Jacobo Arbenz Guzman
Zimbabwe. – As you worry about the naked propaganda, I put on my thinking hat and I am discovering we have not started, I think this man’s naked propaganda makes us to heed on others experiences…. the devil is the same, he will never wake up and be holy…. Kuonesana chete..Jacobo Arbenz Guzman
In 1951, America imposed sanctions on Guatemala after their 25th president and revolutionary Juan Jacobo Arbenz Guzman embarked on a land reform exercise.
In 1951, the indigenous people of Guatemala took a brave stand and took their land, which had been shared among a few white families and USA and Anglo American Conglomerates. This move by the Guatemalans did not go down well with the Americans and their allies and hatched a propaganda blitz demonising President Juan Jacobo Arbenz Guzman.
This was followed by the imposition of economic sanctions and after 10 long years of sanctions and suffering the Guatemalan army ousted their president under the instigation of USA and their conglomerates.
The Guatemalan army thought that only their president was the problem and after eliminating him they believed that sanctions would be removed, but USA told them that the embargo could not be removed since, they, the army was part and parcel of the old regime (the same old Taxi with a new driver).
They were then told to hold so called free and fair elections in which they could contest with an opposition party, which was being sponsored by the USA.
This opposition party was recruited from the indigenous people, but directed by the CIA under Dulles and George Bush senior. The elections came and the opposition won them, but still sanctions were not removed. The reason given by USA was that this party was a Red Indian party and it was, they, the indigenous people, who had robbed the whites and the USA conglomerates of their land.
So, what they needed to do was to reverse the land ownership rights to what they were on 31 December, 1950. This meant the return of land to the whites, before the sanctions could be removed. They agreed to do that, but still sanctions were not removed.
The next condition given was that the USA would give the money to the white farm owners, so that they could revive their farms which had been vandalised by the Red Indians, but this money was going to be paid back by the Red Indian government through taxation of their indigenous people. They also agreed to that, but still sanctions were not removed.
The last but most brutal and final condition was that the Guatemalan government had to cut the reserves where their Indigenous people were living in congestion by 75 percent and give that land to the whites as compensation because the whites needed to cover up for the 10 years’ loss of production which had been caused by the land reform. Also, all the Communities whose land had been included in this 75 percent had to automatically become compulsory farm labourers of the new white owners.
This was agreed upon and up to today the indigenous people are living on 25 percent of their land while a few white families and United Fruit Company and other European Conglomerates occupy 75 percent of the land. Guatemala today is the biggest producer of the so-called Euro Banana. The standard banana, which is shipped to Europe at the cheapest price. The money from these products goes to USA and Europe leaving the Guatemalan indigenous people being one of the poorest communities on the planet.
Our situation in Zimbabwe is not so different from the one Guatemala experienced. The USA and its allies made it clear that no sanctions will be removed as long as the land ownership rights in this country have not been (reversed) and returned to the minority white Rhodies.
What colleagues who oppose the removal of sanctions miss is that sanctions are not likely to be removed even if the opposition gets into power as long as they do not reverse the land reform programme.
It is thus, imperative as Zimbabweans to remain united in our steadfast opposition of sanctions. We do not want to be another Guatemala where citizens have literally become squatters in the land of their birth.
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