Guatemala
TJET Focus Country
This country page describes, in brief, data that TJET has compiled on regime transitions, intrastate conflict episodes, and transitional justice mechanisms. For details on the data included on this page, view the FAQ.
For Guatemala, TJET has collected information on: eight amnesties between 1982 and 1996; 121 domestic trials starting between 1983 and 2020; five foreign trials starting between 1991 and 2010; one reparations policy created in 2003; and one truth commission mandated in 1994.
Select any transitional justice mechanism in the table below to view a timeline in the figure.
Country Background
Democratic Transition
Based on well-known democracy data, TJET records one democratic transition starting in 1985. In 1984, the head of Guatemala's military regime, General Óscar Mejia, allowed a Constituent Assembly to draft a democratic constitution. On May 30, 1985, the Constituent Assembly finished drafting the new constitution, which took effect immediately. Christian Democrat Vinicio Cerezo emerged the victor of general elections held in November of that year. This was the beginning of an uninterrupted democratic spell that continues today.
Guatemala holds regular elections, most recently in 2019. Though it was judged by the Organization of American States (OAS) as credible, observers have at times noted irregularities, disruptions, violence, and the controversial disqualification of some presidential candidates. These issues most recently came to a head in the 2023 election of Bernardo Arévalo, an anti-corruption candidate who the political establishment tried to disqualify retroactively after his surprise victory. Due to the historic weakness of campaign finance regulations, outside interests including those of organized criminal networks, exert major influence over elections. As a result, NGOs generally note high levels of corruption and low levels of transparency in Guatemala’s government. Despite major progress in recent years, violence and extortion perpetrated by criminal organizations remains a serious problem.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
Violent Conflict
Based on the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, TJET records six violent intrastate conflict episodes between 1970 and 1995, involving five distinct armed opposition groups fighting against the government.
The 36-year civil war in Guatemala began six years after a CIA-sponsored coup toppled its democratically elected, leftist government in 1954. Beginning with a failed coup attempt in 1960, an insurgency grew out of opposition to what the truth commission later described as structural injustice, racism, and an exclusionary, anti-democratic, and anti-reform government.
In 1982, four insurgent groups coalesced under the umbrella of the Unidad Revolutionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG). 80% of the country's documented human rights violations took place during this time, between 1981 and 1983, with nearly half occurring under the rule of José Efraín Ríos Montt. After protracted peace negotiations with the URNG, the civil war was finally brought to a close with the passage of the Law of National Reconciliation in 1996.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions. Source: UCDP Dyadic Dataset version 23.1, https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/index.html#dyadic.
Transitional Justice Data
As of 2020, Guatemala ranks 82nd out of 174 on TJET’s legacy of violence index. For a full list of country rankings over time, view the index page, and for an explanation of the index, view the Methods & FAQs page.
Amnesties
Guatemala had eight amnesties between 1982 and 1996. Two occurred in the context of democratic transition. Seven were passed during ongoing internal armed conflict. One was passed after internal armed conflict. Two were part of a peace agreement. One amnesty released political prisoners. Five amnesties forgave human rights violations.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
Domestic Trials
TJET has compiled data on 121 domestic prosecutions between 1983 and 2020. These include 21 transitional human rights prosecutions of state agents, in which 40 persons were convicted; 82 regular human rights prosecutions of state agents, in which 98 persons were convicted; 36 intrastate conflict prosecutions of state agents, in which 71 persons were convicted; and two intrastate conflict prosecutions of opposition members, in which two persons were convicted. In eleven trials that involved high-ranking state agents, ten persons were convicted.
Click on accused records for data on convictions. Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
Foreign Trials
Nationals of Guatemala were defendants in five foreign prosecutions in Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States of America beginning between 1991 and 2010.
Click on accused records for data on convictions. Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
Reparations Policies
Guatemala implemented one reparations policy, starting in 2005. According to available information, there was a total of 200000 individual beneficiaries. One reparations policy provided collective benefits.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
Truth Commissions
Guatemala mandated one truth commission in 1994. The commission completed its operations in 1999. The commission issued a final report, which is publicly available. The report included recommendations for prosecutions, reparations, and institutional reforms.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
UN Investigations
Guatemala was subject to one UN investigation in 1997. One investigation aimed to encourage domestic prosecutions.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
Perceptions Survey Data
Guatemala 2015
Context
This survey was conducted twenty years after the signing of the 1996 peace accords between the State of Guatemala and the National Revolutionary Unity of Guatemala (URNG). The survey is part of a research on resilience for peace and as such explored existing and potential capacities for the nonviolent transformation and resolution of conflicts rather than transitional justice per se.
Methods
The selection of respondents for the survey was based on a multi-stage random geographic cluster sampling of populated centers within all the departments of Guatemala. The 22 departments of Guatemala were grouped in 8 regions. In each department, a total of 10 populated places were randomly selected. For two departments, Guatemala and Petén, the number of populated places was increased to 16 because they were the only department in their respective region. The selection was made proportionately to the population size in each area using the best available estimates. In total, 232 populated places were selected. The interview teams aimed to conduct 16 interviews in each location, for a total target of 160 interviews per department (256 in Guatemala and Petén), or 3,712 total interviews nationwide. In the end, a total of 3,722 interviews were conducted.
Results
The findings suggest that the social fabric is somewhat limited to a state of co-existence. Collaboration and assistance exist, but it is limited outside of the private space. The state was consistently described as lacking an effective role in addressing key needs demands, and expectations of the population on issues that the population largely defined as the duty of the state (e.g. justice, security, improving life…). The dissonance between expectations and what is actually delivered, combined with perception of corruption, is undermining trust in the state and creating opportunities for rupture between the state and the population.
Hover over column labels for definitions.
For attribution, please cite this survey as:
Patrick Vinck and Phuong N Pham, “Peace Among Us: A Population-Based Study about Resilience for Peace in Guatemala,” research report (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, 2016).