The Century After Independence: Land and Life in Guatemala, 1821–1920

Under the Volcanoes: The Influence of Guatemala on José Martí

“…In contrast, liberalism signaled assimilation into a modern, outward-looking state run not only by criollos but also by mestizos (mixed bloods known in Guatemala as ladinos). At the level of the Maya community, conservative ideology represented a cultural buffer, while liberalism's far-reaching interventions stood to alter profoundly age-old ways of living and of working the land (Lovell 1994).…”

“…Carrera's policies undid many of the measures taken by his liberal predecessor, Mariano Gálvez, and kept the outside world at bay. Not until the liberals routed the conservatives in 1871 could they pursue with fervor their goals of modernization (Lovell 1994).…”

“…Both these areas of Guatemala had been relatively untapped by the search for a profitable cash crop during colonial times, which elsewhere had seen cacao, cochineal, and indigo enjoy periods of boom and bust. Investment by domestic and foreign capitalmuch of the latter came from Germany-saw coffee emerge in the second half of the nineteenth century as Guatemala's principal export crop, a dominance it has enjoyed in the national economy from the time of Barrios until quite recently (Lovell 1994).…”

“…Old community titles drawn up during the colonial period were to be replaced by new ones that insisted that individuals, not groups, demonstrate legal private ownership. Unaware or left uninformed of the implications that these changes would have on their key resource, land, Maya communities thus found themselves exposed to a double plunder, one that seized their land in addition to usurping their labor (Lovell 1994).…”