by Luis Pásara

Guatemala, one of the poorest countries in Latin America, suffered an internal armed conflict for 36 years. A long and difficult peace negotiation process ended in 1996 by the signing of comprehensive and ambitious peace accords. Five years later, the accomplishments of the accords are limited. In this article, Pásara examines the social context in which the accords were negotiated and implemented, some of their accomplishments and shortcomings, and suggests lessons which can be learned from them.

Luis Pásara is a sociologist of law and political analyst. He served as legal advisor to the United Nations Mission in Guatemala from 1996-2000. He was a visiting fellow at the Kroc Institute during the Spring semester of 2001.

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