Lecture 7 - History of Americas Flashcards
(22 cards)
What’s the context and objective of the “report of the commission for Historical Clarification Conclusions and recommendations - Guatemala - Memory of silence?
Historical context:
= 1821 - independence: also creation of authoritarian state, countries elite, racist, served to protect the privileged minority. ekonomisk struktur som skapar en anti-demokratisk natur. no social consensus to unite the nation. politiskt instabilitet → enda lösningarna då - repression eller militär kupper.
= 60s creation of left guerilla groups
= Overthrow of government of Colonel Jacobo Arbenz (1954) → rapid reduction for political expression. anti-communism: social movement excluded.
= 1962 outbreak internal armed conflict: Human, material cost.
= Judical system didn’t work
= kalla kriget spelade också roll, US with its foreign policy - promoted military regimes, även Kubas influence
= structure and nature of economic, cultural, social relations : marked by profound exclusion, antagonism conflict, a reflection of den koloniala historien.
= 1985 - elections and new constitution
= Part of the peace agreement 87-96
= 1999 publication of report
= made by: internationella medarbetare + de från Guatemala
Guatemala: = memory of silence report
= Mandate → investigate HR violations, write a public report, make recommendations
= clarify the conflict with objectivity, and human rights violations connected with the armed confrontation that caused suffering among the Guatemalan people.
How did the civil society participate in the commission?
- providing testimony, presenting key information, proposing recommendations, disseminating the report
- Single society groups in Guatemala
- organiserade detta, inte staten!
What were the key findings of the commission report? + what where som limits and setbacks?
250,000 döda
45,000 försvunna
600 massacres
83% av ursprungsbefolkning
Acts of violence: 3% Guerilla - 93% staten
= The Mayan population as the collective enemy of the state! racism as a component!
Social effects:
firstly, the formation and continuing presence in society of experts trained in the most efficient and deviant ways of applying pain to human beings to crush them physically and spiritually;
secondly, the normalisation of the use of torture as something “normal” in the routine work of state military and police structures, especially among members of military intelligence Structures, and the toleration of this by society and by judicial officials
“the state committed acts of genocide agaisnt Mayan indigenpus groups in four regions between 1981-1983”
“The CEH concludes that other parallel phenomena, such as structural injustice, the closing of political spaces, racism, the increasing exclusionary and anti-democratic nature of institutions, as well as the reluctance to promote substantive reforms that could have reduced structural conflicts, are the underlying factors which determined the origin and subsequent outbreak of the armed confrontation”
limitations:
= victims were not involved in defining its mandate
= no effective dissemination of the conclusions of the CEH report
= No mechanism to search for the disappeared
= underreporting of some HR violations- sexual violence
+ this sparked the creation of alternative civil-society spaces
What’s a truth and reconciliation commission
= Official, jon-judicial bodies, temporary, determine facts → root causes → consequences of HR Violations. = recommendations for a new democratic order.
Define Transitional justice?
Transitional justice refers to the set of judicial and non-judicial measures implemented by countries to redress legacies of massive human rights abuses, typically during a transition from conflict or authoritarian rule to peace and democracy.
Include = Truth commissions - Reparation programs - Structural reforms - Memorials and Museums
“Full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society’s attempt to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past conflict, repression, violations and abuses, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation” (United Nations, 2004”
Transition: armed conflict, authoritarianism, legacies of mass abuses → Peace, Democracy, rule of law, Human rights. (inte linjärt!!)
How can you define justice?
- Difficult to explain in different contexts
- Retributive
- Distributive
- Restorative (rebuild relationships)
–> Ex om dimensions
Present Transitional Justice and Latin America (historical focus)
Before: Authoritarian regimes, internal armed conflicts during the 70/80s → context of the cold war and the fight against communism
Critical role of the region: contributions to the history evolution and meaning of transitional justice. Shaped the aspirations of victims - civil society - government.
EX vibrant victims movement around LA
Wave of democratization and peacebuilding in 80/90s → international awareness of HR violations in the region, new constitutions, democratic elections, peace agreements with TJ provisions (Guatemala), Amnesty laws, regional developments - inter american system of human rights.
NOW: standardised pilar based system
Why is Guatemala considered a “poster child” of transitional justice?
Because of its broad TJ initiatives: truth commission, domestic prosecutions, reparations, institutional reforms, and strong civil society mobilization — despite major setbacks
What was the Commission for Historical Clarification (1999)?
An official truth commission to investigate human rights violations during Guatemala’s civil war. It emphasized the disproportionate impact on Indigenous Maya populations.
What are unofficial truth-telling projects in Guatemala?
Civil society-led initiatives, often supported by the Catholic Church, that localized truth-telling by integrating victims’ culture, worldview, and broader participation.
Key aspects of domestic criminal prosecutions in Guatemala?
= Focus on grave crimes (e.g. genocide, CAH), increased since 2011 with support from Inter-American Court rulings,
= victim participation as private prosecutors
= and judicial capacity building
= before domestic courts
Challenges in criminal prosecutions?
Impunity (military influence), lack of investigative capacity, malicious litigation, intimidation of victims/lawyers/witnesses, attacks on judicial independence
What is the National Program of Reparations (2003–2023)?
A state-administered program offering financial, symbolic, and community reparations, shaped by victim and human rights movement advocacy
Challenges of the reparations program?
Budget cuts, understaffing, weak implementation, only 16% victim reach, political clientelism, and eventual program closure
What is meant by ‘repertoire’ in transitional justice?
The range of strategies (legal, political, symbolic) used by civil society to advance justice, memory, and reform — from court actions to sit-ins and art
Examples of civil society mobilization?
Victims’ organizations, alliances with women’s and Maya movements, anti-corruption groups, legal challenges, press campaigns, creation of memorial spaces
What does “guarantees of non-recurrence” include in Guatemala?
Legal reforms, international mechanisms (e.g., CICIG), but limited implementation due to political resistance and weak institutions
Memorialization efforts in Guatemala?
Led by civil society — vibrant and creative — but lacking formal state policy; society remains polarized around historical memory.
Contextual challenges to TJ in Guatemala?
Continued state repression
Criminalization of TJ actors
Revisionist rhetoric (e.g. calling victims “liars” or “terrorists”)
Weak institutions and political will
Limited funding for sustained mobilization
Why is it ironic that Guatemala is seen as a model of TJ?
Because many TJ mechanisms are fragile, incomplete, or collapsing; there’s significant impunity, weak enforcement, and lack of political commitment
What is the current situation regarding justice and land in Guatemala?
There’s still an unequal land distribution; current rhetoric supports Indigenous rights and victims, but action is limited or symbolic
