Guatemalan Peace Process 1994-1996

The Guatemalan Civil War was a thirty-six-year internal conflict that took place from November 1960 to December 1996. The conflict was fought between the Guatemalan government and smaller leftist guerrilla groups that fought under the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG). It resulted in about 200,000 casualties and "disappearances", making it the deadliest armed conflict in Central America.[1]

After a series of dictatorships supported by the United States, Guatemala was greatly pressured internationally to make efforts towards reincorporating democracy. In 1985, the then ruler General Oscar Mejía Victores allowed for the formation of a Constituent Assembly, which began working on a new democratic constitution. This new constitution was then finalized and ratified on May 30, 1985. The following year, democratic elections were held and Vinicio Cerezo was sworn in as president of Guatemala.

Prior to this, in 1983, the Contadora Group in Latin America, which was an initiative formed by Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia, began promoting peace in the Central American countries undergoing internal conflicts (El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala). The group served as mediators in peace talks among all Central American rulers, which led to the drafting of the Contadora Act on Peace and Cooperation in Central America. The document did not fully receive the support of the United States and was ultimately rejected by three of the Central American countries (Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica) in 1986.

Although the Contadora process was not successful, it was continued by President Vinicio Cerezo in his pursuit for peace as president of Guatemala. In 1986, all five Central American rulers attended a series of meetings in Esquipulas, Guatemala. In August 1987, all five countries signed the Esquipulas II Accord, which drew heavily from the previous Contadora Act on Peace and Cooperation. This agreement outlined a framework for the resolution of the current Central American civil wars. Two important components of this accord were an amnesty law and an urgency to disarm rebel groups. The government would then have further peace talks with forces who accepted these terms. The Esquipulas II Accord also created the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), which allowed for a civil influence on the peace process. Although this early accord opened the dialogue for peace in Guatemala, it did not come to a concrete close of the country's internal armed conflict.

Starting in 1988 and continuing for the following years, the NRC and URNG met on several occasions and engaged in peace talks, but did not come to an end to the Guatemalan civil war. Still, the two groups signed documents, such as the Oslo Accord, Mexico Accord, and Querétaro Agreement.[2][3]

Jorge Serrano Elías was democratically elected and became president of Guatemala in January 1991. Two years and a half into his presidency, on May 25, 1993, he attempted to proclaim sole power over the country through an autocoup. He dissolved the Guatemalan congress and fragmented the Supreme Court with the help of allies in the government and military. With this, he caused a constitutional crisis in the country. However, there was strong opposition by civilians and the Constitutional Court and Serrano Elías ultimately fled to El Salvador on June 2, failing in his attempts towards dictatorship. The congress then named Ramiro de León Carpio, who was the country's Human Rights Ombudsman, as president for the time remaining of Serrano's original presidential term.

The legal document is divided into four main sections. First, it outlines a list of concepts addressed throughout the peace process and decided upon in the final agreement. In the second section, it explicitly establishes the implementation of 10 accords previously signed by the URNG and Guatemalan governments. These 10 are as follows:

• The Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights
• The Agreement on Resettlement of the Population Groups Uprooted by the Armed Conflict
• The Agreement on the Establishment of the Commission to Clarify Past Human Rights Violations and Acts of Violence
• The Agreement on the Identity and Rights of Indigenous People
• The Agreement on Socio-Economic Aspects and the Agrarian Situation
• The Agreement on the Strengthening of Civil Power and the Function of the Army in a Democratic Society
• The Agreement on a Definitive Ceasefire
• The Agreement on Constitutional Reforms and the Electoral Regime
• The Agreement on the Basis for Legal integration of the URNG
• The Agreement on the Implementation, Compliance, and Verification Timetable for the Peace Agreements

The third section recognizes the support and role of entities such as the ASC, the United Nations, and the countries part of the Group of Friends to the Guatemalan Peace Process.

Lastly, the fourth section establishes the validity of the Firm and Lasting Peace document as soon as it is signed and states that the document's means and goals would be widely announced, especially through official education programs.

The agreement was then signed by representatives of the government of Guatemala, the URNG, and the United Nations.[5]

The signing of a final peace agreement was greatly expected by the Guatemalan population. Thousands of people attended this signing ceremony, which was held in front of the National Palace and projected on large screens in the main square. The accords were well anticipated and agreed upon by Guatemalans, as the population was eager for an end to the thirty-six years of war. However, there was hesitation due to expected failure in the implementation of the accords. A poll conducted by Prensa Libre, a national newspaper, showed that 78% of respondents agreed with the accords but only 38% believed these peace negotiations "would be respected".[9]

Although the leading leftist group, URNG, signed the final peace accords with the government of Guatemala, not all smaller branches fighting under the URNG were satisfied with the agreements. The Revolutionary Organization of Armed People (ORPA) stated that they did not agree completely with the accords signed by the URNG on December 29, 1996. As a demonstration of this disagreement, they refused to attend a reconciliation ceremony in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. However, this did not impede the end of the war in the country.[9]

The general language of the peace accords and the lack of representation of several Guatemalan groups caused challenges of implementation in the years following the signing of peace. Although the peace agreement was the start to establish significant changes to Guatemala, many problems in the country have thwarted progress in several areas. Major problems have stemmed from the corruption, bureaucracy, and self-interest prevalent in political positions in the country.

A problematic characteristic of this country is the extreme poverty and inequality among the population. Most of the country's population is indigenous, and have the lowest levels of education and live in the highest levels of poverty. Although the accords acknowledged the historical vulnerability and exploitation of this group, it did not outline effectively specific approaches to aid these people. This has allowed the continuation of a separated and racist society unable to collaborate with each other.

Another challenge has been the implementation of accords concerning land conflicts. Illegal occupations of land have continued and the government has not been able to address them so as to create a deterrent factor. The head of the governmental institution designated to deal with these cases resigned on the basis that they were not given the resources necessary to accomplish needed results. This, along with vague guidelines in the peace accords, has been problematic in the reincorporation of displaced populations and has not benefited the large rural and poor populations in the country.

Another characteristic promised by the accords that have failed to be accomplished or implemented properly is the topic of security in the country. The Civil National Police force, created after the war in compliance with peace agreements, is ill-trained and corrupt. In has proved unable to fight against organized crime or collaborate in prosecutions against human rights crimes. In addition, the government has also caused insecurity and distrust by being involved in corruption and defraudation cases.

The country has also found it difficult to comply with agreed targets in the areas of social welfare and tax legislation. Although the government promised to invest more money in education and healthcare budgets, it has not complied with its initial targets. In addition, as promised, in 1998 the government passed a law increasing taxes but repealed it after civil protests, and did not pursue any further changes.

Furthermore, there was significant pressure from international entities who had contributed resources and money to the peace process, many of which were conditional on the right implementation of established accords. Therefore, the challenges and inability to comply with parts of the peace accords has led to budget cuts that further complicate the fulfillment of promised changes.[10][8][11]

Although the country has not fully implemented the 1996 peace accords, the civil war did not continue. However, there have been many accusations of human rights violations that have been faced with high levels of impunity for members involved. Cases of people "disappeared" by the military in the armed conflict have gone unsolved and families continue to look for justice, in many cases to no avail. In May 2013, the former Guatemalan President, Efrain Rios Montt, was found guilty of coordinating the killing of nearly 1,800 indigenous Ixil Maya from 1982 to 1983.[12] Cases of people "disappeared" by the military in the armed conflict have gone unsolved and families continue to look for justice.[13] In addition, there are still ideological frictions in the country that have created tensions among the population and psychological effects that have affected the country's progress.[14]