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Guatemala’s Descent into Violence

Virginia Garrard‐Burnett

in Terror in the Land of the Holy Spirit: Guatemala Under General Efrain Rios Montt, 1982-1983

This chapter provides a background to the violence of the early 1980s. It explores the evolution of the revolutionary Left in the 1960s and 1970s. This chapter also explores the development of a ... More

This chapter provides a background to the violence of the early 1980s. It explores the evolution of the revolutionary Left in the 1960s and 1970s. This chapter also explores the development of a well‐defined counterinsurgency movement in Guatemala and its methodical use of terror as a means of controlling the population and staunching the growth of the Marxist opposition. This chapter suggests that by the late 1970s, the ideology of counterinsurgency had degenerated into a chaotic culture of violence that repudiated the authority of the state. Much of the material for this chapter comes from secondary sources. However, it also utilizes primary sources from personal papers of Mario Payeras, who was a founder and intellectual leader of the Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres, which have only recently become available for scholarly use.Less

Communism and the Spanish Revolution July–August 1936

StanLey G. Payne

in The Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism

This chapter discusses the military rebellion that began the Spanish Civil War, which was a preemptive strike by approximately half of the army, led by a diverse cadre of officers, primarily of ... More

This chapter discusses the military rebellion that began the Spanish Civil War, which was a preemptive strike by approximately half of the army, led by a diverse cadre of officers, primarily of middle and junior rank. Initially, the rebellion sought a new, more conservative, and authoritarian republic that would put an end to the growing anarchy, the pervasive misgovernment or lack of government by the left Republicans, and the mounting threat from a profoundly disunified but ever-expanding and violent revolutionary left. The insurgents would later release forged documentation in an effort to show that the Comintern planned to take over the government no later than August. The evidence is clear that the Comintern intended to continue the Popular Front formula indefinitely and had no such immediate plan or timetable in mind.Less

Introduction

Tanya Harmer

in Beatriz Allende: A Revolutionary Life in Cold War Latin America

An introduction to who Beatriz Allende was and the themes present throughout her life. Following a discussion of the methodological opportunities and challenges posed by biography and microhistories ... More

An introduction to who Beatriz Allende was and the themes present throughout her life. Following a discussion of the methodological opportunities and challenges posed by biography and microhistories of an individual life, this introduction discusses periodization of reform and and revolution in Chile; youth in Latin America’s long sixties; the revolutionary left; and the history of revolutionary women and gender. In doing so, it suggests a new way of examining the Cold War as lived experience.Less

Conclusion

in The Political Trajectory of J. T. Murphy

J. T. Murphy died of a cerebral haemorrhage on May 13, 1965 at the age of seventy-six. In his lifetime, he had been only one of a generation of autodidact Marxists in early twentieth-century Britain. ... More

J. T. Murphy died of a cerebral haemorrhage on May 13, 1965 at the age of seventy-six. In his lifetime, he had been only one of a generation of autodidact Marxists in early twentieth-century Britain. An extraordinary worker-intellectual, Murphy combined an avid theoretical enquiry with a long-standing commitment to the working-class movement. He was a leading figure in the fight against capitalism and his political trajectory, characterised by his transition from syndicalism to communism, from left reformism to popular frontism to anti-Marxism, mirrors some of the strengths and weaknesses of the British revolutionary left. Undoubtedly, Murphy's primary legacy was his formulation of revolutionary strategy and tactics within the trade unions. This chapter discusses some of the main general themes related to Murphy's life and politics.Less

The KGB and Ireland: British fear Soviet embassy in Dublin, Official IRA declares ceasefire, Ireland joins EEC

John Mulqueen

in 'An Alien Ideology': Cold War Perceptions of the Irish Republican Left

A potential espionage threat to Britain from Dublin-based Soviet agents arose as the establishment of Irish-Soviet relations became a probability. This chapter examines perceptions of the ... More

