Harsh Times

by Mario Vargas Llosa

“Few people in Guatemala know what Marxism or communism are, even among the stray elements calling themselves communists who founded the Escuela Claridad to disseminate revolutionary ideas. The danger isn’t real, but it is convenient for us that people believe it exists, above all in the United States. The real danger is another one. I have spoken with President Arévalo and his closest advisers in person. He is as anticommunist as you and I. Proof is that the president and his supporters have insisted that the new Constitution of Guatemala forbid the existence of political parties with international connections. They’ve declared on numerous occasions that ‘communism is the greatest threat faced by democracy,’ and they closed down the aforementioned Escuela Claridad and deported its founders. And yet, contradictory as it may seem to you, Arévalo’s boundless love for democracy represents a serious threat for United Fruit. This, gentlemen, is something good for you to know, but not to say aloud.”