ABSTRACT
Guatemala had true democracy only for a short period of time, during its “Democratic Spring” from 1944 to 1954. The intervention of the United States in 1954 put an end to it. Behind a curtain of silence, gross violations of human rights were perpetrated. Guatemala was transformed into a laboratory for counter-insurgency strategies, tactics and practices, and it became the only country in the Western Hemisphere where modern genocide has been demonstrated (1981–1983). After an internal armed conflict of thirty-six years, the Firm and Lasting Peace Accord (1996) was signed. Although state terrorism ended and a blueprint for democracy and development was adopted, the Accord was not adequately implemented. The country was caught by corruption, sparking a citizen movement in 2015 that forced both the President and Vice-President to resign. Yet during the twenty years since the Peace Accord was signed, the government has failed to seek or provide truth and historical memory.
