History

Central America's Forgotten History: Revolution, Violence, and the Roots of Migration

Central America's Forgotten History: Revolution, Violence, and the Roots of Migration

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  • Create Date：2021-06-07 12:31:15
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Aviva Chomsky
  • ISBN：1662083599
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Summary

Restores the region's fraught history of repression and resistance to popular consciousness and connects the United States interventions and influence to the influx of refugees seeking asylum today。

While Central American migration is widely discussed， the histories and realities of Central America that were well known several decades ago and continue to profoundly shape the region today， are virtually erased from social memory。 At the center of the American immigration debate are migrants from Central America fleeing corruption and violence in search of asylum in the United States。 However， when we discuss these migrants， we often fail to acknowledge the circumstances and ongoing effects of Central America's historical political strife。

In 'CENTRAL AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN HISTORY'， Aviva Chomsky expertly connects the erasure of history to the current influx of Central Americans to the United States today， and how their past and present invisibility are directly related to the factors that cause them to migrate， exploit their labor， and justify their exploitation。

Tracing the roots of displacement and migration in Central America to the Spanish conquest， Chomsky answers the urgent question of， How did we get here？ Ultimately， concluding that the more immediate roots of migration from the three Northern Triangle countries （El Salvador， Guatemala， and Honduras） lie in the wars and U。S。 interventions of the 1980s that spurred refugee streams and set the stage for increased U。S。 presence， and in the 90s， the peace accords set the stage for neoliberalism in Central America。

Chomsky recounts the era of revolution and war to restore the vivid and gripping events to popular consciousness。 Exploring the issue of memory， Chomsky examines how and why histories and memories are suppressed， and the impact of losing historical memory。

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Reviews

Luis ，

Unfortunately this book is yet another anti-America diatribe。 Aviva Chomsky's book is a trail of tears， in this case the victims are the central American masses who， in her view， have been colonized by the United States。 Everything that has gone wrong in Central America from the unfair distribution of land， to the civil wars， to the violent aftermaths and the eventual exodus of millions of people from the region to the US is the fault， directly or indirectly， of US policy。 It is quite irksome， d Unfortunately this book is yet another anti-America diatribe。 Aviva Chomsky's book is a trail of tears， in this case the victims are the central American masses who， in her view， have been colonized by the United States。 Everything that has gone wrong in Central America from the unfair distribution of land， to the civil wars， to the violent aftermaths and the eventual exodus of millions of people from the region to the US is the fault， directly or indirectly， of US policy。 It is quite irksome， disingenuous and false to take an approach to history where the people you are writing about have almost no agency whatsoever and are nothing but pawns of the evil American empire。 It is an example of the sewer that American academia finds itself currently， where the narrative is more important than the facts。 Ms Chomsky never delves deeper than in the surface because if she had she would have made some very interesting discoveries， such as: that Central America has always been plagued by corrupt， irresponsible governments who have only served wealthy elites and not the people， that was the case long before the US was powerful regional hegemony and it is the case to this day; That during the cold war it was not just the US who aided militaries in the region but the soviet union and Cuba funded， trained and provided arms for the guerillas。 She refuses to even talk about the thousands of innocent victims of the guerillas。 At no point does she criticize the ruthless dictatorship of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and only praises it， ignoring that to this day Ortega has remained in power through fraudulent elections， corruption， repression， and the shutting down of the media。 For 30 years in El Salvador， the parties who signed the peace treaty were in power and instead of governing justly they continued the same failed model of corruption and neglect which led millions to leave to the US。 But to me the most egregious omission of this book is the fact that it never mentions the elephant in the room: Costa Rica。 If you look at the Map， Costa Rica is very much Central America。 And the reason why Ms Chomsky ignores Costa Rica is because it is a country that belies her thesis and it contradicts her narrative of Central Americans as victims without agency。 Costa Rica is known as the Switzerland of Central America， US 'imperialism' has never prevented it from being a stable， prosperous democracy and it is precisely because they have historically acted in a manner contrary to other Central American countries。 Costa Rica never experienced turmoil in the cold war， there are no Costa Rican gangs and you will not see millions of Costa Ricans leaving their country in mass because there has never been a need to。 In fact， Chomsky never mentions that if Nicaraguans have not migrated to the US like Salvadorans or Hondurans have， it is not because of the triumph of the Nicaraguan revolution， they have migrated to Costa Rica by the hundreds of thousands。 Shame on me for believing that an intellectual is capable of seeing beyond her bubble and prejudices to give us an objective analysis of the topic at hand。 I was naive to think that the daughter of an America hater， Noam Chomsky was capable of more。 。。。more

