OCTOBER 1986 - VOLUME 7 - NUMBER 14
W O M E N I N T H E F R A Y
OCTOBER 1986 - VOLUME 7 - NUMBER 14
W O M E N I N T H E F R A Y
Accepting Repression in GuatemalaIn the last eight years the Guatemalan army has massacred or "disappeared" more than 100,000 unarmed civilians, in an attempt to silence all opposition to military rule. Although President Carter curtailed military aid to Guatemala in 1977, the Reagan administration authorized covert military sales to the Guatemalan army soon after coming to power. This year, the Reagan administration is seeking to re-establish overt military aid to Guatemala, a country with the worst human rights record in the Western Hemisphere. Using the election in 1985 of Vinicio Cerezo to legitimize its claims that the country is heading toward a democracy, the Reagan administration is asking Congress for $10 million in military aid and $133 million in non-military aid. But under Cerezo, human rights atrocities continue. Cerezo admits that the army still holds the majority of the power. The army, now with Reagan administration acquiescence, continues to repress its outspoken critics-union leaders, community organizers, and university professionals. Families searching for their "disappeared" relatives have also been silenced. The Guatemalan army's dependence on the United i States goes further than the military and economic support that the Reagan administration will award them this year. The army also depends on the support of the U.S. business community in Guatemala. More than 400 U.S. businesses operate in Guatemala, forming the backbone of the country's fragile economy. Nearly a third of all Guatemalan exports are sold to the United States and one third of all Guatemalan imports are bought from U.S. suppliers. With military, economic and business support, the Guatemalan army is sensitive to criticism from the United States. If the Reagan administration supplies aid to the Guatemalan army, the U.S. business community should become the focal point for those seeking humanitarian reform in Guatemala. Unfortunately, U.S. business rarely moves out of repressive countries until forced to do so. In this issue of the Multinational Monitor, Jean-Marie Simon documents the human rights abuses in Guatemala that have gone unchecked. Below are the names of the major U.S. companies operating in Guatemala. These businesses should be encouraged to look at the persistent and brutal human rights abuses of the Guatemalan army and to use their substantial leverage-specifically the threat of withdrawal-to press for change and augment the pleadings of the international human rights community.
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