Rigoberta Menchs I Rigoberta Menchu and Peter Winns Weavers of Revolution - Essay Example

?The past several centuries have seen several economic realities emerge. Empire and mercantilism naturally defined the European experience up until nearly the middle of the 20th century. At such a time, due to the political shifts caused by the First and Second World Wars, the ability of European powers to continue to hold on to and otherwise dominate the colonial possessions was severely weakened. Many scholars have expended a great deal of time discussing the linkages between the mercantile/Imperial model of global economy as compared to the capitalistic era which has continued to define global economics ever since. Although it could be easily claimed that the capitalist system has completely and utterly defined the way in which the world is integrated since the postwar years, it cannot and should not be noted that the impacts of the Cold War and the contention that existed between East and West, typified by the conflict between NATO and Warsaw Pact countries, had on the means by which the economic realities of diverse people groups around the globe were affected. As a function of seeking to understand this dynamic, the preceding analysis will spend a great deal of time understanding and defining the level to which the actions of peasants/workers in both Guatemala and Chile can either be understood as solely home-grown or as heavily impacted by external realities. As a means of providing a particular level of inference based upon these two nations, the following two books will be analyzed: Rigoberta Menchu’s I Rigoberta Menchu and Peter Winn’s Weavers of Revolution. It is the hope of this author that such an analysis will help to integrate the reader with an understanding of how different political movements within diverse regions of the globe are affected and based upon what precepts/motivators/influences. With regards to the first text which will be analyzed, Peter Winn’s Weavers of Revolution, it is the belief of this author that situation which was described within this book primarily illustrates a “bottom up”/home-grown level of economic social agitation. Accordingly, the first part of this analysis will be concentric upon analyzing this book and key aspects of Winn’s commentary that help to support the fact that such an instance was primarily precipitated by the peasants/workers within the factory in question. As such, a brief biographical/historical sketch of the factors leading up to the unrest and/or revolution that occurred will herein be enumerated upon and identified. As with many South American nations at that time, the pull and tug between far right and far left movements was a defining component of how politics, coups d’etats, and even murder were defined. One of the primary reasons that this author has identified that the unrest which was realized at the Yarur cotton mill in Chile was likely the result of a grassroots/homegrown movement was the fact that the individual stakeholders within the situation were primarily motivated by a supreme level of frustration with the slow level of economic policies that the recently elected Salvador Allende was able to bring about. As with many election cycles, the primary shareholders were of the understanding that a rapid societal change with take place once the socialist candidate was elected. Within such an understanding, it becomes reasonable to define the actions of the factory workers within the context that they were supremely disgruntled with the realities they greeted them fully eight months after the election, which was supposed to change the very fabric of their lives, was completed. As Winn describes, the realities of Chile at that time were defined by the following: “dependency, stagnation, economic inequality, social equality, the concentration of wealth and persistence of poverty, as well as the hegemony of the rich and the powerless nature of the poor” (Winn 54). Such a reality helps the reader to understand that the determinant actions that were taken by the mill workers were ultimately a grassroots rejection of the means by which Chilean society had been defined and existed for a period of several decades prior to the socialist Salvador Allende being elected as president. Rather than merely being a running commentary on some of the problems that existed within Chile at the current time, the reader can and should integrate with an understanding that these factors had a compounding effect it with regards to how the otherwise disenfranchised mill workers sought to change the dire situation that they found themselves within. In such a way, rather than being seen as instigated by, funded, or directed by external factors, the rejection of the status quo that was evidenced within the mill was most likely caused by the fundamental dissatisfaction that the workers experienced with regards to their quality of life, pay, and outlook for the future. In such a way, rather than being seen as merely a revolution or rejection of the norm, the reader can and should integrate with an understanding that what was evidenced was merely the boiling point with which these workers had been forced to endure up until the time in which final actions were taken to remediate these concerns. Oftentimes, when individuals seek to understand complex political realities, it is a temptation that leadership is either viewed as a reactionary or revolutionary. In such a way, Allende represented what the workers hoped would be a visionary and revolutionary change with regards to how Chile and its economy was organized. However, when this proved not to be true, the reactionary compliments of the workers and peasants provided for the necessary impetus to change the system from within. Winn notes of the dissatisfaction that existed within the general populace, “the revolt of the Yarur factory undermined the political gender and authority of Allende. The president’s plan for political stability through a mass base of the populace and hierarchical command ultimately threatened the very foundation of what Allende was attempting to effect” (Winn 189). Such a series of actions helps the reader to appreciate and understand that societal action on the part of home-grown/grassroots action ultimately led the way to the collapse of Allende’s presidency. Conversely, a very different story is told within Rigoberta Menchu’s book I, Rigoberta Menchu. At first glance, the