Readers Respond
Dear NACLA Editors, I have been reading and admiring your work for quite some time. I guess it may seem negative that I write only to offer criticism, but I was so upset by a passage in...
...Your example is implicitly racist and does not do justice to the anti-colonialist struggle of the Araucanian people, which has been a constant struggle against the genocidal war machine of first the Spanish conquistadors and later the Chilean nationalist bourgeoisie...
...In seeking to correct the inconsistencies of history in regard to women's contributions, I feel you have only added another error to the original one...
...The legacy of Valdivia and Pizarro is not such that any women's participation in their campaign should be glorified...
...Their population has been reduced from over one million in the 16th century to less than 100,000 today...
...You describe her "valor" in fighting the Araucanians alongside the Spanish troops, how she helped bind their wounds and bury their dead, and you bemoan her scanty coverage in the pages of history...
...Aside from sexism, the other most obvious trait of most historical texts is racism, which brings me to my point...
...I guess it may seem negative that I write only to offer criticism, but I was so upset by a passage in the Sept.-Oct...
...Pedro de Valdivia, whom she accompanied "through the rugged Andes to Chile and back," was a racist cutthroat who murdered hundreds of Araucanians on his journey to Chile...
...Latin America...
...Sober analysis without the Marxist rhetoric would give the same effect without alienating readers who might get put off by this, thinking you are prejudiced...
...I do not disagree with the fact that history texts should be more objective with regard to women's contributions...
...It is not much use preaching to the converted...
...After all, it is very important to get these facts across, especially to the North American audience...
...issue that I just had to sit down and write...
...At times I think that you are too partisan, with the writers sounding as if they are writing propaganda for the revolution...You probably lose readers because of the writers, whereas I think your analysis and facts are reasonably accurate, much more so than many other sources I have read...
...I am in complete agreement with your criticism of the lack of coverage of Latin American women and their contributions...
...Michael Canney Alfred, Maine Dear NACLA...
...On the contrary, I find your issue on Latin American women most refreshing and informative...
...Obviously by the fact that I am subscribing, I am not entirely critical of your magazine, so keep up the good work...
...In your "About This Issue" column, you use Inez Suarez as an example of the unfair treatment of women in history 44 books...
...I.M...
...However, I feel that you could have found a more revolutionary example than Inez Suarez...
Vol. 14 • November 1980 • No. 6
