The Violence after “La Violencia”

Abstract

Arguably the longest civil war in modern Latin American history took place in Guatemala from 1960–1996, a period known as “La Violencia” (“The Violence”). The United Nations successfully intervened to halt the genocide of indigenous peoples resulting from the blatantly racist politics of the national government in a prolonged series of brokered negotiations. Unfortunately, the index of violence in Guatemala has returned to levels similar to those of the worst years of the civil war. While today's violence is no longer officially mandated, the consequences remain basically the same. Guatemalan indigenous peoples and those of primarily indigenous descent, especially women, are bearing the brunt of the violence after “The Violence”.