Zeb Kantrowitz ，

During the later part of the twentieth century， during the cold war， America spent a fortune of manpower and material to prevent communism from spreading from Cuba to Central America。 Most of the time we turned dictatorships into killing machines as we trained local armies in counter-insurgency （even if there wasn't one）。 All of Central America is not profiled， just Guatemala， Honduras， El Salvador， and Nicaragua。 Belize， Panama and Costa Rica are never mentioned。 From the late 196os through the During the later part of the twentieth century， during the cold war， America spent a fortune of manpower and material to prevent communism from spreading from Cuba to Central America。 Most of the time we turned dictatorships into killing machines as we trained local armies in counter-insurgency （even if there wasn't one）。 All of Central America is not profiled， just Guatemala， Honduras， El Salvador， and Nicaragua。 Belize， Panama and Costa Rica are never mentioned。 From the late 196os through the end of the 1980s， guerrilla warfare and rightest armies fought out wars of violence and torture across all of these nations。 It wasn't like they were peaceful before， mostly they were a type of slave plantation agricultural society。But after the Cuban revolution， the Indigenous and Peasant Campesino peoples began to demand their freedom and for land。 The powers that be brought in help from the American Military and in many places wiped entire cultures off the map and place others in concentration camp conditions。Sometimes there would be a breakthrough and the Armed Forces would turn the government back to the civilian side， but seldomly did this last and the Military would overthrow the government and go back to using "Death Squads" to terrorize the population。There are parts of the narrative where there is to much detail， except for a text book， and other times things are just passed over quickly。 Though the US is held to account， it always seems as if the White House lets the Military loose to do what they want。 Like Vietnam， we spent a lot of time and money trying to save people's freedoms by killing them off。 。。。more