reader is led to believe that formative experiences that prompt Rigoberta to engage in the course of action that she does are entirely born from home-grown/grassroots activities. However, a slightly deeper level of analysis reveals fact that the ultimate motivators within the movements that Rigoberta engages in is ultimately a foreign presence. As was discussed within the beginning of this brief analysis, the pressures that were exhibited upon many parts the world during the Cold War years were evidenced within many local populations with regards to the means by which the integrated with an understanding/appreciation/or rejection of capitalism and socialism. In effect, this level of interplay that exists within this particular book, can and should be understood within the confines of the Cold War years in the impacts upon local indigenous peoples that Soviet agitation oftentimes affected. In such a way, it must be understood that although elements of grassroots movements and home-grown feelings with regards to peasant agitation doubtless existed within Guatemala at the time that Rigoberta describes, these homegrown and seemingly grassroots movements were ultimately co-opted by and directed by none other than Soviet agitators. Rigoberta begins to describe a situation in which personal factors contributed to her own radicalization, alongside the radicalization of indigenous populations of Guatamala. However, the reader is soon integrated with an understanding that these movements are in part co-opted by and ultimately managed by powers that are not native or indigenous to Guatemala. The first evidence of this is of course seen with regards to Rigoberta’s father’s decision to join what was termed as the Peasant Unity Committee (PUC). The name alone suggested the reader that communist agitation was likely a primal motivator with regards to encouraging the indigenous population to throw off the yoke of leadership that government and business owners and placed upon the population. Further circumstantial evidence of this particular point of view is elaborated upon by Rigoberta as she describes the means by which her sister views the ongoing struggle that is taking place within Guatemala. Says Rigoberta’s sister, “A revolutionary isn’t born out of something good,’ said my sister. ‘He is born out of wretchedness and bitterness. This just gives us one more reason. We have to fight without measuring our suffering, or what we experience, or thinking about the monstrous things we must bear in life’” (Rigoberta 29). Although it is not the intent of this author to minimize the level of hardship that Rigoberta, her family, and many members within Guatemalan society were forced integrate, the reality of the situation is that these hardships were capitalized upon by communist revolutionaries and agitators that blurred the lines between domestic and struggle for equality and the worldwide communist revolution that was ultimately sponsored by the Soviet Union. However, it is not fair to say that the Soviet Union, or any other actor, were specifically and solely responsible for the level of revolution that was effected and described within Guatemala. This can be seen due to the fact that the means of resistance that the workers and peasants exhibit, rely upon native ideology and the utilization of the means that they have at their disposal for resistance. Whereas communist revolutions and places as diverse as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Cuba had previously relied upon advanced weaponry, tactics, and support the Soviet Union, the means of resistance that was exhibited within Guatemala ultimately relied upon such nontechnical equipment as spears, knives, and traps. This cannot and should not be seen to mean that the Soviet Union or other communist revolutionaries within the region were not ultimately responsible for fomenting discord in seeking to aggravate the situation; rather, it should be seen as an indication that material support was not given by these extra – state actors to the same extent that it was in many other regions of the world. Nonetheless, the names of the revolutionary committees, the ideology that they subscribed to, and the means by which they attempted to affect change all bear the tell tale markings of calmness agitation on the part of the third-party nation. Lastly, it must be understood that the situation which is described by Rigoberta engendered key elements of grassroots movement and concern by the peasant population. However, rather than discrediting the viewer which is previously been stated, this only serves to affirm the fact that outside interference was able to integrate with and agitate the affected populations with regards to the integrating something of a Marxist/communist revolution within Guatemala. In keeping with such an understanding, Rigoberta explains the extent to which personal and familial concerns prompted her to action: “from then on, I was very depressed about life because I thought, what would life be like when I grew up? I thought about my children and all the time that had passed. I’d often see my mother crying… I was afraid of life and I’d ask myself: ‘What will it be like when I’m older’”(Rigoberta 7)? Naturally, this exhibition of concern for what the future might hold and how Guatemalan society would be affected, was doubtless the motivating factor with regards to how many of Rigoberta’s countrymen integrated with the revolt and uprising that was described. From the analysis which is herein been conducted, the reader can understand that although the movements that have been discussed primarily exhibited the same causal factors, the level to which outside interference shaved and molded these defines the way in which they can be understood. In such a way, rather than minimizing the struggles that have been defined within this brief analysis, these causal mechanisms only serve to reinforce the understanding that some of the same sentiments that are expressed within diverse regions and under different conditions can illustrate unique aspects of indigenous/native involvement as well as third party action on the behalf of another actor. Works Cited Menchu?, Rigoberta, and Elisabeth Debray. I, Rigoberta Menchu? : an Indian woman in Guatemala. London New York: Verso, 2009. Print. Winn, Peter. Weavers of revolution : the Yarur workers and Chile's road to socialism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Print. Read More