Central America's Forgotten History

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The book restores the fraught history of repression and resistance in Central America, connecting U.S. interventions to the current influx of refugees seeking asylum. While Central American migration is often discussed, the historical contexts that shape the region today are largely forgotten. Central American migrants fleeing corruption and violence are at the heart of the American immigration debate, yet the underlying political strife is frequently overlooked. The author expertly links this erasure of history to the present migration crisis, illustrating how the past influences contemporary factors that drive people to seek refuge and face exploitation. Tracing displacement back to the Spanish conquest, the narrative addresses the urgent question of how we arrived at this point. The roots of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are found in the wars and U.S. interventions of the 1980s, which generated refugee flows and increased U.S. involvement. The peace accords of the 1990s further paved the way for neoliberalism in the region. By recounting the era of revolution and war, the author aims to restore these gripping events to public consciousness. Additionally, the exploration of memory reveals the reasons behind the suppression of historical narratives and the consequences of losing such memories.