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‘It's Not Gossip, It's True’: Denunciation and Social Control during the Guatemalan Armed Conflict (1970–85)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2020

Joren F. Janssens*
Affiliation:
History Department, KU Leuven
*
*Corresponding author. Email: joren.janssens@kuleuven.be.

Abstract

Practices of denunciation are at once ubiquitous and marginalised in literature on the Guatemalan armed conflict. Meanwhile, ordinary Guatemalans who spontaneously denounced neighbours, former friends and fellow villagers have largely escaped scrutiny in scholarly work on low-level perpetrators. Departing from untapped confidential documents in the Historical Archive of the National Police, this article provides the first archival study of denunciatory behaviour during the Guatemalan Civil War, specifically at the height of the conflict (1970–85). This contribution reveals both the strategic considerations that spurred state intelligence apparatuses to elicit civilian information as well as the broad range of personal, opportunistic and strategic motives that drove civilians to denounce. The case study questions scholarly consensus on the spontaneous and voluntary character of denunciation by arguing that besides providing novel pathways for opportunistic action, denunciations also opened up new strategies for survival in the face of a civil war that structured available choices.

Spanish abstract

Spanish abstract

Las denuncias durante el conflicto armado guatemalteco están en todas partes y al mismo tiempo marginadas en lo escrito sobre el tema. Guatemaltecos comunes que acusaron de forma espontánea a vecinos, antiguos amigos y gente de sus comunidades, han escapado en gran medida al escrutinio académico sobre perpetradores de bajo nivel. A partir de documentos confidenciales hasta ahora ignorados del Archivo Histórico de la Policía Nacional, este artículo ofrece el primer estudio de archivo del comportamiento de denunciantes durante la guerra civil guatemalteca, específicamente durante el pico del conflicto armado (1970–85). Este trabajo revela tanto las consideraciones estratégicas que estimularon los aparatos de inteligencia estatales para obtener información civil, como el gran abanico de motivos personales, oportunistas y estratégicos que llevaron a los civiles a denunciar. El caso de estudio cuestiona el consenso académico sobre el carácter espontáneo y voluntario de la denuncia al indicar que más allá de proveer nuevas veredas para la acción oportunista, las acusaciones también abrieron nuevas estrategias de sobrevivencia frente a una guerra civil que estructuró la disponibilidad de opciones.

Portuguese abstract

Portuguese abstract

Práticas de denúncia são ao mesmo tempo onipresentes e negligenciadas na literatura sobre o conflito armado da Guatemala. Em particular, cidadãos comuns da Guatemala que, espontaneamente, denunciavam vizinhos, antigos amigos e membros de suas próprias comunidades, são pouco analisados em trabalhos acadêmicos que lidam com perpetradores de ofensas menores. Utilizando-se de documentos oficiais inexplorados do Arquivo Histórico da Polícia Nacional, este artigo viabiliza o primeiro estudo de arquivo do comportamento denunciatório durante a Guerra Civil da Guatemala (1970–85). Esta contribuição revela as considerações estratégicas que incitaram os serviços de inteligência do Estado a obter informação de civis e também a vasta gama de motivos pessoais, oportunísticos e estratégicos que levaram civis ao ato de denunciar. O estudo de caso coloca em questão o consenso acadêmico ao redor desta ideia do caráter espontâneo e voluntário da denúncia. O artigo argumenta que essas denúncias forneciam não apenas novos caminhos para ações oportunistas, mas também abriram novas estratégias de sobrevivência diante de uma guerra civil que moldava as escolhas dos cidadãos.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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