ABSTRACT

In 1991 Reginaldo Gamarro sold the rest of his holding to six members of the new Chimel. The Uspantan town council, run by Christian Democrats who had been catechists with Vicente Menchu, was courageous enough to join the ceremonies for the Nobel prize. An even more alarming conflict broke out with the Garcia family, who still blamed the Menchus for the assassination of their patriarch, just as Chimel still blamed them for the destruction of the prewar village. According to the Christian Democrats, the accusations and rioting were racist reactions by the town’s ladinos. The hostile coalition was indeed led by ladinos, some of whom had the ugly habit of distributing anonymous, threatening fliers. The human rights committee also affiliated itself with the Procurator for Human Rights, a government agency that had acquired a reputation for standing up to the army. However, the Uspantan activists were disillusioned by the tepid responses of the nearest procurator, in Nebaj.