Review of the book “Mujer alzada” by Silvia Solórzano, militant of the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), Guatemala.

Abstract

In an insightful article in Plaza Pública, “The War in Books,” Elsa Coronado states that the majority of histories of the Guatemalan war are written by men, with only 15% by women. Based on a database presented in the article, Coronado notes that: “The analysis of these texts leads us to several conclusions: this history is told, for the most part, by men; only 15% of the titles were written by women. More than half, 58%, were written by academics, 13% by military personnel, and 11% by former guerrillas; the remainder were literary or journalistic works. Most focus on the peace negotiations and the postwar period; about fifty deal with the 1980s, the most difficult years of the conflict, and only 24 examine the beginnings of the war” (Coronado, 2019). Thus, the value of the book (which initially appears to be part of the EGP's national and international political propaganda) is reinforced by the audacity of daring to speak and publish during the regime of state terror about what it means to be a woman in the guerrilla and the reasons for her joining the movement. The author, Silvia Solórzano, also a member of the EGP, reveals from the outset the double meaning of the book's title: