Editing History of Guatemala (section)

===== Panzós massacre =====
{{Main|Panzós massacre}}
{{quote box|align=center|width=90%|In Alta Verapaz in the late nineteenth century German farmers came to concentrate in their hands three quarters of the total area of 8686 square kilometers that had the departmental territory. In this department came insomuch [[land grabbing]] and women [slaves] by German agricultural entrepreneurs, a political leader noted that farmers disappeared from their villages overnight, fleeing the farmers.| Julio Castellanos Cambranes{{sfn|Castellanos Cambranes|1992|p=305}}}}

Also located in the Northern Transversal Strip, the Polochic River Valley has been inhabited since ancient times by the K'ekchí and P'okomchi peoples. In the second half of the 19th century, President [[Justo Rufino Barrios]] began allocating land in the area to German farmers.{{sfn|Castellanos Cambranes|1992|p=305}} [[German Guatemalans|Settlers from Germany]] arrived in the mid-19th century, acquired land, and established coffee plantations in Alta Verapaz and Quetzaltenango.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} Decree 170, also known as the Census Redemption Decree, facilitated the expropriation of indigenous lands in favor of the Germans by promoting the auction of communal lands.{{sfn|Castellanos Cambranes|1992|p=305}} Since that time, the primary economic activity in the region has been export-oriented, especially in coffee, bananas, and cardamom.<ref>Testimony, Center for Social History Investigations. Panzós: CEIHS, 1979.</ref> Communal property, previously used for subsistence farming, was converted to private property, leading to the mass cultivation and commercialization of agricultural products. Consequently, the Guatemalan production system has since been characterized by the concentration of land ownership in a few hands,{{sfn|Mendizábal P.|1978|p=76}} along with a form of "farm servitude" based on the exploitation of "settler farmers".<ref group=lower-alpha>According to Guatemalan leftists, this term was essentially a [[euphemism]] for "native slaves".</ref>{{sfn|Castellanos Cambranes|1992|p=327}}

In 1951, an agrarian reform law was enacted to expropriate idle land from private owners, but after the 1954 National Liberation Movement coup, supported by the United States, most of the expropriated land was returned to its former owners. Flavio Monzón was appointed mayor and, over the next twenty years, became one of the largest landowners in the area.{{sfn|Díaz Molina|1998|p=4}} In 1964, several communities that had settled for decades along the [[Polochic River]] applied for property titles to INTA, which had been created in October 1962. However, the land was awarded to Monzón. A Mayan peasant from Panzós later recalled that Monzón "secured the signatures of the elders before going to INTA to discuss the land. When he returned, he gathered the people and said that, due to an INTA mistake, the land had been registered in his name." Throughout the 1970s, Panzós farmers continued to seek INTA's regularization of land ownership, receiving legal advice from FASGUA (Autonomous Trade Union Federation of Guatemala), an organization that supported the peasants' claims through legal procedures. However, no peasant ever received a property title. Some received promises, others obtained provisional titles, and some were only granted permission to plant. The peasants began facing evictions by farmers, the military, and local authorities, all of whom favored the economic interests of Izabal Mining Operations Company (EXMIBAL) and Transmetales.{{sfn|Albizures|Hernández|2013}} Another threat to peasant landowners at the time came from mining projects and oil exploration, with companies like Exxon, Shenandoah, Hispanoil, and Getty Oil holding exploration contracts. Additionally, there was a need for territorial expansion for two major projects of that era: the Northern Transversal Strip and the Chixoy Hydroelectric Plant.{{sfn|Albizures|Hernández|2013}}

In 1978, a military patrol was stationed a few kilometers from the county seat of Panzós, in a place called "Quinich." By this time, the organizational capacity of the peasants had increased, as they formed committees to claim titles to their land, a development that worried the landowning class. Some of these landowners, including Monzón, stated: "Several peasants living in villages and settlements want to burn urban areas to gain access to private property",<ref name=Coban>Gobernación Departamental de Alta Verapaz: ''5 May 1978 Audience'', signatories: colonel Benigno Álvarez S., Alta Verapaz governor, and Flavio Monzón, Héctor Monzón, Raúl Aníbal Ayala, Joaquín González, Mario Cazs, and José María Borges.</ref> and they requested protection from the governor of Alta Verapaz.<ref group=lower-alpha>In municipal act 34–64 (published 9 January 1965) one can see the first indication of military presence in the region, when it was written that it was imperative to incorporate order and security in the area.</ref>

On 29 May 1978, peasants from the villages of Cahaboncito, Semococh, Rubetzul, Canguachá, Sepacay, the Moyagua plantation, and the La Soledad neighborhood decided to stage a public demonstration in the Plaza de Panzós to demand land rights and express their discontent over the arbitrary actions of landowners and civil and military authorities. Hundreds of men, women, and indigenous children gathered in the municipal square of Panzós, armed with tools, machetes, and sticks. One participant stated: "The idea was not to fight; we wanted clarification on the status of the land. People came from various places, and some had guns."

There are differing accounts of how the shooting started. Some say it began when "Mama Maquín," a prominent peasant leader, pushed a soldier who was blocking her way. Others suggest it started when the crowd surged forward, attempting to enter the municipality, which the soldiers interpreted as aggression.{{sfn|Diario de Centro América|1978|p=5}} The mayor at the time, Walter Overdick, stated, "People in the middle of the group pushed those at the front."{{sfn|Diario de Centro América|1978|p=5}} A witness recounted that a protester grabbed a soldier's gun but did not use it, while several others reported hearing a military voice shout, "One, two, three! Fire!"{{sfn|Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico: Agudización|1999}} Ultimately, the lieutenant in charge of the troops ordered them to open fire on the crowd.

For about five minutes, gunfire rang out, with the soldiers using their regulation firearms and three machine guns positioned around the square. Several peasants armed with machetes injured soldiers, although no soldiers were shot. The square was left covered in blood.

Immediately after, the army sealed off the main access roads,{{sfn|Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico: Agudización|1999|p=Testigo directo}} while the indigenous people were reportedly "terrified." An army helicopter flew over the town before evacuating the wounded soldiers.{{sfn|Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico: Agudización|1999}}