A potential espionage threat to Britain from Dublin-based Soviet agents arose as the establishment of Irish-Soviet relations became a probability. This chapter examines perceptions of the communist-influenced Official republican movement as the Troubles escalated in 1971-2, with officials expressing fears for the stability of the Dublin government – the ‘Irish Cuba’. British and American officials used a Cold War prism here. The Russians could be expected to exploit the northern crisis, the American ambassador warned, using the Official movement as their ‘natural vehicle’. Following Bloody Sunday, when British paratroopers killed thirteen unarmed civilians, the British prime minister, Ted Heath, warned Dublin that the Soviets would cause as much trouble as they could, using the Official IRA as a proxy. The Irish revolutionary left too used a Cold War lens when opposing Ireland’s membership of the European Economic Community (EEC): it would lock Ireland into a NATO-dominated bloc.Less

Reform and Radicalization

Tanya Harmer

in Beatriz Allende: A Revolutionary Life in Cold War Latin America

Chapter four examines the emergence of a revolutionary left in Chile in the first years of Eduardo Frei’s presidency. Although this process would not dominate left-wing politics at a national level ... More

Chapter four examines the emergence of a revolutionary left in Chile in the first years of Eduardo Frei’s presidency. Although this process would not dominate left-wing politics at a national level until later in 1960s, it resonated soon after Allende’s 1964 electoral defeat, influenced both by reformist projects and repressive efforts to contain them. By 1966, Beatriz was part of a weak but emergent revolutionary wing of the Chilean Socialist Party, inspired by local circumstances and international influences. These first years of the Frei government were dynamic, and productive. Beatriz and her cohort of medical students and socialist militants came into direct contact with the state’s new approach to healthcare, family planning, women, agricultural reform, and poverty. Beatriz benefitted from, and was shaped by, the reformist environment she inhabited, emerging like many of the radical left as a product of combined frustrations and opportunities it provided. By 1967, Beatriz had her first formal job in a community health center, epitomizing many of the Christian Democrat’s reformist goals. Closer to home, she had also fallen in love and married a young Socialist Party militant, Renato Julio, involved in effervescent student politics.Less

The Influence of the United States in Chilean Politics

Sebastián Hurtado-Torres

in The Gathering Storm: Eduardo Frei's Revolution in Liberty and Chile's Cold War

This concluding chapter reflects on the influence of the United States in Chilean politics. Since the dynamics of Chilean politics replicated very closely the ideological divide of the global Cold ... More

This concluding chapter reflects on the influence of the United States in Chilean politics. Since the dynamics of Chilean politics replicated very closely the ideological divide of the global Cold War, the overarching goal of the U.S. strategy toward Chile between 1964 and 1970 was to keep the Marxist Left from taking power. Arguably, the most important part of that strategy was the considerable support provided to the reformist political project of the Christian Democratic Party, as it constituted a viable alternative to the growing appeal of the revolutionary Left and offered a path toward economic and social modernization that coincided with the ideological outlook of the Johnson administration's foreign policy. Despite an imbalance of power, the U.S. foreign policy apparatus did not determine the motivations or intentions of the Chilean political actors with which it established relationships, nor did it shape the political debates on which the U.S. interests in Chile could be at stake. The United States established itself as a relevant and even powerful informal actor in Chilean politics but only as an ally of forces whose interests and goals, though convergent with U.S. interests, were independent.Less

Jefe de la Plaza: The Rise of Augusto Pinochet

James Lockhart

in Chile, the CIA and the Cold War: A Transatlantic Perspective

This culminating chapter examines the rise of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, an anticommunist officer who became dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990. It assesses the coup that overthrew the Allende ... More

This culminating chapter examines the rise of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, an anticommunist officer who became dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990. It assesses the coup that overthrew the Allende administration in five parts: Allende's politics, the professional officer corps' politics, the relationship between the professional officer corps and their senior commanders, Pinochet's decision to commit to the coup, and the involvement of foreign military and intelligence services, including the CIA and KGB.Less