The President Essay, Research Paper

Miguel Angel Asturias was born in Guatemala City in 1899. He received his jurisprudence grade from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. After completing at the University, Asturias and a few co-workers founded the Popular University of Guatemala for those who could non afford to go to the national university. In 1923 he went to Paris where he wrote El Se? or Presidente. Due to it & # 8217 ; s political deductions he was unable to convey the book with him in 1933 when he returned to Guatemala. At that clip the dictator Jorge Ubico ruled Guatemala. The original version was to stay unpublished for 13 old ages. In 1944, the autumn of Ubico & # 8217 ; s regime brought Professor Juan Jos? Ar? valo to presidential term. Ar? valo instantly appointed Asturias cultural attach? to the Guatemalan Embassy in Mexico, where the first edition of El Se? or Presidente appeared in 1946. The book was subsequently translated into English as The President in 1964. ( Encarta, 2000 ) .

The President begins with a slaying of a colonel by a homeless adult male whom is referred to as the Zany. The constabulary took many stateless people in for oppugning to happen out who caused the slaying of Colonel Sonriente. The constabulary made the stateless people say that it was General Canales and Abel Carvajal, the attorney who committed the offense. They did this by crushing them until they said that it was the two work forces who murdered the Colonel. One provincial, the Mosquito, insisted that the Zany committed the murdered and would non give into their whippings. The Mosquito was beaten to decease because he would non give the Judge Advocate the reply that he demanded.

The President gave orders to Miguel Angel Face, the President & # 8217 ; s confidential adviser, to assist General Canales to get away. He told Miguel, besides referred to as the front-runner, to make this without being seen by the constabulary. Miguel decided to acquire the aid of Lucio Vasquez and Genaro Rodas. He did this by stating them that he was in love with General Canales & # 8217 ; s girl Camila. He wanted to travel to the house and nobble her. The program that he told Camila and her male parent was for Camila to shout out of the window & # 8220 ; Burglars have broken in! Aid! Burglars! & # 8221 ; Which would give the General clip to get away. Then Miguel and his two assistants would nobble Camila. He was to convey Camila to one of the General & # 8217 ; s brother & # 8217 ; s house.

Genaro Rodas & # 8217 ; s married woman went to General Canales & # 8217 ; s house to warn him of the awaited apprehension. She arrived excessively late, he had already escaped. The soldiers found her at the house and arrested her. The soldiers and the Judge Advocate so proceeded to the house of Abel Carvajal, the attorney, to collar him.

The Judge Advocate repeatidly questioned Se? ora Rodas as to the where a turns of General Canalas. She answered each clip that she did non cognize and did non see him when she came to his house, for he had already escaped. The Judge Advocate had her babe brought from her house. The babe was shouting because it needed to be fed by his female parent. The Judge Advocate told her that she could merely see her boy if she told him where the General was. She was so physically forced to oppress calcium oxide for hours. They took her back to her cell and subsequently brought her boy to her. The babe refused to take his female parent & # 8217 ; s milk because he tasted the acuteness of the calcium hydroxide. Her boy died.

Carvajal, the attorney was sentenced to decease. They kept him waiting in a cell that was three paces long and two and a half broad. He was held with 12 other captives sentenced to decease ( his married woman was ne’er given the location of his entombment ) . In this cramped infinite, the captives did non hold any lavatories, go forthing them to stand in their ain fecies. In a cell farther down was Lucio Vasquez who was traveling to be sentenced to decease for the slaying of the Zany. Genaro Rodas was whipped and beaten while in prison, for being the confederate to Vasquez. He was subsequently let out by The Judge Advocate to watch Miguel.

Camila became really ill. Miguel had been looking over her invariably. He was really fond of her. He went to seek aid to happen a manner to bring around her. He was told that his great love to her would bring around her. He was to get married her. He did get married her and she finally became good. All did non accept the matrimony. Some thought that it was disrespectful to the President.

