Overview

Exploring the life of one of Central America's understudied political figures, this exciting new volume follows Manuel Colom Argueta's exploits, philosophy, and impact amid the background of the Central American Cold War. Manuel Colom Argueta and the Democratic Collapse of the Central American Cold War, 1954–1979 reconstructs the political career of one of Guatemala’s most important and understudied Cold War democrats. Drawing on archival research across six countries, this volume offers a detailed account of how Colom Argueta and his political movement navigated a polarized landscape shaped by authoritarian rule, guerrilla insurgency, and international pressure. Focusing on Colom’s efforts to advance democratic socialism through institutional means, this book navigates Colom's political philosophy and direction emphasizing urban policy, popular participation, and inter-municipal cooperation. It explores the multiple political strategies he employed, including alliances with military and guerrilla sectors, and situates them within broader Central American patterns of failed democratic transitions. Colom’s assassination in 1979, shortly after achieving legal recognition for his party, marked a critical turning point in Guatemala’s descent into widespread political violence. Rather than treating political violence as inevitable, this monograph underscores how political alternatives were systematically dismantled by domestic elites and international actors. Through the lens of biography, we're offered a new interpretation of the Central American Cold War, showing how political moderates were excluded, targeted, and ultimately eliminated. Colom’s life provides a compelling entry point into the history of lost democratic possibilities in the region.

Full Product Details

Author:   Rodrigo Véliz Estrada
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
Dimensions:   Width: 15.40cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 23.20cm
Weight:   0.420kg
ISBN:  

9781666969566

ISBN 10:   1666969567
Pages:   192
Publication Date:   30 April 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction: “To emerge from the long night” 1. Counter revolution and the birth of the URD 2. Guatemala city as a stronghold Intermezzo I. On capitalino centralism 3. Building legitimacy from the peripheries 4. The foundations of a presidential project Intermezzo II. The murder of Adolfo Mijangos 5. Clashing visions: Colom vs. the Executive 6. Between fraud and reform: A false opening Intermezzo III. Ideologies in the ruins: The debate with Maldonado Aguirre 7. Dealing with Lucas and the military Intermezzo IV. “I am the only one left alive” 8. State terror and the collapse of diplomacy 9. “Like an avalanche of rocks and dust descending:” The assassination, March 22, 1979 Epilogue: After the long night Bibliography Index

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Author Information

Rodrigo Véliz Estrada is a Guatemalan historian and an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Lateinamerika-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin.

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