Silenced Communities: Legacies of Militarization and Militarism in a Rural Guatemalan Town

Although the Guatemalan Civil War ended more than two decades ago, its bloody legacy continues to resonate even today. In Silenced Communities, author Marcia Esparza offers an ethnographic account of the failed demilitarization of the rural militia in the town of Santo Tomás Chichicastenango following the conflict. Combining insights from postcolonialism, subaltern studies, and theories of internal colonialism, Esparza explores the remarkable resilience of ideologies and practices engendered in the context of the Cold War, demonstrating how the lingering effects of grassroots militarization affect indigenous communities that continue to struggle with inequality and marginalization.

Marcia Esparza is an Associate Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. She has co-edited the books State Violence and Genocide in Latin America (2009), Legacies of State Violence and Transitional Justice in Latin America (2015), and Remembering the Rescuers of Victims of Human Rights Crimes in Latin America (2016).