The Guatemalan Diaries Pt.1: Expectations

It was Guatemala that Che Guevara chose:

“So as to perfect himself and accomplish what may be necessary in order to become a true revolutionary.”

I find myself sitting on my fourth consecutive flight, this time to Guatemala. Who would have ever thought I would end up in Guatemala? Well, I believe that my journey from Istanbul, through London, Washington D.C., and Atlanta is worth this trip to Guatemala. To be honest, I don’t know much about Guatemala other than my mission there. I am traveling with Team PURA (Partnership for University Research Abroad), a group of five students from diverse academic backgrounds on a service-based mission to devise and implement a water sanitation and distribution system in the Tzununa community on Lake Atitlan.

I have always wanted to join a project to serve those who are less fortunate than me, and this seemed like the ideal opportunity. I think my deep-rooted altruistic spirit stems from my teenage devotion to Che Guevara. I have to admit that I went a bit over the edge with my admiration for the guy. Quite frankly, I haven’t thought much about him since I turned twenty, but this trip to Guatemala brings back many memories about Guevara’s legacy.

I was deeply moved by the Motorcycle Diaries, Guevara’s personal account of how a roadtrip across Latin America transformed him from a doctor to a revolutionary who sought justice in the name of the poor. It was in Guatemala that Guevara realized the injustice of capitalist imperialism and how corporate interests toppled a democratically elected Guatemalan government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. Arbenz’s land reform policies aimed at nationalizing the holdings of the United Fruit Company to redistribute it to the landless peasants, similar to Nasser’s nationalizations policies.

It was through Guatemala that Guevara became acquainted with the Cuban revolutionary cause and where he acquired his famous nickname: “Che”. Unpleased with the nationalization of its territories, the United Fruit Company with the aid of the CIA intervened, overthrew Abenz and installed dictator Carlos Castillo Armas.

Guevara’s feelings towards the coup were that “The last Latin American revolutionary democracy-that of Jacobo Arbenz-failed as a result of the cold premeditated aggression carried out by the U.S.A.” It was this event that triggered Che’s conviction that Marxism and armed struggle were the path to justice.

Now I have long abandoned Guevara’s approach to justice and have adopted a pacifist approach, but I believe my visit to Guatemala, and especially my work in the field of development, will shed some light on the dire state that led to the revolutionary transformation of his personality. I will take this trip as an opportunity to learn about this ancient Mayan civilizations, its locals, and hopefully I will be able to serve others, even if my effort has a miniscule impact.