Abstract

The Guatemalan Civil War began in 1960 and lasted until 1996 when the URNG and the Guatemalan state signed the Peace Accords.  This agreement aimed not only to end the war, but also to address the socio-economic issues that led to the conflict.   Although the war ended, there is widespread dissent about whether the socio-economic accords have resolved these issues and created better socio-economic conditions.  Since the signing of the Peace Accords, successive governments claim to have complied with the peace accords, however, those on the other side of the conflict strongly disagree.  To investigate this question, I conducted interviews with ex-guerillas during a J-term class in Guatemala this past January.  Furthermore, I analyzed the text of the Social-Economic Accord in order to isolate the commitments made by the government.  Finally, I examined statistical evidence of progress toward fulfilling the promises made by the government using data published by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. From this analysis, I have concluded that although the peace accords did succeed in ending the war, they have failed to address the socio-economic causes of the conflict.