1960-1986 200,000 killed or “disappeared” 440 Indian villages burned to the ground 1 million internally displaced 125,000 children orphaned Migration to Mexico and US

11. On the road to the Ixil region, Guatemala, March 1983. (Photo courtesy of Beatriz Manz.)

12. “A firm and lasting peace” Human rights violations continued after the end of the war 1996: Peace Accords negotiated by UN, with intense brokerage by Spain and Norway. Guerrilla fighters disbanded and given land. 1998: Bishop Gerardi assassinated after his report on human rights abuses published The report found that 93% of the human rights violations made by paramilitaries; 200,000 deaths over 36 years: Mayans accounted for 83% of the victims. Very few legal cases brought against individuals (p. 94). Army refused to cooperate in investigations unless individuals involved in massacres were not identified (p. 207). 1999: President Clinton said that the US was wrong to have provided support for the Guatemalan military when it was engaged in such brutality against civilians.

13. Guatemala Today 14 million people: Ladino 59%, Mayan 41% Languages: Spanish and 23 officially recognized Amerindian languages (more than 44 in use in Guatemala) A poor country: More than half of the population is below the national poverty line, and 13% of the population lives in extreme poverty. Poverty among indigenous groups averages 73%, with 22% of the indigenous population living in extreme poverty (Foxen argues it is higher). Nearly one-half of Guatemala's children under age five are chronically malnourished, one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world. Distribution of income remains highly unequal: the richest 20% of the population account for more than 51% of Guatemala's overall consumption (11 th in income inequality in the world, GINI coefficient: 50). Xinxuc: 7,000 residents, 70% in poverty

14. Immigration and US Foreign Involvement Saskia Sassen (sociologist at Columbia): there is a connection between US foreign involvement (both foreign investment and political alliances) and immigration flows. Interventions cause political turmoil; capital investment causes internal migration and social turmoil by developing export agriculture or industries (factories). Her examples are Vietnam, the Philippines, Korea. 1947-1989: Cold War for the US and USSR; “hot” war elsewhere. Cold War conducted by proxy. The Caribbean, Southeast and East Asia, and Central America are good examples of this phenomenon; other countries less so.