To Rise in Darkness

Jeffrey L. Gould is James H. Rudy Professor of History and Director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Indiana. His books include To Die in This Way: Nicaraguan Indians and the Myth of Mestizaje, 1880–1965, also published by Duke University Press. He is a co-producer and co-director of the documentary film Scars of Memory: El Salvador, 1932.Aldo A. Lauria-Santiago is Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Department of Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University. He is the author of An Agrarian Republic: Commercial Agriculture and the Politics of Peasant Communities in El Salvador, 1823–1914 and a coeditor of Identity and Struggle at the Margins of the Nation-State: The Laboring Peoples of Central America and the Hispanic Caribbean, also published by Duke University Press.

• Preface ix1. Garden of Despair: the Political Economy of Class, Land, and Labor, 1920-1929 12. A Bittersweet Transition: Politics and Labor in the 1920s 323. Fiestas of the Oppressed: The Social Geography and Culture of Mobilization 634. "Ese Trabajo Era Enteramente de los Naturales": Ethnic Conflict and Mestizaje in Western Salvador, 1914-1931 995. "To the Face of the Entire World": Repression and Radicalization, September 1931-January 1932 1326. Red Ribbons and Machetes: The Insurrection of January 1932 1707. "They Killed the Just for the Sinners": The Counterrevolutionary Massacres 2098. Memories of La Matanza: The Political and Cultural Consequences of 1932 240Epilogue 275Afterword 281Notes 291Bibliography 343Index 355

“This fine new book about the 1932 El Salvadoran massacre known as La Matanza. . .offers insights into a range of issues-agrarian history, ethnicity, the texture of historical discourse and memory, and the ways in which capitalist elites have acted to repress socialism. . . . Other works on the subject have barely tapped the available archival sources; Gould and Lauria-Santiago’s careful research allows them to challenge stereotypes and resolve many longstanding questions.” - Cindy Forster, American Historical Review “[A] remarkable and thoroughly impressive volume. . . It rests upon scrupulous investigation of primary documentary evidence at local, regional, national and international levels. Indeed, Aldo Lauria-Santiago’s contribution goes far beyond primary responsibility for the writing for the sections of the volume on political economy; he has clearly played an important role in assisting the revival of the Salvadorean National Archive.” - James Dunkerley, Journal of Latin American Studies “To Rise in Darkness contributes to a clearer understanding of a complex period of political, social, and cultural history, including how its contemporary interpretation reveals the dynamics of individual and social memory. . . . It will appeal to an interdisciplinary audience for its methodological and theoretical attention to discourse and ideology, symbolism and power, political agency and subjectivity, memory and identity.” - Robin DeLugan, E.I.A.L. “Gould and Lauria-Santiago. . . . have laid a groundwork (and set a high bar) for a new generation of scholars, from the North and South, working in related areas.” - Ellen Moodie, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology “[T]he book, along with its accompanying film, are sure to spark animated and productive debates about the events and processes it analyzes with such care and eloquence. . . . [T]his finely wrought study makes a major contribution to understanding one of the most horrific and consequential episodes in the modern history of Latin America.” - Michael J. Schroeder, A Contracorriente “This spectacularly detailed book will challenge important assumptions for scholars of Central America. It is also an excellent case study for students of mobilization and ethnicity. The authors explore questions that both of these literatures have been grappling with for some time. The authors weave together weighty ideas and rich data that succeeds in bringing insight to contentious politics.” - Louis Edgar Esparza, Mobilization “To Rise in Darkness tells the story of the 1932 Communist-led uprising in El Salvador and the violent repression that followed, one of the most consequential events in Latin American history. As a prelude to the widespread terror that would sweep throughout Central America during the Cold War, this killing is beginning to receive scholarly attention, yet To Rise in Darkness will be the touchstone for future discussion of the 1932 revolt and massacre. Based on painstaking research and exhibiting a sharp conceptual focus, this book will influence scholarship on the relationship between political mobilization, ideology, and violence for years to come.”-Greg Grandin, author of The Blood of Guatemala: A History of Race and Nation “To Rise in Darkness is a remarkable achievement. It completely transforms understanding of one of the most important political events in twentieth-century Central America.”-Lowell Gudmundson, Mount Holyoke College “To Rise in Darkness contributes to a clearer understanding of a complex period of political, social, and cultural history, including how its contemporary interpretation reveals the dynamics of individual and social memory. . . . It will appeal to an interdisciplinary audience for its methodological and theoretical attention to discourse and ideology, symbolism and power, political agency and subjectivity, memory and identity.” - Robin DeLugan (EIAL) “[A] remarkable and thoroughly impressive volume. . . It rests upon scrupulous investigation of primary documentary evidence at local, regional, national and international levels. Indeed, Aldo Lauria-Santiago’s contribution goes far beyond primary responsibility for the writing for the sections of the volume on political economy; he has clearly played an important role in assisting the revival of the Salvadorean National Archive.” - James Dunkerley (Journal of Latin American Studies) “[T]he book, along with its accompanying film, are sure to spark animated and productive debates about the events and processes it analyzes with such care and eloquence. . . . [T]his finely wrought study makes a major contribution to understanding one of the most horrific and consequential episodes in the modern history of Latin America.” - Michael J. Schroeder (A Contracorriente) “This fine new book about the 1932 El Salvadoran massacre known as La Matanza. . .offers insights into a range of issues-agrarian history, ethnicity, the texture of historical discourse and memory, and the ways in which capitalist elites have acted to repress socialism. . . . Other works on the subject have barely tapped the available archival sources; Gould and Lauria-Santiago’s careful research allows them to challenge stereotypes and resolve many longstanding questions.” - Cindy Forster (American Historical Review) “This spectacularly detailed book will challenge important assumptions for scholars of Central America. It is also an excellent case study for students of mobilization and ethnicity. The authors explore questions that both of these literatures have been grappling with for some time. The authors weave together weighty ideas and rich data that succeeds in bringing insight to contentious politics.” - Louis Edgar Esparza (Mobilization)