The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University is presenting a symposium on the lasting effects of the CIA-sponsored 1954 Guatemala coup today in the Illini Union.

The event addresses the 1954 CIA-backed coup that ended Guatemala’s “Ten Years of Spring,” the 1944-1954 decade of democracy and progressive legislation. This was the CIA’s first convert action in Latin America and their second overthrow of a government. The event aims in untangling the ongoing consequence of the 1954 Guatemalan coup and the lessons learned from it.

“We want to spend all day looking at the lasting impact and the repercussions of the CIA-backed coup in Guatemala in 1954,” said Tim Smith, associate director of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. “We, as scholars, believe that this sort of set the foundation for 50 years of repression and military dictatorships and genocide.”

The symposium will feature presentations addressing issues such as human rights, the military, U.S. intervention, language rights and the ongoing plight of the indigenous Mayan population by anthropologists, historians and political scientists known for their long-term research on the culture and history of Guatemala.

Smith, who has worked on this event since August of 2004, said he hopes more people attend the symposium aside from Latin American and Guatemalan scholars since the themes being addressed are important to everyone, especially with this new foreign policy of preemptive strikes in the Middle East.

The keynote speaker at the event is Dr. Victor Montejo, a Q’anjob’al Maya, who serves on the Guatemalan Presidential Cabinet as secretary of peace. He is a professor of Anthropology and Native American studies at the University of California at Davis and has written several books in Guatemala and the United States including Testimonio: Death of a Guatemalan Village.

“He is a really good well-rounded scholar and extremely important for Guatemalan studies,” Smith said.

Montejo will be speaking at in the Illini Union Pine Lounge at 4:30 p.m.

Zachary Elkins, assistant professor in political science, will offer an alternative view.

“In some ways, since (the other presenters) are anthropologists and I’m a political scientist, I’m there to provide a different perspective,” Elkins said. “I’ll give some insight and some broader insights at the end of the day.”

Another presenter at the symposium is June Nash, an internationally recognized scholar in anthropology. After many years of exploring Mayan beliefs in Mexico and Guatemala, she is a leading authority on Mayan activists and leaders in Chiapas.

“I would characterize June Nash as one of the founding mothers of Latin American Anthropology. She is an individual who has worked tirelessly over the course of her career to introduce people to the cultures of Latin America,” said Arlene Torres, director of the Latina/Latino Studies Program.

The Amnesty International Chapter at UIUC, an organization that aims at protecting human rights worldwide, has worked on promoting the symposium as well.

Lauren Ziegler, head of the country studies committee for Amnesty International, said she feels the event is important for all students. The event will help look at the impact U.S. foreign policy has and help analyze the positives and negatives of things that have happened and are happening.

Barbara Zebrowski, freshman in LAS, said that she is not very knowledgeable on the events to be discussed in Monday’s symposium. However, she said she is eager to learn.

“These events were major historical events for the United States,” she said. “I don’t know a lot about (the events) but I think that this would be a great place to start.”

The symposium is open to the public, including the reception at 5:30 p.m., and no registration is needed. The event is from 9:30 a.m-6:30 p.m. in the Illini Union Room 210 and Pine lounge.