A difficult time

The novel "Tiempos recios" (Tough Times) by the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, published in 2019, narrates the events of the military coup in Guatemala in 1954, where the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) overthrew the elected President Jacobo Árbenz, claiming he was promoting communism, in order to protect the interests of the American company "United Fruit." The novel features real characters such as Árbenz, his successor Carlos Castillo Armas, the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, and security agent Johnny Abbs García. It also highlights a fictional character named Marta Poreiro, known as "Miss Guatemala," who moves between relationships with figures of authority, reflecting the exploitation of women in political contexts. "Tough Times" is an extension of Vargas Llosa's previous novel "The Feast of the Goat," where he explores media manipulation and political propaganda, especially through the role of Edward Bernays, a pioneer of public relations, in tarnishing Árbenz's image. The novel shows how lies can be presented as truth to justify foreign interventions, and demonstrates the influence of great powers on the destinies of nations. One winter night, many years ago, she heard knocking at her door, the house where we are now. With suspicion, she went to open the door and found a man on the street disguised in a loose coat and a scarf hanging down to his feet. But she soon recognized his voice when she heard him say: "Don’t you recognize me, Martita?" She was overwhelmed with confusion and surprise, of course, and then she allowed him to enter the same hall, where there were fewer birds at that time. They engaged in conversation until dawn, during which they drank tea and reminisced about past adventures. He confessed to her that she was the only one he told that he was still alive, unlike his old acquaintances.