Text Only Version Guatemala Struggles to Find Peace Article and Photos by Paul Jeffrey A Catholic nun at a demonstration in Guatemala City holds the photo of a priest killed by government death squads. Since its 36-year civil war ended in December 1996, peace has proved difficult for Guatemala. Today's violence is a symbol of how greatly the structure and values of Guatemalan communities were ripped asunder during four decades of war. Reweaving that social fabric will take years of effort by churches and other organizations working to transform a militarized culture.
Several factors explain the rise in postwar violence.
Many of today's criminals were yesterday's soldiers. When politicians negotiated an end to the conflict, generals who had gotten rich off the war turned their skills to other lucrative rackets, such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and car-theft rings. Many of the poor who fought the war were abandoned. They resorted to what the military had trained them to do. I've grown up in a culture of polarization where reaching consensus is difficult and where distrust dominates human relationships.