David Wineberg ，

The history of Central America is the history of outside interference and destruction。 It began with the Spanish invaders， the reason Columbus Day is a day of mourning throughout the region。 In the first 150 years， the Spanish oversaw a reduction in population from 5-6 million to just 600，000 by 1800。 In Aviva Chomsky’s Central America’s Forgotten History， the mistreatment of Guatemala， Honduras， El Salvador and Nicaragua are all different， a cornucopia of tactics that have kept them all violent The history of Central America is the history of outside interference and destruction。 It began with the Spanish invaders， the reason Columbus Day is a day of mourning throughout the region。 In the first 150 years， the Spanish oversaw a reduction in population from 5-6 million to just 600，000 by 1800。 In Aviva Chomsky’s Central America’s Forgotten History， the mistreatment of Guatemala， Honduras， El Salvador and Nicaragua are all different， a cornucopia of tactics that have kept them all violent， vile and oppressive – just the way America wanted it。 It’s a horrifying， if comprehensive run through the descent of a once balanced society into violence， poverty and constant fear。 It is a story of murder， slaughter， torture and dispossession。 The “discovery” of Central America was not an improvement for any of the natives。With the implementation of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823， Americans began ousting the Spanish and proceeded to grind the countries of Central America into hellholes of poverty， violence， and chaos。 For immense profit， of course。Both colonizers had a policy of eliminating the natives。 They both considered Mayans subhuman， just as Americans viewed their own native populations。 They had no rights， were pushed out of their lands and homes for the benefit of rich whites and mixed race Ladinos， and were slaughtered at will， all with total impunity。 And all the while， they were heavily taxed for the privilege。 By 1829， Simon Bolivar was already able to claim: “The United States seems destined by Providence to plague （Central） America with miseries in the name of Freedom。” All over Central America， small rebel movements took shape， all fighting the same fight， but usually alone。 The movements and their members never coalesced。 Chomsky points out right off the top that to be a Central American today means to suppress both memory and the effects of the oppression。 The only way they can go on is to pretend none of it ever happened。 History for Central American is largely blank。While America might have claimed everything it did was for the good of Central Americans， it was in fact simply in favor of the dollar。 Villages were destroyed， ways of life were destroyed。 Death squads wreaked havoc at will。 Men had to sleep outdoors in the mountains because of constant attacks by the Contras or other death squads。 Horrific killers roamed the countryside unmolested， and then moved to the USA and became citizens， sometimes bringing their violent ways with them。 US aid， such as it was， went towards training and equipping the death squads and to lining the pockets of the elite leaders and soldiers。After 200 years ， there is nothing the USA can point to in terms of nation-building in Central America。 By 1933， US Marine Major General Smedley Butler was able to testify: “I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business， Wall Street and for the Bankers。 In short， I was a racketeer， a gangster for capitalism。 I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street。” The countries were so chaotic that they all suffered from huge influxes of refugees from their neighbors， fleeing similar horrors on their side of the border。 This， of course， simply caused additional problems for the countries as well as further misery for the refugees。 It was a treadmill to oblivion。 The short leash the Americans kept the nations on meant the only logical goal for asylum seekers was the United States。 That’s where peace was， along with jobs and all the material goods they saw in their own countries， but could not get for themselves without going into crippling debt。 There was absolutely nothing of any value on offer in any neighboring country， thanks to the depradations of the USA。 Even today， so-called caravans of Central Americans walk from their countries to the American border in the hope of joining millions of the their countrymen in starting over far from the American-made hell of home。 In Guatemala， for example， 83% of those killed were indigenous Mayans。 And 93% of the killings and other atrocities were by the military and paramilitary。 El Salvador， Honduras and Guatemala still rank in the top ten most violent countries in the world， Chomsky says。 And none of them are even at war。 Normally， one needs an insurgency in order to just justify counter-insurgency forces。 Not here。 Counter-insurgency forces of the governments are the main source of death and violence。The United States moved into those countries with force， rewriting local laws to suit American corporations， such as enabling part time employment to avoid providing any benefits， just like back home。 Special emphasis in the book goes to Ambassador John Negroponte， who basically ran Honduras himself， instructing politicians and military officers in what they needed to do at all times。 Honduras itself was derisively called the USS Honduras for all the military bases and totally US-controlled areas of the country。 Land was continually taken from the locals who couldn’t pay the taxes， and given in ever larger tracts to US corporations to exploit， starting with horrible conditions for the local laborers， now forced to seek livelihoods at the pleasure of the Americans in their own countries。In Nicaragua， alcoholism and domestic violence ranked the highest in Central America （which is saying a lot）， along with a patriarchy and associated issues， social and criminal。 The rise of the Sandinistas to fight these conditions actually began a hundred years ago。 The Americans fought them off， creating the Contras， training and supplying them。 And despite Congress’ efforts to stop the Contras， President Reagan found more and devious ways to divert cash and arms to them to continue their terrorism of the public。 What Reagan feared most was the possibility of a good example for the rest of the region to emulate。 It could never be allowed to happen。 The result is 80s is called The Lost Decade there。Today， the shambles of national economies in the region mean they are largely dependent on remittances from emigrants to the USA。 Salvadorans emigrate to the USA in the tens of thousands a year。 There are now 2。3 million of them。 Their remittances of $1 billion represent 10% of the gross national income of El Salvador， twice as much as coffee， the biggest export。 It is so important that President Duarte lobbied President Reagan not to increase deportations （as he planned to） because it would cripple the country’s economy and stability。 So Central American nations remain totally beholden to the USA， even today。The utter chaos the US engendered in Central America immediately reminded me of the strategy currently deployed by Saudi Arabia。 The kingdom seeks to keep any country in its region off balance if it shows even the slightest inclination to go its own way。 So from Syria to Azerbaijan to Chechnya to Qatar to Iran to Yemen to Somalia to Sudan， the Saudis are in there， fomenting disruption， distrust， instability， bombing and war as necessary to keep any of them from possibly setting a good example for others。 It is a ring of chaos surrounding the haven of Saudi Arabia。 So with Central America。Chomsky’s text is enormously fast-moving。 There is a ton of facts to transmit， and no room for padding。 There are no flowery descriptions， no scene-setters， and no coloring。 Very few adjectives。 She does not profile suffering locals or tell their life stories and family histories。 Instead， the book is packed with loaded statements。 It often seems that every sentence in a paragraph could be its own book。 There is so much to tell， and so little of it well known （and even less of it understood） that Central America’s Forgotten History will be a revelation to most readers。David Wineberg 。。。more

Reference

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