Latin America
This collection contains materials from Central and South America and the Caribbean. Primary topics include Cuba and the Cuban Revolution, the Sandanista revolution in Nicaragua, the Nicaragua-Contra War, the Chilean struggle for independence and US imperialism.
Subcollections
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Chile
This collection focuses primarily on the advent of the elected socialist Presidency of Salvador Allende in Chile, the 1973 fascist coup against Allende, engineered by the CIA and led by General Augusto Pinochet, and the subsequent repression of the left. -
Cuba
This collection primarily contains recordings focusing on various aspects of life in Cuba after their Communist Revolution. -
El Salvador
This collection contains materials related to the liberation struggle in El Salvador. -
Guatemala
This collection contains materials detailing the revolutionary struggles in Guatemala, the role of Guatemalan women during the revolution and the United States role in Guatemalan politics. -
NACLA
North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) is an independent non-profit organization founded in 1966 to research the political economy of the Americas and US policy towards the region. -
Nicaragua
These materials focus primarily on the Sandanistas and their struggle for national liberation. -
Struggles in Latin America
This collection contains materials from throughout Latin America. Detailed interviews, poems and accounts from the 1973 revolution in Chile, the Sandinista Contra conflict in Nicaragua, and from revolutionary forces El Salvador are all included.
Documents
Interview with Charlie Roberts
Date: 5/22/1990Call Number: LA 170AFormat: Cass AProducers: Judy GerberProgram: A Defiant HeartCollection: Struggles in Latin America
Charlie Roberts of the Washington D.C.-based Colombia Human Rights Committee discusses the May 1990 Colombian presidential elections. Of particular concern are both US involvement in the country and the legitimacy of an election overshadowed by the assassinations of three presidential candidates.
Cuba and Gay Liberation Forum
Margarita Benitez from the Venceremos Brigade on her visit to Cuba, her account of their statistics and policies of AIDS prevention, and the differences between US Capitalist and Cuban Socialist care of AIDS patients; Oran Ivlan of ACT UP on quarantine as poor public health policy; Bernardo Garcia Pandavenes on growing up Cuban and Gay, his activism and experiences; Deeg Gold from Lesbians and Gays Against Intervention on the relationship between the Lesbian/Gay community and the Cuban solidarity movement.
Guatemala 1
Jose Ortiz , a former Guatemalan guerrilla fighter, describes the civil war. He recounts the origins of the conflict from Nov 13, 1960, the history of the war which would last over thirty years, to the conclusion of the fighting in 1996.
El Salvador Focus
El Salvador, the internal dynamics of peace negotiations are discussed, such as UN mediation, the outside support for the FMLN, Washington’s position on providing aid and women’s issues in El Salvador.
Interview With Colonel Jaime Guzman
Colonel Jaime Guzman of the El Salvadorian army, in an interview held at the School of the Americas, explains the women’s involvement in the military as social workers and their impact on society, the fight against the guerillas, the effect of Nicaragua’s change of government on El Salvador, and why Central Americans train at the School of the Americas.
FMLN and Christiani regime negotiate under auspices of UN
Date: 4/8/1990Call Number: LA 087Format: CassetteProgram: El Salvador in FocusCollection: El Salvador
The FMLN and the Christiani government of El Salvador enter negotiations mediated directly by the secretary general of the United Nations. Interviews with FMLN political diplomat, Francisco Altchul, and Associate Professor of Latin American Studies at Agnes College in Georgia, Tommy Sue Montgomery, offer commentary on the significance of the event. It marks a major shift in the stance of the Christiani government possibly influenced by serious congressional debates threatening to significantly reduce U.S. military and financial aid to El Salvador.
El Salvador in Focus considers negotiations between the FMLN and Christiani regime
Date: 4/15/1990Call Number: LA 090AFormat: Cass AProgram: El Salvador in FocusCollection: El Salvador
The Christiani Government and the FMLN signed an initial agreement in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations. To some this is a hopeful sign of change towards democratization and the protection of human rights in El Salvador. Others are skeptical, claiming true authority resides in the military and not with Christiani. This broadcast includes an interview with Larry Burns, Executive Director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. He doubts the military will relinquish their overwhelming control of the country or root out corruption within their ranks, regardless of treaties signed in Geneva.
El Salvador in Focus
The government of El Salvador votes to continue a “state of siege” despite internal opposition. The state suspends constitutional rights and expands the power of the military. Unions in El Salvador call for a political solution and the integration of FMLN into a new democratic government. Meanwhile, in the U.S. opposition to U.S. military assistance and financial aid grows, perhaps catalyzed by the recent murder of 6 Jesuit priests. Bills to end aid have been introduced to Congress, one sponsored by John Kerry and Edward Kennedy. Don White, an organizer for the Los Angeles chapter of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), comments on the developments in Congress and on the work that CISPES is doing.
El Salvador In Focus
This tape includes a statement from the FMLN on the recent election in Nicaragua placing the UNO party in power. Military choppers bomb civilians and refuse to prosecute the pilots. Labor movement repression worsens. CDHES, the non-governmental Human Rights Commission of El Salvador, issue its statistics on civilian deaths for 1989. Miguel Ramirez, U.S. representative of the Union of Independent Unions and Associations of El Salvador, speaks about attempts to organize under the current state of siege.
El Salvador In Focus
Around 8000 refugees return from Honduras to El Salvador and suffer violent abuses from the military. People ask the Christiani government to intervene. Christiani introduces legislation to nullify the land reform decrees of 1980. If passed critics say this will hurt cooperatives and further consolidate land into the hands of the few. FMLN sees a positive side to the elections in Nicaragua. U.S. critics call it the victory of violence and intimidation. The report turns to Panama and the U.S. occupation post invasion, citing yet more human rights violations by the U.S. and cover up attempts.
