Heather Vrana's This City Belongs to You: A History of Student Activism in Guatemala, 1944–1996 is the first English-language history of student politics in Guatemala and joins a new wave of scholarship on Guatemala City. This fine book focuses on the University of San Carlos (USAC), the country's only public university, the singular hub for relatively open political debates and the crucible for intellectuals, lawyers, and others who have been key in the unfolding of post–World War II Guatemalan history. The school's student activism has played a vital role in urban movements and has been a prominent feature of city life, a symbol of civic engagement, and a significant indicator of the strength of different political outlooks.
This City Belongs to You follows generations of USAC students as they developed identities and commitments. It spans the decades of conflict over Guatemala's fate from the reformist 1944 October Revolution and the...
