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(De)humanizing Narratives of Terrorism in Spain and Peru Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Melissa Doran, M.A. Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Ulises Juan Zevallos-Aguilar, Advisor Ignacio Corona Aurélie Vialette Copyright by Melissa Doran 2014 2 Abstract Both Spain and Peru experienced protracted violent conflicts between insurgent groups and State forces during the second half of the twentieth century. In Spain, this involved Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), a radical Basque nationalist organization which sought Basque autonomy via armed struggle in a conflict which lasted from 1959 until 2011. In Peru, the insurgent threat was represented by Sendero Luminoso, a Maoist guerrilla insurgency based in the Peruvian highlands that sought drastic sociopolitical change within Peru. Sendero Luminoso launched what they deemed a people’s war in 1980, and the bloody conflict that ensued continued until 1992. The damage caused by each of these conflicts was monumental, both in terms of the loss of human life and damage to infrastructure in both countries. In this dissertation I examine the depiction of these conflicts in a selection of Peruvian and Spanish novels and films. I argue that each work promotes a certain version of the conflict it describes, and that this can be revealed through an analysis of the humanizing and dehumanizing discourses at play in the representation of the actors in both of these conflicts. From Peru, I will examine Santiago Roncagliolo’s novel Abril rojo (2006) and Fabrizio Aguilar’s film Paloma de papel (2003). From Spain, I will analyze the novel Ojos que no ven (2010) by J.Á. González Sainz and the film Yoyes (2000) by Helena Taberna. ii In this work, I argue that these discourses of humanization and dehumanization affirm or deny, respectively, the humanity of subjects involved in these violent political conflicts. I assert that dehumanization is employed to legitimate systemic violence during a state of exception, while humanization serves to refute that legitimation by providing a more comprehensive image of the actors and their motivations. Furthermore, I signal the significance of the use of these discourses, as I consider these works to be part of a larger corpus from a number of disciplines that help to develop the collective memory surrounding these conflicts. In that way, I posit that the representations of the actors seen in these works, including the State, the insurgent organizations, and the general public, can contribute to the way in which audience members remember these conflicts and, therefore, highlight the potential implications of the representations presented in these novels and films. iii Dedication To David and my parents To the memory of my grandfathers iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Ulises Juan Zevallos-Aguilar, for his constant support and guidance during my time at Ohio State. His comments on this dissertation have been invaluable in both narrowing and strengthening the argument, and his patience in correcting my drafts is much appreciated. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Ignacio Corona and Dr. Aurélie Vialette, for the time that they have dedicated to guiding this project and for the insightful feedback they have provided. I am additionally thankful for the participation of Dr. Ileana Rodríguez on the committee of both my M.A. and Ph.D. exams. This dissertation would not have been possible without the unconditional and unwavering support of my family. I am so grateful for them, especially David, my parents, my grandparents, mi familia española, and my “Dayton parents,” whose support of this process has taken a number of forms, all wonderful and so very much appreciated. v Vita May 2004 ...................................................... East Palestine High School 2008 ............................................................... B.A., Spanish, Wright State University 2010 ............................................................... M.A., Spanish, The Ohio State University 2008-2012 ..................................................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State University 2012 to present .............................................. Instructor of Spanish, Wright State University Fields of Study Major Field: Spanish and Portuguese Primary Area: Contemporary Latin American Literatures and Cultures Secondary area: Contemporary Peninsular Literatures and Cultures Minor: History vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ......................................................................................................... ii Dedication ..................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ....................................................................................... v Vita ................................................................................................................ vi Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 Part 1: Peru .................................................................................................... 35 Political and Economic Context ....................................................... 36 The Early Years of Sendero Luminoso .............................................. 41 The conflicto interno ......................................................................... 45 The Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación ................................... 54 Lo criollo, centralismo, and Orientalism .......................................... 58 Representation of Terrorism in Peruvian Literature and Film ........ 66 Chapter 1: Dehumanization as Justification for Violence in Santiago Roncagliolo’s Abril rojo (2006) .................................................................... 75 Interpretation of the Conflict by the Armed Forces .......................... 82 Glimpses of Insurgent Experiences ................................................... 92 Dehumanizing Representations of the campesino Population .......... 99 Conclusions ....................................................................................... 106 vii Chapter 2: Humanizing Intentions in Fabrizio Aguilar’s Paloma de papel (2003) .................................................................................................. 111 Representations of the Rural Population and Initial Stages of the Conflict .................................................................................... 121 Representation of the Armed Forces ................................................. 125 Incomplete Humanization of Sendero Luminoso .............................. 135 Conclusions ....................................................................................... 150 Part 2: Spain .................................................................................................. 154 Nineteenth-Century Historical Developments .................................. 156 The Birth of Basque Nationalism ...................................................... 160 Growing Pains and the Early Twentieth Century ............................. 163 The Spanish Civil War and the Franco Years .................................. 167 Formation of ETA and the Early Years ............................................ 171 ETA Under Franco ........................................................................... 174 ETA and the Transition to Democracy ............................................. 178 ETA in Spanish Literature and Film ................................................. 197 Chapter 3: Dehumanization of “The Terrorist”: J. Á. González Sainz’s Ojos que no ven (2010) ................................................................................. 204 Family Metaphors ............................................................................. 209 Early Signals of ETA Participation .................................................. 211 Animalistic Dehumanization of Juanjo ............................................. 216 Dehumanizing Representations of the Mother .................................. 224 Oedipal Resonances and Family Dynamics ..................................... 228 viii Exposure to etarras ............................................................................ 232 ETA and the Spanish State ................................................................ 237 Conclusion ........................................................................................ 241 Chapter 4: Feminization and Humanization in Helena Taberna’s Yoyes (2000) .................................................................................................. 243 Yoyes as a Female Terrorist ............................................................. 249 ETA and the Spanish State, 1970s and 1980s ................................... 263 Conclusion ........................................................................................ 272 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 274 Bibliography ................................................................................................. 282 ix Introduction In Keywords: A vocabulary of culture and society, Raymond Williams includes an entry for “Violence”