A Beauty That Hurts: Life and Death in Guatemala

by W George Lovell

Overview

When A Beauty That Hurts was published in 1995, Guatemala was still one of the world s most flagrant violators of human rights. Now that a measure of peace has come to the country, George Lovell revisits "the land that I fell in love with" to reassess and revise his classic account of the evil that was perpetrated by Guatemala's military-dominated state on its Maya peoples.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771134545
Publisher:	Between the Lines
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	220
Sales rank:	582,882
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

W. George Lovell is professor emeritus of geography at Queen's University.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acronyms xvi

Map xviii

Part 1 Struggle and Survival

1 Q'anjob'al Canadian 3

2 Nobel K'iche' 17

3 Jakaltek American 26

4 Doña Magdalena 32

5 Through a Lens, Darkly 39

6 Devils and Angels 42

Part 2 Blood and Ink

7 The Delivery Man 49

8 Into the Fire 50

9 Scorched Earth 58

10 Futility at the Polls 67

11 Civilian Rule 72

12 A Militarized Society 76

13 The Daily News 81

14 The Fiction of Democracy 91

15 Searching for Peace 94

16 Scarred by War 98

17 How Was Guatemala? 104

A Guatemalan Gallery 105

Part 3 A Peace Resembling War

18 Arzú (1996-2000) and the Peace Accord 119

19 Gerardi, REMHI, and the Spectre of Impunity 123

20 Tomuschat and the Truth Commission 129

21 Apology, Denial, and the Death-Squad Diary 134

22 Justice and Representation 138

23 Portillo (2000-2004) and the Corruption of Power 143

24 Berger (2004-2008), the Atrocity Archive, and Business as Usual 148

25 Colom (2008-2012) and the Failure of the State 153

26 Pérez Molina (2012-2015) and the End of the Line 156

Part 4 History, Archives, and the Enduring Maya

27 The Colonial Experience 165

28 The Century after Independence 178

29 Arbenz and the Fruit Company 191

30 The Archive That Never Was 197

31 The T-Shirt Parade 206

32 Indians in the Backcountry 212

Epilogue 217

Sources and Commentary 222

Index 253

Editorial Reviews

"This is a true "Guatemala Guide". George Lovell didn't choose Guatemala - he was chosen by this land, in a magic way, to tell us about the shining voices that whisper in the heart of darkness."
—Eduardo Galeano, author of Open Veins of Latin America and Memory of Fire

"George Lovell is one of the few outsiders who has penetrated to the heart of the hideous tragedy that burns amid Guatemala's beauty. He takes us there with style, originality, and calm understanding in this wise and moving book."
—Ronald Wright, author of Time Among the Maya and Stolen Continents

From the Publisher