The Failures of Reformist Governments and the Successes of the Right in the Dialogues for Peace in Guatemala

Abstract

This paper examines why the dialogues between the government and the guerrillas in Guatemala did not bring about a peace accord either with the Revolutionary Party, in power during the 1960s, or with the Christian Democrats in 1987, whereas the National Advanced Party, whose ideology is far different from the guerrillas, has been able to sign with them a firm and lasting peace agreement. To begin an analysis of this apparent paradox, the complex national and international situations must be analyzed; whether the guerrillas were always the same, if the Revolutionary Party and the Christian Democrats were truly reformist, and if, in practice, the signing of the peace accord was dependent on civil governments.