The Power of Memory and Violence in Central America

This book explores the power of words in post-Peace El Salvador and Guatemalatheir violent and equally liberating power. The volume explores the entire post-Peace Accords era in both Central American countries. In post-conflict settings, denying or forgetting the repressive past and its many victims does violence to those victims, while remembering and giving testimony about the past can be cathartic for survivors, relatives, and even for perpetrators. This project will appeal to readers interested in development, societies in transition, global peace studies, and Central American studies.

Offers a comparative perspective on memory and discourse in Guatemala and El Salvador Explores the entire post-Peace Accords era in both El Salvador and Guatemala Illustrates how transitions from periods of violent repression to peace are decades-long projects

Autorentext
Rachel Hatcher is an independent researcher. She held fellowships at the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State, South Africa, and Concordia University, Québec.

Inhalt
Introduction: On the Calle del Olvido.- Chapter 1: The speakers, writers, painters, and plasterers.- Chapter 2: Schizophrenic memory in the land of La Eterna Primavera.- Chapter 3: Nunca Más in Guatemala.- Chapter 4: Verdad or olvido in El Pulgarcito de América.- Chapter 5: The past as monument in El Salvador.- Chapter 6: Contested discourse in El Salvador and Guatemala.- Conclusion: The power of words, and of remembering.