CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM RELEASE AS SANITIZED
4 3
ChiOf,
of Station, Guatemala
subject: gcmru.. BOOM Activities
metric Psychological Barooetereriod Ending 2li.3
Reference: Q
1. The feeling of hopelossness regarding the local situation In general and Communism In particular as reported for the period ending3 still prevails.
Hostility and latent opposition toward the government persists but no significant changes have, been noted that would suggest solidification of"the elements which comprise the disunited
r
.
The outstanding-avent of the last .week was the riot .which occur
ie ;Nati<
it.nerican reacand lin^ $ib-r C
"'felt toward
nd. tia ture n'f orturjatt
arising from'-.the.'incidentJ^entVof*^
', Memo" Vwere
whene llod^Gndoub todly, extent'itn ;apoli esentment
_
CARTERen.the plaza
small-quantities oi^through; the
.e'vrVo't:
Beforeurlrig:;theanti-Communist leaflets which':
crowd by air .currants. Many people, were seen reading, the. leafipJiced-themviji'stheii
pocketseported in sufficient/-detailurposes, but .Ito keepent' concern in offioial and/or
them and placed ,tl
'hese pamphlets has' hot bee ant an evaluation for "bai i. that such^ disseminationslso,ircles. The'.official anc
Communist press attacked the unidentified "reactionaries" who_At advantage of the disturbances to disseminateaj government propaganda
lta sentientinst the jovernicani becausettributede diversioney to suchawwyrcxa.-lc,
l: factionctora andrin nodlsal jjofeseion Is pe^or-fcadly bsco.iinv acuteo tne critical lac's ofItr/mft ar;fl food in -cvernment sx-onacrei hospitals, inhoseconcerned ar* savin-nothing publicly out of fear of reprisals but privately they are bitter /heir dissatisfaction is intensified Ir t.iajids have been sc.infor and operation of their which until nov.-been r. resounding failure.
The fair is generally conceded toailure even though attends has been fairly 'iood. "his can be explained in 'art 'cy the:'. to-dayuatemalans and theiversions or taliment ordinarily available Lot arrearsonraunist principles are not sufficiently strong to overcome their desire to 'see and be seen"hange from an otherwise uneventful life.
During the reporting perioi the semi-official papersr published .ret was purported toanifesto issued by an us/icer. fied liberation committee The fnanifestohe people to perform acts of sabotage against tne government, independent press ar-ears toe popular belief that the manifesto wasrovermient and/or Communist plante used to justify future acts of repression against opposition groups or individuals. elief will almost certainly be sufficient to discourage the faint-hearted or indecisive from fcafcl anti-sovernment or anti-Communist stops, 'i'he manifesto has not be received with sympathy by opposition opinion. In fact all observe commentsat the indiscriminate violence recommended in manifesto Is definitely not approved. (Comment: Although noreactions or comments can be cited, it is possible that th= appearance of the manifestolant) just prior to the arrival of the. Ambassador waa so timed as to discourajre anynti-government, anti-"ommunist movements which mltjht be encourage to act on the assumptionmbassador would lend at least moral support).
In the economic sphere the reported or observed attitudes are Capital investments are governed by extreme caution due unsettled conditions andnspired government hostility toward private enterprise. The continued intransigent attitude o; labor, also Communist inspired, has the same restrictive effect or. business activity previously reported. People of all classes see. be well aware of the fact that economic unrest manifested in the recurrent strikes against native and foreign capitalistsok:
c
HMQVtP to create misery and chaos. Cotvaunist harraasxcntthe United Fruit Company is re ortedl" ot^oaed by the workerstheir status asrie doubtful security offered by thetforn. Manye aorkers are reported2 concernede constant attacksorce tio coti anv to abandonantstlojisorce the workers intointed status. Insecurity Is the rulegriculturalists, izrni small, iue to uncertainty of lund tenure. Frodjction Is off and ex.-eeted tc continue dowmnrd untilwners obtain guarantees that their land is not "af'ectasia" under the Agrarian Reform Law. According to sone coffee *roaers t'ie economic crisis oayts climax when the next co'fees ripe (beginning. At thet time it Isl that it will beto harvest all of tne croc because of dislocations infarm labor force occasioned by the agrarian reform.
Stresses within the army are largely due to understandable jealous between the "haves" and tne "have-nots.'1 'he majority, and more significantly those in strategic positions,be considered "hsv who are not inclined to engage in antl-'ovomnent activity oranti-Coaraunist stand sos loyalty to the presentewarded rflth money, prestige, and luxury items. Accordingource with contacts in army circles, tne possibility of subversi; within tae army is lessened by close control of personnel. .irmy officers are awareetection activities and are caref-not to do anyr make any contacts which would make thorn The same source alleges that thes oxtremely "revolt" conscious, citing as an example the rioting that occurred ine toros on ha- time the varioushe capital allegedly received instructions to oe on the alert for possible uprisings which mluse the bull ring disturbancesevice to lure troops from their bases. On anfeelr an orden de alerta is issued to all army units cancelling le; reinforcing garrisons, etc. The alerts usually last over ni.-ht ar. cause considerable inconvenience to officers and men. It isthat the officers in particular look upon these alerta as foolishness and an indication of the Tear and uncertainty felt byolitical and military authorities. Tne most talked about subject by army officers with private citizens and ex-officers is lack of discipline. The older officers recall that discipline wa: much better in previous administrations and now the officers lack pride in their service, especially on this point. (Thehis information relating to "barometer" factors within theot been established except for that concerning the loyalty of th; army to the governmenthe material reasons for such loyalty which is probably true).
Despite vehement attacks In the official and Coaxmnlst press, and friendly orltlclsr, in Uie Independent press. It is believedecent speech of -ktors Cabot rerardln^elati: was -ell received byoniunist,overnment roups. Gen;easonable and temperate exposition of views.
A local Communist, ;vhoortedly expressed the prsvailin-held by party members, stated that party leaders are *ery confident and pisased with the current titration, 'ihi ^orirraiiiRts believe that tne opposition will never establish effective unity because there becoming used to talk of Co^munianears anri do not react as they did in the early days of the revolution. According to source, public Indi 'ferenco tohas made it easier for the party to Increase nieinoer-shi^, e distinct division of the people into twoho right and tne left, with the middle or center no longer existing -has also helped the growth of the party. Many who formerly held middle ooaitions have turned to the Communist icrty, no longero tigmatized. The Cotrjnunists believe thatof the two extremesisappearance of the middle [croups means the final conflict is nearing.
Formation of the Frente Electoral Anticomunista, consisting of the Partido Unificacion anticomunista, the Partido Unificacion Bomo-cratica, and the Comite de Estudiantes Oniversitarios Anticomunista appears toenewed opposition political activity. Although thohas evoked gome favorable response there is the concurrent belief that it will probably not achieve success sosthe Communists enjoy the support of the government. Net rs&ult: the Fiji is an encouraging sijtn but not sufficient in itself tohe hopolessness which seems to enervate the majority. *ltn ;ooo reason, the people do not have much faith in the efficacy of tiie electoral rrooess to achieve change.
"ennethivloch
3
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