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El Salvador, 1960- 1967

 File — Box: 9, Folder: 198

Scope and Content

From the Collection: The collection is comprised of newspaper clippings regarding events in the individual countries of Latin America, their relations with one another, and their interactions with the United States over a lengthy period of time, from both U.S. and Latin American perspectives. The clippings span the years 1952-1978 and report news from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The collection also includes news reports from places infrequently included in accounts of Latin America, such as Guyana and Jamaica, as well as those not often connected with Latin America in the modern era, such as Spain and Portugal.

The collection is of use to researchers in a variety of ways. Like conventional historical accounts of Latin America, this collection is organized by country, and researchers can examine the daily goings on over a considerable period of time for each country. However, as the collection is organized within each geographical region by year, one could see the linkages among countries, within Latin America, and with regard to U.S. foreign policy for a given year.

The news collected covers events likely to appear in any historical account, as well as events which evoke a more well-rounded picture of each country, but are less likely to be reported. For example, news of Getulio Vargas' leadership of Brazil, downfall, and suicide is interspersed with yachting news, economic information, divorce law development, and news of Japanese immigration to Brazil. News from Chile alludes to CIA involvement in the overthrow of Salvador Allende, notes inflation and other economic trends, reports the military coup and subsequent human rights violations and disappearances, and maps the United States' increasing awareness of the climate of torture and violence under the military junta. Reports from Argentina follow Juan D. Per?n's lengthy political career as well as that of his wife, Eva Duarte Per?n while also noting less serious events such as a rumor that the man in the moon resembles Evita. Argentine news also comments on relations between church and state, early disputes regarding the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, and human rights stories.

Cuban news over a period of over twenty years chronicles United States - Cuban relations from the time of Batista to Castro, chronicling early Castro activities, the revolution, and the United States' changing views of Fidel Castro. Accounts present the unfolding identities of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro while noting a change over time in the political views and affiliations of the exiled Cuban community in Miami. The reverse sides of news clippings covering the revolution document everyday life for the Cuban elite, including ladies' luncheons and bridal showers, thus placing the tense and changing political climate in an infrequently-seen social context.

Central American reports follow the activities of the United Fruit Company, coffee-based economies, elections, and meetings between political leaders. News for all of Latin America follows a growing tourist market, the United States' perception of the "Communist threat, negotiations over the Panama Canal, and changes in gender roles and rights. Housewives' riots in both Brazil and Chile reflect the increased political voice of women, while divorce legislation reported for numerous countries alludes to increased rights. Accounts of World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank loans to assorted Latin American nations attest to an increasing globalization and set the stage for later reports of debt. Prominent political figures such as Getulio Vargas, Juan D. Per?n, Fidel Castro, Anastasio Somoza and others fill the pages of many files. Political martyrs such as Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador and the Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic under Trujillo fill others. The deaths of literary figures such as nobel laureates Miguel Angel Asturias of Guatemala and Pablo Neruda of Chile are chronicled. The reverse sides of these newspaper clippings provide inadvertent glimpses into the world stage, such as the independence of the Congo from Belgium. The articles, themselves, also document independence for Jamaica, and raise questions of statehood for Puerto Rico. Political unrest is described in detail for various countries, documenting the cases of disappeared persons in Argentina and Chile and following the Jonestown suicides under the reverend Jim Jones in Guyana. In Spain, ETA activity in Basque country is noted during General Franco's reign. Land reform and border disputes are common topics. In addition to political upheaval, natural disasters throughout Latin America contribute significantly to the difficulties in these nations.

Boxes 1-11 are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically by country. Boxes 12 - 20 are arranged by country, but in no specific order. Materials are in English and Spanish.

Dates

  • 1960- 1967

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English,

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Extent

From the Collection: 20 boxes (20 cu. ft.)

Repository Details

Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451