Old Piles of Words Because the word is mightier than the stone.

Los Acuerdos de Paz

Yesterday marked the 13th anniversary of the 1996 “Acuerdos de Paz”, which ended 36 years of armed conflict in Guatemala. While there have been some celebrations here and there, this seems to be mostly an occasion for people to remember that things have not improved all that much for the majority of the population in the last 13 years. But before we start on this, we should probably start with a little context to the few who for some strange reason might not be familiar with the history of Guatemala...

It all started a long long time ago with the Maya and their great cities, talent for astronomy, politics, architecture, and war. Then came the Spanish in the 1500s, and along with them the dawn of a new order in the Americas, with the indigenous population basically enslaved to produce wealth for the Europeans. The area that is now Guatemala, like much of Latin America, came to be divided between a few families, the Spanish and their descendants firmly controlling all land and all wealth.

The independence, which was gained from Spain by the minority criollos (descendants of the Spanish) ended up improving the situation of the economically and politically weaker ladinos (mixed Maya and Spanish) but kept the majority indigenous population enslaved in all but name to the landowners. The presidents (aka dictators) who ruled over Guatemala in the 1800s and early 1900s consolidated the system of big plantations (mostly coffee, cardamom, and banana “fincas”) owned by the few and worked by the many, and allowed big foreign corporations such as the (in)famous United Fruit Company to take control of substantial parts of the country's economy.

In the 1940s and 50s, a couple of presidents tried to change the system and improve things for the population, notably with land reform, expropriating the United Fruit, for example. This didn't go over too well in powerful circles locally or in the communism-fearing north, and a CIA-backed military coup brought a series of military dictators to power. As civil discontent was harshly repressed, many people took up arms. And so began the long-lasting war between the left-wing guerrilla movement and the military governments. Violence, torture and fear became part of everyday life in most of the country. Life was especially tough in villages, where people were harassed or killed by both the army and the guerrillas for perceived support of the other side.

The 1996 peace accords officially ended the conflict, with what is basically a long list of reforms the government promised to execute. 13 years later, the results are patchy at best.

Everybody agrees that the Peace Accords are a valuable document guaranteeing and consolidating the right of all citizens, including the indigenous; and that some progress has been made is some fields like access to education and health care. Yet many things are left undone...
Sticky points include:
-violence: more than 5000 people were murdered in the country this year alone, a toll that is as high or even higher than the yearly average during the armed conflict. By way of comparison, Illinois, with a population the same size as Guatemala's (and including Chicago), had 790 murders in 2008.
-poverty: many people do not have access to basics such as education, health care, justice, or even food and water. Almost 50% of Guatemalan children suffer from chronic malnutrition, making the country one of the world's worst performers.
-land reform: the richest 1.5% of the population owns two thirds of the land, and 80% of the population owns nothing despite the fact that the country remains largely rural.
-impunity: just 3.75% of reported violent crimes are ever prosecuted, and those are usually prosecuted over the course of years. The breeds popular mistrust in the ability of the justice system to function and leads to mob violence and lynchings.
-human rights violations: there is a lack of political will to prosecute those responsible for atrocities committed during the war. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights condemned Guatemala for failing to follow through on one case in particular just this week.
-discrimination: prejudices are still pretty strong against the indigenous people

As we are writing this, we are trying to think of a good way to wrap this post up, but there really isn't one. Guatemala is a country rich in resources and people willing to work, but there are so many problems, like the inability of the government to overcome some pretty basic issues, that it remains impoverished.
But hey, at least it's not raining... (suck it, Belgians!)