General Eusebio Canales

General Eusebio Canales

General Eusebio Canales is a former soldier from the novel who served in the President’s military. The narrative does not provide a detailed background on the General because he is featured just briefly. Being a retired general in a country ruled by a dictator demonstrates his high degree of skill and strength of character.

The Country Depicted in the Story

General Eusebio served during the dictatorship of Manuel Estrada Cabrera’s Latin American country. The country depicted in the story shares many similarities with Guatemala. First, the novel’s author, Miguel Angel Asturias, was a Guatemalan, implying that the author may have narrated the story of his own country. Secondly, the title character of the novel heavily resembles Manuel Estrada Cabrera’s presidency for the period 1898-1920. From the two analogies, it can be deduced that the country in the novel is presumed to be Guatemala. Just like other dictatorial regimes, the regime of Manuel Estrada was characterized by strong regulations and control of the systems in the country with major decisions being made by the president alone. Powers of the president could not be accounted for because no constitution is mentioned anywhere throughout the novel.

Military Dictatorship in Latin America

During this period when the novel was written, military dictatorship was the order of the day in Latin America because leaders believed that having a strong military could act as a protective barrier to any resistance that could be forged by opposition. It is for this reason that General Eusebio was once a close ally to President Estrada and served in the country’s military for some time even though we are not specifically told for how long.

The Incident of the Zany and Colonel Jose Parrales

General Eusebio Canales came into the limelight in the novel after the incident of the Zany and Colonel Jose Parrales where the two clashed and the colonel was killed. The Zany is portrayed as an idiot who does not think the way he does things. The reason why the Zany kills Colonel Sonriente is that he was bitter about the death of his mother yet colonel jeered the word “mother” at him, which provoked him to retaliate. After the incident when the Colonel was killed, the government of President Estrada interrogated beggars and tortured them to force them to agree that General Eusebio Canales, who once served in the president’s military, and Abel Carvajal (independent lawyer) were responsible for the death of Colonel Sonriente. According to President Estrada, there was no possibility that “an idiot is responsible” for the death of Colonel Sonriente. This assumption by the president is a depiction of his dictatorial nature and lack of logic in his reasoning because his claims are not true.

Accusations Against General Canales

Accusations leveled against General Canales came to him because he was only a victim of circumstances and there was no evidence to ascertain those claims. Because of the false accusations leveled against General Canales, he lives in fear for he is afraid authorities might arrest him. The president orders Miguel Angel Face, who is considered as the president’s “favorite,” to assist General Canales in fleeing the country before he could be arrested by the police for the murder of Colonel Sonriente. This plan by the president was well orchestrated for the president’s selfish interests and purposes. The reason the president ordered Angel Face to aid General Canales to flee was to gather false evidence that by “running away, there is a confession that the general is guilty.

General Canales’s Daughter, Camila

General Eusebio has a home with a daughter called Camila. The fact that General Eusebio had a daughter shows that the General was a family man and must have loved his family. From the novel, General Canales was portrayed as a loving father to his daughter because he cares a lot about his daughter’s welfare. With the order from the president, Angel Face tells Lucio Vasquez (policeman) that he was going to kidnap General Eusebio’s daughter as a way of distracting the watchful authorities to facilitate the escape of the general. This was done by Angel Face as a cover-up for the escape of Canales. All these plans were carried out by order of the president who had malicious and mischievous intentions against General Canales. This is because right from the time the colonel was murdered, all the plans by the president were aimed at destroying Canales, and nothing was true against Canales. In the evening of the day that Vasquez met with Angel Face, Canales managed to escape safely even as the police ransack his home. Face later on sneaked into Canales’ home and brought out Canales’ daughter Camila to Two Step. Even though Face rescued Camila, it was not for good reasons because later on in the novel, it is revealed that Face wanted to marry Camila because he was madly in love with her.

The Oppression and Cruelty Towards General Canales and His Allies

Canales left sorrow behind because Fedina de Rodas landed in trouble in her attempt to save Canales from arrest by the police as the Judge Advocate finds her in Canales’ house and arrests her demanding an explanation from her as to where Canales had escaped to. Torture on Rodas led to the death of her baby because she could not breastfeed breasts smeared with lime. This shows the dictatorship nature of the regime towards General Canales and his close allies. During the time of torture on Rodas to reveal where Canales had escaped, the auditor says ”He’ll die of hunger if you don’t answer!“ This is cruelty of the highest order because a baby is suffering yet the authorities were only obsessed with finding Canales.

General Canales’s Sympathy and his Sense of Justice

When Canales had escaped into a village, he listened to Indios who was discussing theft and thieves, and this is one of the statements Indios made; ”And the president demanded that he turn over his things.“ Canales had sympathy for Indios because of the injustice that they were going through. Because of his sympathy, Canales offered to take him to another state away from the injustice that Indios was facing. The act by Canales is a clear indicator that he is a just man and hates injustices that the authorities were doing to the people living in the country.

At some time Canales found three kids without parents being compelled to pay back 9,000 pesos to the doctor or lose their house. Canales feels for them and gets righteously angry at the doctor, which prompts him to shoot the doctor to save the three kids. This implies that Canales was a righteous man full of sympathy and was always ready to do anything to ensure that there was justice for the vulnerable in society. It is also an implication that even in the midst of dictatorship, some people are righteous and can rise to the occasion to save the vulnerable, as was the case with General Canales.

General Canales’s Commitment and Sacrifice

Towards the end, General Canales died because of the false news that the president attended his daughter’s wedding. Canales died when he was preparing for a revolution to overthrow the existing dictatorial regime, and this shows his commitment and dedication to ensure that the oppressed get their freedom and justice. Therefore, it can be deduced from the story that General Canales was against oppression by President Estrada, and that might be the reason why the president planned false accusations against him and his close allies. The general stands out as the people’s savior because of many things he did to ensure that justice prevailed in a dictatorial regime.

Bibliography

Asturias, Miguel Angel. The President. Waveland Press, 1997.