The Legacy of a Coup: A Guatemalan Village Perspective

Recorded November 15, 2004

Below is the original description of the event.

Fifty years ago the CIA orchestrated its first coup in Latin America. The overthrow of the democratically elected government in Guatemala was hailed by the U.S. as a victory for freedom and democracy. However, when viewed from a Guatemalan perspective the Cold War years had more to do with military dictatorships, death, destruction and dislocation, a legacy that is still hard to undo.

Beatriz Manz is Professor of Geography and Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley. She is the author of Paradise to Ashes: A Guatemalan Journey of Courage, Terror and Hope, a social and political history of a village in the Guatemalan rainforest.