Towards the terminal of the narrative, Miguel feels that the President & # 8217 ; s sources are watching him closely. He is subsequently called by the President to travel on a mission. He is to travel to Washington and describe what is being said about the President. He makes programs to travel, subsequently Camila would travel to Washington after him. They would so populate their lives at that place, off from the pandemonium in Guatemala. When he reaches his ship to travel to Washington, he sees Major Farfan, a adult male that he had helped out when orders were sent out to kill him. Miguel told him to acquire on the good side of the President, a homicidal offense that would function him two months in gaol. It would demo his devotedness. He was incorrect to be happy at the sight of him. The Major had person else take Miguel & # 8217 ; s topographic point and led Miguel to a train was he was beaten. The other adult male with the Major was Genaro Rodas.

Camila waited patiently for a missive from Miguel, which ne’er came. Miguel was in a prison. He had a little dark cell. The lone signifier of a lavatory was a can passed on by each captive. When Camila questioned every authorization as to the whereabouts of her hubby, she was turned off. Person subsequently told her that he was in Washington.

Miguel learns in prison that his married woman had married the President out of retaliation towards him. She was told that he had left her. Miguel scratched his organic structure to decease after hearing this.

While reading this book, I could non halt believing about how corrupt this authorities is and how glad I am to non hold to populate in that changeless province of fright. The President gives orders to hold person killed, even if it wasn & # 8217 ; t justified, and so doesn & # 8217 ; t uncover where the entombment is located. After researching Guatemala, I found that this is still true. Many people have been killed during the Civil War and people today are seeking to happen out where they are. The authorities doesn & # 8217 ; t investigate into these affairs exhaustively and attempts to frighten people off from look intoing these offenses.

The people of Guatemala feel that it is non plenty for the authorities to state, & # 8220 ; I & # 8217 ; m sorry. & # 8221 ; They want to hold the appropriate judicial I

nvestigations, penalizing those responsible and to supply them with compensation. They feel that that authorities should back up the attempts that are being made to disinter victims from clandestine graveyards used by the ground forces during the struggle. Under the Peace Agreements of 1996, the authorities committed itself to following steps good to national peace and harmoniousness, continue the memory of the victims, promote a civilization of regard for human rights, and beef up the democratic procedure. Yet the authorities has failed to follow through with it’s committednesss. ( Amnesty International, 1998 ) .

The military commissioners have acted as local agents of the ground forces since the 1930s. They have been responsible for implemented military enlisting, supplying information to the ground forces and extinguishing suspected political oppositions. They have been tied to legion instances of human rights misdemeanors such as the slaying of Presbyterian curate Manuel Sasquic V? squez in June 1995. V? squez & # 8217 ; s organic structure was found at an unmarked grave on July 7,1995. His pharynx had been slit and he had 33 stab lesions. He was the coordinator of a Kaqchikel Maya Human Rights Committee. Residents say that he was killed in revenge for his human rights work and because he was the exclusive informant to the old short-run abduction of another member of the Human rights Committee in Panabajal. The governments withheld information about the organic structure and refused to collaborate with the Presbyterian church and MINUGUA. ( Amnesty International, 1996 ) .

One twelvemonth earlier, Pascua Serech was murdered in August 1994. Serech was seeking to stop the civil patrols by the forced service and to stop small town young persons being forced into the military. He was besides seeking to stop the many human rights misdemeanors such as disappearings and excess judicial executings that the military had carried out in the country. Shortly after telling the detainment of those believed responsible for Serech & # 8217 ; s decease, the justice assigned to look into the instance was changeable executing manner. The detainees were so released. ( Amnesty International, 1996 ) .

