Central America: 200 years of failed modernity

Abstract

The year 2021 means a controversial date for Central Americans. There are those who celebrate 200 years of independence. It is the vision of those Creoles who control political, religious, cultural and economic power. For them, the date of 200 years is celebrated by magnifying the past, justifying history, adopting as a fatum the fait accompli of the current asymmetries of our countries and the ties created by hegemony. There are others who denounce that the 200 years revives a nightmare. Along these lines, they underline the validity of a logic of international subordination and dependence, established after the Spanish invasion, and emphasize the ties of the Church with the hegemonic powers in the different stages of Central American history. This article tries to clear up those essential points of the debate on the commemoration of the 200 years of the Independence of Central America. This text does not pretend to be more than a contribution to the study of the complex and contradictory reality of the countries of the region. The article studies the contributions of Armando Villatoro in his text "Guatemala, State and Counterinsurgency", going through the propositions of Severo Martínez in his essay "La Patria del Criollo", up to the analysis of Matilde González on the "Colonial Crisis and formation of the Central American republics”, in addition to the reflections proposed by Daniel Camacho in his work “Unity and separatism in Central America”, among others. Finally, some ideas about modernity in Central America are outlined.