The Dilemma of Guatemala

. 1 was first published in the book Aquf va un sold d d , . ·s artlC e . a o e Amenca [Here

Th1 soldier of the Americas], a collection selected by Ch G , 0n,es a . . e uevara s father

C Guevara Lynch, which includes letters sent to his relatives h'I h ' Ernesto . . . · . . w I e e was on

. d trip. This article, and the ar~cle that follows in this book "Th . his secon ,, · . , e Working . the United States, were sent to Argentina when Che left Gu t I f lass 1n a ema a or

. where he arrived on September 18, 1954. ' I

Anyone who has traveled these lands of .the Americas will pave heard the disdainful pronouncem~nts . of ~ome people about certain regimes with clearly democratic leanin~s. Thes.~ _sentiments date from the Spanish Republic and its fall. At that_ ti~e ·they · said the republic consisted of a mob of layabouts who only knew, :h~w to dance the jota, and that Franco

' " . ,, ,1

established order and exiled ·~oµununism from 'Spain. Time polished such • J I ,, •

opinions, standardizing criteria; -~d the words used, like stones thrown at any moribund democracy, went alp~gthe li~es of, "That was not liberty, but the rule of libertines." . ·.

I, ';: I· ' ' II \ ! ',/

The governments that in Per~, Ve_nezuela and . Cuba had held out the 1 1 j ,

dream of a new era for the ~mericas . were thus defined. The price that democratic groups in these countries have had to pay for their apprenticeship

' ' ~' ' I

in the techniques of oppression has been high. A :great number of innocent victims have been immolated to ni~intain an order required for the interests of the feudal bourgeoisie and foreign ~apital. Patriots now ~ow that v~ctory will have to be achieved by blood and fire, that there can be no forgiveness for traitors, and that th~ total extermination· of reactionary groups is the 0~Y .

I .

Way to ensure the rule of justice in the Americas. ' 11

When I once again heard the words ~' rule of libe~tines" used to .desc,ribe Guatemala, I feared for the small republic. Doe~H mean.that th~ resurrection of th . · · d e dream of the Latin American people, embodied by this country an

144 THE AWAKENING OF ,LATIN AMERICA

by Bolivia, is condemned to go the way of its Precursors? Ber . elll 1·

dilemma- ''' F ur revolutionary parties constitute the suppdrt base of th e o e~

d II f then'\ except for the Guatemalan Workers p vel'lune an a o ,.,. ., . . . , , arty [Pct ~t

fragmented into two or more antag~mshc_ fachons that fight ), ilte themselves even more viciously than with therr 'tradili,onal feudal 'lllon1

· bbl th . · enen-.: forgetting in their domeshc squa es e asprrations of the Guate .. ,~.

People. Meanwhile, the reactionary forces spread their nets wide l!\alai · d F · C , ' , · The lls

. Wsw~h State Department and the Urute nnt ompany- one never kno is which in that country to the north- in open alliance with the landow ' and the Spineless, sanctimonious bourgeoisie-are making all kinds of p: to silence a proud adversary that has emerged for them like a boil on the bosom of the Caribbe~- While Caracas awaits orders that will open the way for more or less barefaced interference, the displaced little generals and the craven coffee growers seek to make alliances with other dictators in

neighboring countries. And while in the adjoining countries the fully muzzled press can only

sing the praises of the "leader" on the only note permitted them, what pass for "independent" newspapers here unleash a farrago of long, involved stories about the government and its defenders, creating whatever climate

they want. Democracy permits this .. The "beachhead of communism," setting a magnificent example of

freedom and ingenuity, allows them to undermine their own nationaliSt

foundations, permitting the destruction of yet another of Latin America's

dreams. Look back a little at the immediate past, compafieros, and observe the

leaders who have had to flee, the murdered or imprisoned members ~f AP~ (American Popular Revol1;1tionary Alliance] in Peru, of DeJlloerauc Action m Venezuela, and look at the magnificent young Cubans ru;sassinated by ~a~ta. Draw close to the 20 bullet wounds in the body of the poet soldier, Rmz Pmeda and I k h . Loo~ f ' 00 at t e rrnasmas of the Venezuelan pris0115

· earlessly, but with car t hi , . d a11swer thi . . e, a t s past that serves as an example, an

s question: is this the future of G uatemala? . Has the struggle be • h ·1Jibt)' of those wh en, IS t e struggle, for this? The historic respoJ1S' f r

. 0 must fulfill the h . tiJlle 0

. opes of Latin America is great. The

Discovering Latin America 1950-56 145

. . over. It is time that garrote answers garrote. If one must d' . et1Phen . sandino and not like [Spanish President] Azafia.

·t be bke Jet! cherous guns be grasped not by Guatemalan hands. If they want tvfaY trea . . .

dom let it be the other side fhat does 1t, those who hide freedom kill free ' to We must do away with feebleness and refuse to pardon treason.

away. · th 1· the unshed blood of a traitor cost . e 1ves of thousands of brave

Let not . d rs

of the people. The old dilemma of Hamlet has come to my lips in defen e . " ,

rds of a poet from Guatemala-America: Are you or are you not, or the wo who are you?" Let the groups that support the government answer this.