Bishop Juan Jos? Gerardi was the Bishop of Guatemala and Coordinator of the Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala. He was caput of the public presentation of the Roman Catholic Church & # 8217 ; s inter-diocesan Convalescence of the Historical Memory Project ( REMHI ) of April 1999. This undertaking was designed to bring forth testimonies of the 10s of 1000 of excess judicial executings and & # 8220 ; disappearings & # 8221 ; suffered by civilians, the big bulk of whom were autochthonal people, during the civil struggle which encompassed Guatemala for over three decennaries. REMHI found the ground forces responsible for about 70 per cent of the misdemeanors investigated. Two yearss after this presentation, unidentified attackers battered Bishop Gerardi to decease as he returned place. The ground forces denied any engagement in the slaying and the authorities promised a full probe. By the terminal of the twelvemonth neither the fortunes nor the culprits of the violent death had been established. Human rights militants believe that the authorities & # 8217 ; s motive behind the violent death was to warn persons looking to place culprits of past maltreatments. ( Amnesty International, 1999 ) .

In May of 1999, Public prosecuting officer Silvia J? rez Romero de Herrera was killed while going through the countryside. She had been involved in prosecuting the instance of guerilla leader Efra? N B? maca who disappeared after being taken into military detention in 1992. This instance was besides to be the topic of scrutiny by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Herrera was besides managing assorted condemnable instances that functionaries may hold been involved with. ( Amnesty International, 1999 )

Celso Bal? N, who works for the Legal Action Center for Human Rights, has been going to remote small towns to assist people happen the remains of their friends and household who were among the two hundred 1000s killed during Guatemala & # 8217 ; s 36 twelvemonth war. Last August he was abducted by two work forces who interrogated and beat him, so drugged him and dumped him in a graveyard. Bal? n thinks that person in the Guatemalan military ordered his abduction to intimidate him. ( Gonzalez, 2000 ) .

These are merely a few illustrations of how the authorities tries to intimidate or murder people who seek judicial probes. Amnesty International has pages, upon pages of articles, which contain human rights misdemeanors in Guatemala. I question why person would knowingly put on the line their life seeking to acquire inquiries answered by authorities functionaries that turn a deaf ear upon their people. A quotation mark by philosopher Jorge Santayana answers this inquiry, & # 8220 ; Those who forget the yesteryear are condemned to live over it. & # 8221 ; Amnesty International & # 8217 ; s remark toward that statement is as follows: & # 8220 ; That is exactly what has happened in Guatemala where cyclical force and state-sponsored human rights misdemeanors have occurred over and over once more. That is why Amnesty International firmly believes that burying the yesteryear does non pave the manner to a hereafter of peace an reconciliation. & # 8221 ;

I believe in order to set up a peace between authorities and society, the human rights maltreaters have to be taken from their important standing. Besides they should be sentenced to a gaol sentence ( without the option of purchasing off their prison clip at 50 US cents a twenty-four hours as has been done in the yesteryear ) that is suited for their offense. & # 8220 ; The independent and unobstructed judicial probe of alleged misdemeanors of human rights is of extreme importance, both from the point of position of the victim and his or her relations and to forestall the return of similar violations. & # 8221 ; ( Amnesty International, 1999 )

& # 8220 ; Asturias, Miguel Angel. & # 8221 ; Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000.

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Gonzalez, Richard. & # 8220 ; Rights in Guatemala: At Risk Still. & # 8221 ; New York Times. 5 Nov.

2000, sec. 1: 12.

& # 8220 ; Guatemala. & # 8221 ; Amnesty International Report 1999: Guatemala. 1999. Amnesty

International. .

& # 8220 ; Summary of Amnesty International & # 8217 ; s Concerns ( January 1995-January 1996 ) . & # 8221 ;

Guatemala in 2000 Annual Report. 2 Jan. 1996. AMR 34/003/1996. Amnesty

International. .

& # 8220 ; Those Who Forget the Past are Condemned to Relive It. & # 8221 ; Guatemala in 2000 Annual

Report. 2 Dec. 1998. AMR 34/037/1998. Amnesty International.

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