:: 11/29/2002 ::

yesterday went to a conference by guatemalan ex-guerilla, it was just well and truly sexy. tears in his eyes, and thoroughly reminiscient of hemingway's memories from the internationale in anarchist-syndicalist spain, he spoke of sixteen years in the mountains, truly outside, no- beyond- the all-too rigid social structures, mayans and ladinas, men and women, fighting side by side. the U.S.-led counterinsurgency (with direct involvement even) in the 70s, the groups were suddenly finding themselves being branded communist- later, tellingly, terrorist obv. "look it up in the dictionaries, communism isn't anything bad. we didn't didn't mind."

although he made reference to intellectual groups from the cities providing the discourse, it was apparently first and foremost the starving rural populous that were going for it, 14 year-olds and on up. since the proper locals constitute 60% plus (update on earlier figure, it is highly politicised..) they had no problems fighting state terrorism to defend most of the rural environment. Civil war does not mean 50%-vs-50% of the country, and locally, an externally installed minority fending off dictatorship of the masses so to say. So specially trained troops, they receive a psychological trimming with techniques from nazi-germany (comsky instructive on this), not combat techniques, or whatever, these guys are responsible for the massacres.

the peace of 96, following 36 years of pretty much constant war, has led to the re-election of ex-dicatator riott montt as chief of congress and some dicktosspott bush-style guy as president. the ex-guerilla are nonetheless still organised, making use of the few hard-won rights such as free-speech: the guy in question produces radio-technology in a cooperative.. presto! today i visited the state university, every single wall is covered in sexy socialist graffitis re: econ imperialism, armed struggle (i shit you not) and Ches.. and that was the faculty of medicine.. Every year in spring, half-tempted to stay for this, there's a couple of weeks worths of protest, with students demanding money of businesses, depending on size, McD par example 5K USD last year.. at the end of march, students from all faculties dressed in black outfits with masks, like an inverted KKK, go out and destroy the businesses that didnt pay up. public attention is high, with locals jubilating. Apparently, the McD's had to be destroyed last year.. what joy! this 100-year plus tradition was obv very bloody during the more repressive years (of which there were many), and the univ walls are full of references to the dead of the student movement.

needless to say, i told the guy "soy un socialista, siento claro", big handshake, and started whining about the nihilist, post-modern consumerist generation in europe. he told me to go to chiapas and look into that, apparently a lot of the european activists are hanging out there when there's no stone throwing on, should be interesting.

:: phil 21:53 [link] ::

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