"Here I was born, here I will die": The Failure of Development in 1976 Chinautla, Guatemala

• In Event: Local Histories of Development

Abstract

This paper investigates a failed development project, arguing that it is precisely within the failure that we can understand how local power struggles and divisions shaped responses to outside intervention. The 1976 earthquake caused significant infrastructure destruction in Guatemala at a moment of heightened political tension and internal insecurity. In its aftermath, the Guatemalan state partnered with development organizations to, at least theoretically, channel material and financial aid to those in need. On the outskirts of Guatemala City, the Poqomam Maya community of Chinautla suffered from the collapse of their homes and the flooding of the adjacent Rio Las Vacas. The Guatemalan state proposed to move Chinautla to higher ground, offering free land, new modernized houses, and moving assistance. However, many residents vehemently protested this idea, much to the chagrin and confusion of the project planners. In the end, some residents did move, but the majority stayed and rebuilt their homes despite the continued threat of future flooding.

In this paper, I explore this negative response to the state's development initiative. Why did Chinautla residents reject the offer of free land out of a flood plain? How did historical memory shape this decision? How did local ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic divisions influence residents' responses to this initiative, and how did an environmental catastrophe and development exacerbate these divisions? The Chinautla case helps to answer these questions and increase our understanding of how the environment and development make visible the processes of identity formation and local negotiations for power.

Author

• Sarah Foss, Oklahoma State University