The El Mozote Massacre

Human Rights and Global Implications Revised and Expanded Edition

By Leigh Binford

The University of Arizona Press

In 1981, more than a thousand civilians around El Mozote, El Salvador, were slaughtered by the country’s U.S.-trained army. The story was covered—and soon forgotten—by the international news media. In the first edition of The El Mozote Massacre, anthropologist Leigh Binford successfully restores a social identity to the massacre victims through his dissection of Third World human rights reporting and a rich ethnographic and personal account of El Mozote–area residents prior to the massacre.

Almost two decades later, the consequences of the massacre continue to reverberate through the country’s legal and socioeconomic systems. The El Mozote Massacre, 2nd Edition brings together new evidence to address reconstruction, historical memory, and human rights issues resulting from what may be the largest massacre in modern Latin American history.

With a multitude of additions, including three new chapters, an extended chronology, discussion of the hearing and ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2012, and evidence gathered throughout half a dozen field trips made by the author, Binford presents a current perspective on the effects of this tragic moment in history. Thanks to geographically expanded fieldwork, Binford offers critical discussion of postwar social, economic, religious, and social justice in El Mozote, and adds important new regional, national, and global contexts.

The El Mozote Massacre, 2nd Edition maintains the crucial presence of the massacre in human rights discussions for El Salvador, Latin America, and the world.

This revised edition demonstrates how vibrant and relevant the events of El Mozote remain, not only to Salvadorans but to many people beyond the country.’—Hispanic American Historical Review

'Binford's call for a more humanistic anthropology and a less apathetic world comes across clearly. . . . Well written, compelling, and recommended for all those interested in Latin America, anthropological ethics, and human rights.' —Human Mosaic

'Binford's book does an admirable job in meticulously reconstructing the events which led up to the massacre. He is intent on making the victims of the massacre real human beings with lives and livelihoods, not an anonymous mass of people. His broader aim is to show how quantifying human rights statistics can dehumanize the victims and desensitize people to what is actually involved. His anthropological study is the most interesting part of the book.' —Latin American Studies

‘This revised edition demonstrates how vibrant and relevant the events of El Mozote remain, not only to Salvadorans but to many people beyond the country.’—Hispanic American Historical Review

‘Dr. Binford is to be saluted for breaking that silence and putting the story of El Mozote on the anthropological map. Additionally, he holds the delicate balance of not shying away from the brutality of the massacre without falling into the abyss of voyeuristic writing. It is a well-written and deeply moving book.’—Victoria Sanford, author of Buried Secrets: Truth and Human Rights in Guatemala

Leigh Binford is a professor of sociology and anthropology at the College of Staten Island and a member of the CUNY graduate faculty. His work has been published in journals such as Journal of Peasant Studies, Anthropologica, and Third World Quarterly.

List of Illustrations
Preface to the Revised Edition
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

Introduction: Reducing Cultural Distance in Human Rights Reporting
1 The Massacre
2 The Eye of the Oligarchy
3 The U.S. Cover-Up
4 The Nascent Community of El Mozote
5 The Politics of Repression and Survival in Northern Morazán
6 Investigation and Judgment
7 A Reformed Military?
8 History and Memory
9 Representation, Witness, and Silence
10 The Struggle for Justice
11 Nunca Más!: El Mozote, Human Rights, and Transitional Justice

Chronology
Notes
References
Index

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