Bandits and Politics in Chiapas and Guatemala, 1825-1850

Abstract

The historiography on social banditry in Latin America has been broad and forceful in affirming the deep relationship between banditry and political dynamics, even in cases where bandits were not part of a particular faction. This article aims to show the complexities of this relationship through the analysis of two related cases: the trajectory of Andres Monreal in Central America during the 1830s and the incursion from the Guatemalan border of Joaquín Miguel Gutierrez in 1838. The two cases reveal the ambiguities of the populations divided by the border as well as the influence of the bandits in the political struggles of the first half of the nineteenth century.