The writer Virgilio Rodríguez Macal, through his essays, narratives, and journalistic chronicles, actively participated in the great debates about the fate of the Guatemalan nation during and after the socialist governments of the Revolution (1944-1954). This thesis delves into a neglected oeuvre the study of which sheds light on an original perspective about a national period with continental repercussions. I study his regionalist novels Carazamba (1953), Jinayá (1956) and Guayacán (1962) within the framework of Guatemala and Latin America’s intellectual, literary and socio-political history. This approach, in combination with a close textual analysis, allows me to show that Rodríguez Macal, with a firm footing in the Latin American lettered tradition of political commitment to the construction of the nation, propounds narrative worlds that amount to national integration programs centered around the northern region of the country. I demonstrate that Rodríguez Macal adopts a regionalist aesthetic to postulate a Guatemalan autochthonous essence based on the discourse of narrators who act as discerners of that same essence based on a scientific knowledge derived from disciplines such as anthropology, historiography and sociology. Lastly, I reveal that this literary project is the expression of an independent intellectual trajectory preoccupied with proposing alternative projects for the modernization and territorialization of the nation.

The writer Virgilio Rodríguez Macal, through his essays, narratives, and journalistic chronicles, actively participated in the great debates about the fate of the Guatemalan nation during and after the socialist governments of the Revolution (1944-1954). This thesis delves into a neglected oeuvre the study of which sheds light on an original perspective about a national period with continental repercussions. I study his regionalist novels Carazamba (1953), Jinayá (1956) and Guayacán (1962) within the framework of Guatemala and Latin America’s intellectual, literary and socio-political history. This approach, in combination with a close textual analysis, allows me to show that Rodríguez Macal, with a firm footing in the Latin American lettered tradition of political commitment to the construction of the nation, propounds narrative worlds that amount to national integration programs centered around the northern region of the country. I demonstrate that Rodríguez Macal adopts a regionalist aesthetic to postulate a Guatemalan autochthonous essence based on the discourse of narrators who act as discerners of that same essence based on a scientific knowledge derived from disciplines such as anthropology, historiography and sociology. Lastly, I reveal that this literary project is the expression of an independent intellectual trajectory preoccupied with proposing alternative projects for the modernization and territorialization of the nation.

The writer Virgilio Rodríguez Macal, through his essays, narratives, and journalistic chronicles, actively participated in the great debates about the fate of the Guatemalan nation during and after the socialist governments of the Revolution (1944-1954). This thesis delves into a neglected oeuvre the study of which sheds light on an original perspective about a national period with continental repercussions. I study his regionalist novels Carazamba (1953), Jinayá (1956) and Guayacán (1962) within the framework of Guatemala and Latin America’s intellectual, literary and socio-political history. This approach, in combination with a close textual analysis, allows me to show that Rodríguez Macal, with a firm footing in the Latin American lettered tradition of political commitment to the construction of the nation, propounds narrative worlds that amount to national integration programs centered around the northern region of the country. I demonstrate that Rodríguez Macal adopts a regionalist aesthetic to postulate a Guatemalan autochthonous essence based on the discourse of narrators who act as discerners of that same essence based on a scientific knowledge derived from disciplines such as anthropology, historiography and sociology. Lastly, I reveal that this literary project is the expression of an independent intellectual trajectory preoccupied with proposing alternative projects for the modernization and territorialization of the nation.

As organizações regionais (ORs) latino-americanas têm atuado de maneira formal em segurança cidadã há pelo menos 20 anos. Em diferentes tratados, declarações, planos de ação, projetos, atas, entre outros documentos das organizações regionais, seja na América do Sul seja na América Central, evidencia-se que há uma relação importante entre segurança cidadã e consolidação democrática. Tendo em vista isto, esta tese tem como objetivo responder as seguintes perguntas de pesquisa: Qual é a visão das Organizações Regionais acerca da relação entre consolidação de democracia e segurança cidadã na região latino-americana? E, qual tem sido o papel das ORs, com algum nível institucional formalizado de cooperação em segurança cidadã, na consolidação democrática na América Latina? É uma pesquisa de viés qualitativo baseada em dois estudos de caso: o Sistema de Integração Centro-Americano (SICA) e a União das Nações Sul-Americanas (UNASUL) entre os anos de 2008-2018, período no qual ambas as ORs tiveram ações focadas (projetos e planos de ação) em segurança cidadã. A metodologia utilizada será de process tracing, como também de comparative process tracing entre as ORs. Os resultados desta tese apontam que ambas as organizações regionais possuem a visão de que ações em cooperação em segurança cidadã podem promover consolidação democrática através do fortalecimento do Estado de direito. Contudo, os atores são céticos sobre as capacidades de suas ORs em terem êxito, uma vez que o papel delas em consolidação democrática, através de cooperação em segurança cidadã, é pontual ou inexistente, sobretudo, pela falta de efetividade das mesmas. A conclusão é que as ORs analisadas produzem muito em termos de documentos, mas fazem pouco em termos de prática para concretizar suas ambições, refletindo as falhas do próprio regionalismo latino-americano. Assim, a falta de vontade política, a falta de capacidade institucional e o déficit recursos (humanos e financeiros) são as grandes barreiras para se ter êxito nas ações de segurança cidadã e, consequentemente, efeitos em fortalecimento do Estado de direito na região. / The Latin American regional organizations (ROs) have been working in a formal manner in citizen security at least for the last 20 years. In different treaties, declarations, action plans, projects, minutes and other documents of the regional organizations, whether in South America whether Central America, it is evident there is an important relation between citizen security and democratic consolidation. In this way, this work aims to answer the followings research questions: What is the vision of the Regional Organizations about the relationship between democratic consolidation and citizen security in Latin America? In addition, what has been the role of the ROs, with some formalized level of cooperation in citizen security, in Latin American democratic consolidation? It is a qualitative bias research based on two case studies: The Central American Integration System and the Union of the South American Nations between the years of 2008-2018, during which time both regional organizations had actions (projects and action plans) focused in citizen security. The methodology utilized will be the process tracing, as well as the comparative process tracing between the ROs. The results show that both organizations have the vision that the actions in citizen security can promote democratic consolidation through the strengthening of the rule of law. However, the actors are skeptical about their ROs\' ability to succeed, since their role in democratic consolidation, through cooperation in citizen security, is punctual or non-existent, mainly because of their lack of effectiveness. The conclusion is that the ROs analyzed produce a lot in terms of documents, but they do little in terms of practice to achieve their ambitions, reflecting the failures of Latin American regionalism itself. Therefore, the lack of political will, the lack of institutional capacity and the deficit in resources (human and financial) are the great barriers to success in citizen security actions and, consequently, effects on strengthening of the rules of law in the region.