HOMEWORK:
Read chapter 9.
Notes on Guatemalan Civil War
U.S. supported 1956 military coup that overthrew their democratically elected president.
The U.S. was worried that this president was too communistic and that this would be bad for the people of the country. The president and Congress in the United States felt that they had a responsibility to help people of the world, even if it meant getting involved in civil wars and supporting one side. Additionally, leaders in the U.S. felt that if Cuba and Central American countries became Communist, that would be a threat to our way of life, too.
1961. Civil war starts when the man who overthrew the first president was assassinated.
1961. New leader was a dictator
1981. Yet another dictator starts a genocide
1981-1986. Nearly 200,000 Mayans killed
People would disappear
Mass, unmarked graves.
Esperanza's brother was killed
1982. Esperanza and Estevan are snuck out of Guatemala by Maddie and the priest
1982. Maddie goes on TV and says, "we have a moral and legal obligation to help these people."
Esperanza's name: Think in terms of symbolism. Esperanza means "Hope," and she, as well as all Mayans, needed Hope. The dictator was trying to crush hope.
Guatemalan Genocide
Guatemalan Civil War
Timeline
They Dance Alone, by Sting
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