The fourth invasion : decolonizing histories, extractivism, and Maya resistance in Guatemala / Giovanni Batz ; foreword by B'o'q'ol Q'esal Tenam K'usal (Alcaldía Indígena de Cotzal).

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Batz, Giovanni, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social movements--Guatemala--San Juan Cotzal--21st century.

Social movements.

Ixil Indians--Guatemala--San Juan Cotzal--21st century.

Ixil Indians.

Hydroelectric power plants--Guatemala--21st century.

Hydroelectric power plants.

Physical Description:

xiii, 225 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color map ; 23 cm

Other Title:

Decolonizing histories, extractivism, and Maya resistance in Guatemala

Place of Publication:

Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2024]

Summary:

"Based on more than a decade of ethnographic research, The Fourth Invasion examines an Ixil Maya community's movement against the construction of one of the largest hydroelectric plants in Guatemala. The arrival of the Palo Viejo hydroelectric plant (built by the Italian corporation Enel Green Power) to the municipality of Cotzal highlighted the ongoing violence inflicted on Ixils by outsiders and the Guatemalan state. Locals referred to the building of the hydroelectric plant as the 'new invasion' or 'fourth invasion' for its similarity to preceding invasions: Spanish colonization, the creation of the plantation economy, and the state-led genocide during the Guatemalan armed conflict. Through a historical account of cyclical waves of invasions and resistance in Cotzal during the four invasions, Giovanni Batz argues that extractivist industries are a continuation of a colonial logic of extraction based on the displacement and destruction of Indigenous Peoples' territories and values that has existed since the arrival of the Spanish in 1524. The current movements in Cotzal, rooted in a long history of resistance, counter dominant narratives of Indigenous Peoples that often portray them as 'conquered.'"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

First invasion : genocide, colonial institutions and resistance

Second invasion : land grabs, plantation economy, and forced labor

Third invasion : state-sponsored violence and armed struggle

Post-war life and megaprojects in the Ixil region

Resistance against Enel

Dialogue and deception

Conclusion : imagining a future.

Notes:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND cc https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780520401730

0520401735

OCLC:

1429575599

Publisher Number:

90100686376